Need help with my Pixma ip4000

[bex3]

Please forgive if I am asking something that was already answered. If that's the case drop me a link.

I had this printer for a very long time now and I love it, but recently I started having problems. The colors are all wrong. Reds look almost like 100% magenta, and greys come out looking light brownish or like cofee with milk. I constantly get gaps in my black printouts. I cleaned the heads many times but that didn't help. I finally bought a cleaning cartridge from printpal and that solved the print head issue, but the colors are still messed up.

I used to buy my cartriges from Printpal, and now I buy them from Megatoners. Are there any better options for me out there? Please don't mention original canon cartridges - I am a cheap bastard. Would it be better for me to refill or buy new cartriges? Are there any good guides to disassembling and cleaning my printer? Thanks very much.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Welcome to the best printer forums on the web. You have one of the most popular and best-of-all-times printers. Don't give up on it. You can learn a lot about your printer on these forums.

I do not recommend any third party cartridges. They can lead to the kinds of problems you are having and I don't think you have to disassemble your printer to get it working again. I recommend that you refill Canon cartridges for the best results.

To start with, you should click on the Inkjet FAQs link at the top of this page and read some of the postings linked there. Then you should click on the Nifty-Stuff link at the top of the page and then click on the Printers link off to the right. There you will find several articles that will help you. Finally, you can use the Search link at the top of the page and enter a word or phrase relating to your specific problem. You will find lots of information to help you.

 

[rain0396]

I suggest you to change the ink.Then I think the rusult will be better.I mean another brand of ink.

 

[Token]

Welcome to the forums!
Just a question, but did you happen to buy ip4500 cartridges by mistake? I know it sounds silly, but it may be the cause of your problem, as i believe the inks, while similar, are slightly different in colour. Incidentally, they also fit into the ip4000 (see http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4126 ). Just check to see if they say cli or bci on them, and/or if they have a microchip (a little green square, with metal contacts) on the clip side of the cartridge. If it does, you have got the wrong cartridge.

Also, i second rain0396's idea of changing cartridge suppliers, as this supplier may have started to use cli-8 compatible inks in their cartridges, as cli-8 compatible printers are more recent than bci printers, and, to save money, the manufacturer may have just decided to use one type of ink throughout their entire ink cartridge line.

As well, i agree with ghwellsjr when he says this is the best printer forum on the web : it has helped me solve many problems, and i have learnt a whole lot just by browsing the forum. Also, dont throw away your printer; im sure you can find a solution.

Please make sure to keep the forum posted on what happens (even if you have to chuck it away [we hope not], as its good to have a resoloution in the forums, in case someone else has the same problem)


Good luck!
token

 

[jflan]

I have an iP4000 also, and it's always been fed high quality inks....still in perfect shape.
Refilling with Hobbicolors inks costs me a bit under $1.00 per cart last time I looked.

Print Pal peddles junk OA100 inks....known to clog printheads.
I have no idea what ink Megatoners uses....they probably don't either.
A new iP4000 printhead costs about $60.00 if you can find one.

There, the math is done

PrecisionColors sells Image Specialists inks which are also excellent.

 

[fotofreek]

several suggestions on this thread are the same as mine - get some original canon oem carts and learn to refill them with good quality ink yourself. prefilled aftermarket carts can sometimes be good, but vendors sometimes change cart manufacturers and manufacturers have been known to change the ink with which they refill their carts. The best quality cart by far is the original OEM canon cart. poor quality carts or inks can feed ink poorly, causing banding, color shifts, nozzle clogs, and eventually damage to the printhead.

Precision Colors identifies the inks it sells as Image Specialists inks, an excellent quality and color match for canon printers. IS is a highly reputable manufacturer of inks, so the quality should not vary from order to order. In addition, users of Hobbicolors inks (which don't identify the manufacturer of their inks) have had very good experience with these products - an indication that Hobbicolors has probably continued to sell the same manufacturer's inks.

Bottom line is that, other than using oem canon carts with the original ink, you are best assured of product quality by refilling with recommended inks and oem canon carts.

 

[pharmacist]

I think the best inks are Hobbicolors UW-8, Image Specialists and Inktec CLI-8 for dye and from personal experience the best pigment ink is KMP pure pigment ink for the text black cartridges.

In a few weeks time I'm going to show a test from sun fading for both original Canon CLI-8, Hobbicolors UW-8, Epson K3 pigment and Image Specialists K4 Pro pigment ink with scans just after printing and the scans after a few months facing a sunny window. All the prints are done with a personalised profile for the specific ink/printer/paper combination.

 

[bex3]

Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate your help. I'll give Hobicolors a try and post my results when my ink arrives.

Does anyone have any idea where I can buy original canon cartridges at a descent price?

Also, I heard that inkjet printers have a hidden compartment somewhere inside where the excess ink collects. Apparently after several years of use this reservoir fills up and the printer locks up making it inoperable. Is there any truth to this, and is there any way to go around this issue?

 

[zxcvbnm114]

Also, I heard that inkjet printers have a hidden compartment somewhere inside where the excess ink collects. Apparently after several years of use this reservoir fills up and the printer locks up making it inoperable. Is there any truth to this, and is there any way to go around this issue?

Yes, or at last with my canon ip2000. After three years it stopped and said it had to be serviced. But looking on the internet it was easy to find how to bypass this with a few button presses and carry on regardless. Of course this does not really deal with the problem but no ink has started flooding out of the bottom of my printer yet and I'm not prepared to expend much more effort on a frankly dying printer. So I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[Ron350]

Hello Bex# dont worry about your iP4000 locking up because of the waste ink-pad filling up. You can monitor and reset your waste ink counter as needed.

Follow the directions below and tell us what the D value is on the top line of the service EEPROM print out. The D value just estimates how much ink is in the waste ink pads hiding in the bottom of the printer.

Canon EEPROM print.
First thing you need to do is print an EEPROM information page, step number 2 below.
Once you have an EEPROM print you can reset the waste ink counter, if needed, which is step number 4 below.


Service Mode: This printer has a service mode for service-related settings and for performing test prints. The operator panel buttons are used to enter the desired service mode.
Make sure plain paper is in the printer.

With the printer powered off, hold down the "Resume Button" and press the "Power Button".

While holding down the "Power Button", release the Resume Button" and press the "Resume Button" twice in succession. Now release the "Power Button".

The indicator will blink in green and remain lit in green.

Select one of the following service mode functions by pressing the Resume Button the specified number of times.

1 time = Service test print.
2 times = EEPROM information print.
3 times = EEPROM initialization (reset)
4 times = Waste ink counter resetting
5 times = Destination settings
6 times = Print head deep cleaning

Then press the Power Button one time to perform selected function.

If you press the "Power Button" two times it will take you out of service mode.