Print problem with Canon i950

[vernah]

Help!
Printer was working just fine and then I put in some new Canon ink cartridges. After that, my prints have these greenish bands, always in the same place no matter what the picture. Ran the cleaning cycle a few times and alligned the printhead nozzles. Problem persisted. Called the local service center and they thought that the printhead needed replacing - new printhead and labor = $145. The printer is over 18 months old and I don't really want to spend that much on it. Decided to do some online research and came across this great site. Followed Neil's recommendation - removed the printhead, and sprayed compressed air through each of the delivery sponges. Replaced the printhead and ran the cleaning cycle, aligned the nozzles. Still the prints are showing the same problem. Not sure what to do. Should I buy a new printhead? But what if that's not the problem - would hate to waste the $80 it'll cost to buy a new one though now I know how to replace the printhead, I won't need to pay the labor costs that the service center would charge. Suggestions will be gratefully received!

Thanks - Verna

 

[vernah]

Can't believe it. I decided to have one last attempt with the printer. I had been using the Staples photo supreme paper so went on the hunt at home for some Canon photo paper to try and finally found a sample pack. It printed out perfectly! Hours of cleaning, research, frustration and who knows how much ink later. Oh well, better than spending $100 on a new printhead that I didn't need. Guess the moral of this story is don't use inferior grade paper even if they do say it's comparable!

And I found this great site.

 

[Nifty]

Vernah, not only did you have a great learning experience, but you also found this AWESOME website and forum! Count yourself blessed!

Also, thanks for sharing your experience with us. No doubt it will save a lot of other people the frustration you just went through.

 

[vernah]

Well, unfortunatley I spoke too soon. The green gremlin is back! I got up this morning to print out another photo and the problem has returned. It doesn''t matter which paper I use - tried the Canon, Staples and regular letter. The green hue and banding is present on all of them. I'm sooo frustrated!!

So, back to asking if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions.

 

[fotofreek]

The best clue you have is what event caused the print quality to suddenly change. You installed some new cartridges. Canon can sell you some duds as well as third party ink vendors. Which ones did you change? Do you still have the ones you removed and how long ago did you remove them? Many of us on this site use aftermarket cartridges or refill inks and this sounds like a cartridge that isn't feeding properly. It is possible that either the ink has dried somewhat in the exit port filter or the air vent is partially blocked. You may also still have a head clog in which case you need to read through more of the posts on this site or see Neil Slade's site for the next step in head cleaning if the compresssed air doesn't work. Don't give up yet! Between reading through the threads on this forum and reading Neil Slade's site on paper/inks you will learn a lot about the care and feeding of your printer!

 

[vernah]

Thank you for your reply, Fotofreek.
The cartridges that I changed were PhotoCyan, Cyan, PhotoMagenta and Magenta, though the latter was put in after the problem started. Not sure if I have the old cartridges that I replaced - I'll have to look in the trash when I get home! Where are the exit port filter and air vent located?

I'll check the other posts on this site as you suggested. Clearly, there's a lot of info here on these printers.

 

[fotofreek]

The air vent is on top. If you look closely you will see the imprint of a channel under the label. The cartridge (cart for short) has to have an air vent to let air in when ink is drawn out for printing. The actual vent hole is under the label, but Canon covers it except for the end of the vent chanel that exits slightly beyond the label. Someone else can tell you more scientifically why it is covered this way, but it is my understanding that it helps prevent evaporation and assists in getting the precise balance of pressure in the cart to function properly. The exit port is the raised round projection at the bottom of the cart. It has a filter (described by some as similar to a cigarette filter) that contacts the upper portion of the inkjet nozzles in the print head and permits ink to flow from the cart on demand from the printer. For the cart to funtion properly you need adequate (but not too much) air venting and a filter that is not clogged with dried ink. The filter has to make contact with the nozzle. If one uses aftermarket carts the additional requirement is that the cart design and manufacture works! There are several posts on this forum that you can read reporting various aftermarket carts, their design, and how well they function. The reason I asked if you still had the carts you took out is that, if they have not been damaged by being in the trash or out of the printer so long that the exit port has dried up, and providing there is enough ink left in them to function properly, you can reinsert them and see if your printer works ok. Otherwise you will need to buy additional carts to test the possibility that one or more of the new carts was defective. From a description of the colors of the banding someone can possibly tell you which cart (or plugged jet) is causing the problem.

Before you insert any of the old carts, hoever, another thing you might do is remove the new carts, one at a time, look into the print head to see if excess ink has pooled around the little round metal projection that the ink gets sucked into (that can impair printing as well), with the exit port over a cup in an area where you won't damage anything if some ink drips, blow into the vent to see if ink drips out of the cart. If ink comes out with a little air pressure, lightly blot the exit port on some paper toweling on a flat surface, replace into the printer, and do a test print. If you do this one at a time you may find that one of the carts is the problem. Don't leave carts out of the printer any longer than is necessary to check them and replace them as the ink intake will dry up and get blocked. More to follow if you have further problems.

 

[Grandad35]

Vernah,

A green image usually means that you are missing magenta (green and magenta are opposite each other on the color spectrum). I suspect that your Magenta or Photo Magenta is not printing properly. Is the green cast in the lighter or darker shades? If it is in the lighter shades, the problem is with the PM; if it is in the darker shades, the problem is with the M.

 

[Nifty]

I haven't noticed if vernah has done any nozzle check patterns. Isn't this critical in the troubleshooting procedure?

 

[vernah]

Wow - I'm learning more on all this than I ever thought I'd need to know! Thanks for all your help.

I'll definitely check the carts out when I get home this evening.