Printing problem with Canon Pixma iP3600 printer

[Gsmith68]

I have a Canon Pixma iP3600 printer. Recently my prints were becoming slightly faded and a bit streaky. I followed tips from the Internet and ran some warm water over the printer head. I also let it soak overnight in some warm water with a little bit of vinegar. Since then I have only been able to print my email address off in blue ink but nothing else from a test piece. I decided to purchase and install a new printer head. I have installed this in the printer and have also replaced all of the print cartridges. There is no problem with paper. When I turned on the printer the amber light is flashed continuously and I got the following error message which states:-
‘I have to press the printer’s RESUME button. If it doesn’t clear then I have to cancel the print, turn the machine off and try again. I have tried this several times but nothing changes. I still had the continuous flashing amber light‘. There is nothing in the print queue to cancel.
I have followed some straightforward guidelines from the Internet as follows:-
1. Turn off a printer.
2. Press and hold the Resume/Cancel button.
3. Press and hold the Power button (do not release both buttons)
4. Release the Resume/Cancel button (do not release the Power button)
5. While holding the Power button, press Resume/Cancel button 2 times, and then release the Power button.
There is no change.

I decided to try old printer head back in to see what would happen. The amber light is longer displayed but of course the machine only generates a unprinted blank piece of paper (with the exception of my email address if this was on the test piece).

I then reinstalled the printer drives for my software (Windows XP 32 bit) and the previous were uninstalled I put the new printer head back in and noticed that the amber light flashed 5 times in sequence. I checked the error coding on the Net which said that the printer head was defective. Hard to believe this with it being the new one!

I am now considering purchasing a printer head cleaning kit to use on the old head but I am uncertain as to if this will work.

To summarise:-
My existing / old printer does not show an amber light to reflect that there is a problem but the printer head will only print my email address on a test piece (nothing else).
The ink cartridges are all new
There is no problem surrounding paper whatsoever
The new printer head shows an amber light that flashes 5 times and does not print.
There is nothing wrong with any connections

I am stuck as to what to do. Can you help?

 

[The Hat]

I am stuck as to what to do. Can you help?

That’s a biggie first post.. We most likely could have helped if you had come to us much earlier..

It sounds like you have damaged your print head beyond repair, mostly from the advice you received from rouge websites and then further your problem by purchasing a second hand print head from an-known dubious website.

There is no easy way to tell you this, but your printer is kaput, unless you can source and purchase a new print head from a known Canon stockist, and if that’s not possible then a new printer will be required.. Sorry..