Pixma Pro 100 print problem

[The Hat]

OK @martin0reg the name is “Concentrated Clorox bleach” but any household bleach I imagine would work..

Huh? Not heard this.

Mike will give a full description and explanation in his own time..

 

[jtoolman]

I am soaking my print head per the initial suggestion offered by the Hat using Dreft and Windex prescribed by him in an earlier thread here. I started today. I plan to soak overnight then change the Dreft solution and re-soak with it and Windex for another day. I will clean It thoroughly in distilled water and then let it dry for a couple of days. I will then do another nozzle check and hopefully the Magenta head will be un-clogged. I looked on Ebay for a new print head as a backup I did not find any thing at a reasonable price under $100 so I hope this works. I will let you all know how I make out. If it fails I might try again also per the Hat's suggestion. It would be worth a try as the print heads are rather expensive. The Magenta head prints so I know it's not burned out.

I guess the days of cheap PRO-100 heads on EBAY are over.
You say the Magenta head prints so it's not burned out?
All you need is to have a few rows of nozzles clog up with fungus ( yes fungus ) and that nice fungus with be now beautifully cooked in the microscopic tubules leading to the resistors and now they are permanently fried. 89% could be perfectly clear which would lead you to believe that the channel is fine. Well, it is not. Even if you somehow manage to clear the burned material out, those same nozzles would not longer work.
If the clog is due to ONLY ink drying ( no solid matter ) and the nozzles are not damaged they soaking can and often dissolves the dried ink and you are good to go.

The reason this happens so easily is that we usually first print. Then we notice there is a problem with the print. Banding, missing colors, and such. At that point it would be too late as the damage may be already done.

Best work flow for a CANON PRO printers specially if you are not using OEM inks is to always begin with a nozzle check before any actual printing is done.
Yes. It is a royal pain in the behind but then you will not do damage to the print head as the nozzle check will tell you YES or NO if you can actually proceed to print the actual image.

Joe

 

[deccma]

I would guess that by pure bleach he is saying not diluted with water or other liquid substances.

 

[deccma]

Joe you know a lot about this stuff and I am listening. Fungus ??? Is that the product of using non OEM ink or other issues such as using clean carteds? I am sure hoping that I can reconcile my problem by doing the soak. I do have a question however. Would it be advisable to clean the print head after heavy usage or perhaps on a regular schedule like maybe every two months? It would seem a cheap insurance. It is not all that difficult to do. As you have said you went through several print heads and that would be an expensive proposition if you could not procure cheap print heads.

 

[jtoolman]

Inks contain Biocides to help control any biological growth among their many other ingredients.
If you buy ink in large bottles and have had them for more than a year, then there is a chance that during the withdrawal of inks with NOT so clean syringes ( Do you sterilize them? Of course not ) you are constantly introducing bacteria and specifically, fungal spores which are normally killed by the ink's particular biocide. Apparently Magenta from the original source did not have the most effective biocide. Though if your go through your ink volume within a few months, you should not have had a problem. But if you have been using them sparingly and they've been sitting in your print room for a year, then that's what causes the problem.

Fungus ( Tiny amounts ) can work their way through the sponge and one it enters the print head it is basically a done deal!

How to minimize the problem? Use up your ink supply quickly! Use aseptic techniques when refilling. These problematic inks have been replaced for inks from a totally different source and it truly has been a huge effort by Mike from PC to investigate, test and test and ultimately find a reliable source for these problematic ink colors.
So a huge CUDOS to PC for what they have done!!!!

Joe

 

[deccma]

That's very interesting and informative Joe. Maybe it would be a good idea to wipe the squeeze bottle metal tube with alcohol before each refill. In my case the ink was less than a year old and I have just switched over to the new PC inks. I am hopeful as to what you describe is not my problem here. When a print head is burned out would it print anything in a nozzle check? I assume each color has its own print head.

 

[The Hat]

I would guess that by pure bleach he is saying not diluted with water or other liquid substances.

Yes undiluted as recommend by Mike..

 

[jtoolman]

That's very interesting and informative Joe. Maybe it would be a good idea to wipe the squeeze bottle metal tube with alcohol before each refill. In my case the ink was less than a year old and I have just switched over to the new PC inks. I am hopeful as to what you describe is not my problem here. When a print head is burned out would it print anything in a nozzle check? I assume each color has its own print head.

And don't forget your syringes and needles. That's where the most probable point of external contamination comes from.

Joe

 

[PeterBJ]

Yes undiluted as recommend by Mike..

Do you have a link for the post or the thread, please? I have searched for it as I would like to study this more radical approach to print head cleaning; the killer fungus has claimed one more of my Canon printers, a Pixma 6700.

 

[martin0reg]

"killer fungus"...could this really happen...?

I won't exclude any possible issue... But using the ip4000 and ip4500, I think the main problem of canon bubble jet prntheads is overheating, may it happen fast from bad ink flow or may it happen slowly over time from ink without the correct chemical properties, or because "micro" air bubbles could not be totally avoided. I think, these canon printheads should not be called "permanent", they are expendable items, like HP printheads too. That's why they are so easy to exchange...