PIXMA iP4000 prints blank pages

[ocelotvw]

My Pixma iP4000 has been printing successfully for several years with OEM cartridges refilled using the top fill/syringe method and Truecolor inks.

THE PROBLEM
About a month ago it started printing banded images which did not clear up after multiple regular and deep cleanings (unfortunately I no longer remember exactly which colors were most clogged). I cleaned the printhead using
Mike Boesen's technique pcugdotorgdotauslashboesenslashprint_headslashcleaningdothtm. (this address modified to allow me to post it as a first time poster, apologies!)

Since doing this, the printer goes through the motions of printing, but outputs a blank sheet of paper.

THE CURRENT SYMPTOMS
The ink cartridges show no sign of cross contamination, and there is a drop of fresh ink on the mesh that contacts with each ink cartridge. When I remove the print head and place it on a moist paper towel I see only what looks like black, or such an even distribution of all colors as to look black. The ink on the paper towel looks more like it is getting on the printhead from the waste ink pads rather than coming out of the nozzles, as the nozzle areas themselves leave the same or even less of the black ink traces that the rest of the bottom of the printhead does. I tried putting a few drops of water on the waste ink sponges and the water drained almost immediately from the "squarish" pad that presumably rests under the color nozzles. The water stayed in the pad below the black ink nozzle. the final symptom I have found is that when I try to run the Align Print Head service feature it produces the error message 2500, which states that an auto align is not possible and I should do a manual alignment.

THE PLEA
I would love any advice on what, if any next steps I can take to save this printer. I was prepared to buy a new printer, but the ratio of price to ink for the new chipped cartridge using printers is silly, and i don't relish having to deal with resetters and the like. I have really enjoyed the simplicity of the iP4000, as have many other users on this incredibly helpful forum. So I hope one of you has a strategy, or in the worst-case scenario, can deduce from the above symptoms that there is no point performing further CPR on this one.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ghwellsjr]

It sounds like the tubing has come off of the square purge pad for the dye inks. This would explain why you can't get any of the dye inks to print. You will have to dismantle the printer to put it back on.

The rectangular purge pad for the pigment black ink sounds like it may be clogged. If you put Windex or some other window cleaning solution or just plain water on it and do a cleaning cycle, the liquid should be sucked away. It doesn't sound like that is happening. If so, you're going to have to take your printer apart to unclog it.

It's probably time to replace your absorbent waste ink pads (deep inside your printer) if you have had your printer for a long time, another reason to take your printer apart.

By the way, a new print head will not solve your problems.

So the question is: are you up to taking your printer apart?

 

[PeterBJ]

If you want to take the printer apart, these instructions may be helpful: http://www.druckerchannel.de/artikel.php?ID=1831&seite=1&t=panic_waste_ink_tank_full . It is a good translation of an article originally written in German. It has got images you can click to enlarge. A few things have not been translated though : Fenster schlieen means close window, NCHSTE SEITE means next page, VORHERIGE means previous (page) and ERSTE SEITE means page one.

The service manual might also be helpful as well as the parts catalog. Service manual for the Pixma 4000 here: http://www.timtaylor.net/tech/iP4000 Service Manual.pdf and parts catalog here: http://piese-imprimanta.ro/pdfs/1294_PIXUS_IP3100_IP4000_PIXMA_IP4100.pdf

 

[ocelotvw]

Oh fantastic!
Thank you ghwellsjr and PeterBJ for your tremendously helpful replies! I'll have a look through the instructions and see if it I'm feeling up to the task. I will keep you posted

 

[ocelotvw]

Taking apart my iP4000 sounds fun. I can never pass up the opportunity to potentially make a colossal mess. Do you know where I can find a new set of waste ink absorber sponges? Ebay only has them for the iP4000R and Canon has not replied to my email query. Thanks!

 

[PeterBJ]

Pixma 4000R is a network version of the Pixma 4000. Mechanically the printers are very similar, so the absorbers are the same for both printers.

Edit: New absorbers alone will not make your printer work, so before buying absorbers you should try cleaning the purge station, as suggested by ghwellsjr. If this brings the printer back to life, then it is time to change the absorbers.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Taking apart my iP4000 sounds fun. I can never pass up the opportunity to potentially make a colossal mess. Do you know where I can find a new set of waste ink absorber sponges? Ebay only has them for the iP4000R and Canon has not replied to my email query. Thanks!

The same waste ink absorber pads are used in the iP4000, MP780 and several other similar printers. I got some from my local Canon authorized service center for $7 a set. See if you have one in your area. I have seen them on the internet for double that price.

 

[ocelotvw]

I have taken my iP4000 apart. It Was fun.

There were signs that ink had been running down through the works rather than through the waste tubes. Using a syringe of hot water I flushed the two tubes from above (removing the small filter sponges that sit below the printhead to access the holes leading to the tubes). The tube leading from the color inks drained immediately from the start and was soon running clear a well. The tube from the blacks was at first not draining, but after several applications of the hot water it began to drain when water was forced through using the syringe. It eventually ran clear, however it never started draining without the aid of the pressure from the syringe. In other words, if I just put drops of water into the little well they would just sit there, but if I forced the water through the tube by using the syringe directly in the hole in the well it ran through and came out clear at the other end. I am not sure what this means. It is certainly not clogged in the way it was before, but curious that it still behaves differently from the color ink waste tube. Does anyone have any thoughts on why this might be the case?

To test whether this has solved my printing problem I will need to reassemble the printer. Since I don't know if this procedure is going to fix the printer I opted to clean the waste ink absorbers rather than wait to order new ones. I haven't found a local (Brooklyn, NY, USA) Canon service center yet or found the pads online for less than $30). I will reset the waste counter and seek a new set of pads to replace the washed ones sooner than later if otherwise the printer comes back to life. So I am now waiting for the washed pads to dry so that I can reassemble the printer and see if I've achieved anything.

In the meantime if anyone had any thoughts on what the difference of behavior between the two tubes might signify, or what, if anything else I ought to do whilst my printer reposes with all it's layers revealed, I would welcome the input.

Thank you again for all the assistance and information thus far!

 

[ghwellsjr]

The liquid should not drain away from either pad until you do a cleaning. If it's draining from the dye ink pad, the tubing is probably disconnected or not in the correct location inside the pump. But it sounds like you fixed the one for the pigment ink.

 

[turbguy]

I agree with the above. LIQUID APPLIED TO THE PAD SHOULD EVENTUALLY FORM A STANDING POOL ON THE PAD UNTIL A CLEANING CYCLE IS PERFORMED! Else you better find the reason why it drains away!

Wayne