Newbie with problems

[medge_uk]

Hi everyone,

I have a Canon SmartBase MP370, which I use on a daily basis. The other day the black ink refused to print. I have carried out all the maintenance suggested, changed the ink tanks & reinstalled the drivers. All to no avail. Am I missing something simple? Is there anything else I can try or do? The printer is still under warranty but do I risk sending it back to Canon only to find it is my error & to face a big bill? Any help or advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks, medge

 

[Grandad35]

Medge,

I guess that the BCI-24 carts used in your printer aren't as common as the BCI-3 and BCI-6 carts, and that there aren't a lot of people who have experience with your printer.

The first link is for Canon's UK support and the second link lists an authorised UK service facility for printers at the bottom of the page, plus a help desk phone number (08705 143 723). Since your printer is still under warranty, see what they have to say. Maybe they can talk you through the problem over the phone.
http://www.canon.co.uk/contact_us/canon_europe_contacts/europe/united_kingdom.asp
http://www.canon.co.uk/contact_us/local_canon_contacts/photo_repair_centres.asp

 

[medge_uk]

Thanks very much for your reply. I really appreciate your help. I've bookmarked the two links you gave me, which I'm sure will be useful. After using nearly two ink cartridges in deep cleaning, I went to Staples today & bought another black ink cartridge - a genuine one this time. I fitted it into the printer & the black ink is working fine. (Hmmm ????!) I've been using compatible cartridges for some time & not had any problems. All I can think is that I got a couple of duff cartridges. I think I'll stick to genuine ones in the future though.
medge

 

[Grandad35]

Medge,

Some inks have a problem "firing" in the nozzles (they do not seem to be able to generate the small gas bubbles required to eject the ink), and this is a separate problem from a clogged head. As soon as the "bad" ink is replaced with "good" ink during the cleaning cycles, the problem goes away; this seems to have been your problem.

There are various threads in this forum where others have encountered similar problems with prefilled compatible carts - it has been found that some of the suppliers of these carts do not have good control over the supplier and/or quality of the ink used to fill the carts. This is one of the main reasons why many of us prefer to refill, even though prefilled compatible carts are relatively inexpensive - to get control over the ink quality. If you do a lot of printing, you may want to look at refilling to control the ink quality while keeping your costs down.