Problem with Canon ip6000D black not printing

[Jane]

This Canon printer uses 6 of the BCI-6 carts. I was having a great experience with this printer for just over a year until I tried to do a very large print job of black text (duplex printing on 8.5" x 11" sheets) for our church newsletter (it takes 125 sets). I made the attempt to do this at home because the copy shop that has been doing it for us for several years could not get it in their schedule in time for when we usually distribute it. We went to them in the first place because we are trying to extend the life of the church copier and trying to do it on that old machine turned into a nightmare.

I went through more than one black cart and then started getting sheets fading to nothing. Cleaning & deep cleaning would get it restarted but the problem would come back. I gave up on doing that job at home. I thought I had it cleared for my normal amount of printing but it has reoccurred. Just to make sure I just did a deep clean and then two nozzle checks right before posting this. As had happened before during this problem, the black started off fine and then developed a non-printing area in the center of the check pattern. The second nozzle check resulted in the non-printing section being both longer and wider. I spent some time over the last several days and most of today going through previous posts here to try to find the best thing to try next but have not seen a clear cut best starting place. I do think, even if this one is cleared, it is a warning to have new print head on hand and will probably go ahead and order one.

Any consensus of the steps to take and in what order to get this back in shape?

Thanks
Jane

PS Forgot to say I have been refilling with ink from MIS.

 

[Smile]

If deep cleaning helps the problem is with your black cartridge, perhaps bad seal. Try different black cartridge and perform deep cleaning the problem should go away.

If it will not help you can try cleaning the print head with one of methods listed on this forum.

The purge unit might require cleaning too Just use warm water in a syringe and dip it on the pads, perform 2 or 3 deep cleanings.

 

[ghwellsjr]

If I'm not mistaken, the nozzle check pattern for the iP6000D prints six rectangular patterns, one for each color with black on the bottom. The pattern is actually made up of a pattern that is repeated 4 times. If you are seeing something in the middle of the overall pattern that is different from what you see near the edges, this might indicate a cartridge flow problem rather than a bad print head.

Have you tried several different cartridges, especially different brands?

Also, is black the only color that indicates any problem on the nozzle check?

If all the colors show similar behavior, my guess would be the purge/prime unit that is used in head cleaning and also, just to get the cartridges flowing when you put a new one in.

Please answer these two questions for further recommendations.

 

[Jane]

If I'm not mistaken, the nozzle check pattern for the iP6000D prints six rectangular patterns, one for each color with black on the bottom. The pattern is actually made up of a pattern that is repeated 4 times. If you are seeing something in the middle of the overall pattern that is different from what you see near the edges, this might indicate a cartridge flow problem rather than a bad print head.

Have you tried several different cartridges, especially different brands?

Also, is black the only color that indicates any problem on the nozzle check?

If all the colors show similar behavior, my guess would be the purge/prime unit that is used in head cleaning and also, just to get the cartridges flowing when you put a new one in.

Please answer these two questions for further recommendations.

I had a feeling that it had been long enough since I have posted any images here that I woud struggle with relearning it. That was the case but as I start this post I have gotten one up and hope to do two more. This was the reason they were not in my first post as I needed to go on to something else but wanted to get my cry for help out.

I have tried different cartridges. But . . . all refilled (two Canon & one after market the source of which I don't remember).

The black is the only color that indicates any problem.

As shown here I was not getting black on nozzle check before doing another deep clean.

Immediately after deep cleaning I get this:

Doing a second nozzle check results in this: The PM line may show a bit of distorsion but it was printed on the back of a used sheet and fell where the paper had been folded.

Hope these help you help me!

Jane

 

[ghwellsjr]

These images indicate an ink flow problem rather than a normal printhead problem. The ink flow problem could be in the printhead but it is definitely not any burned out nozzles.

What I would do is get some Windex with ammonia and put it in a syringe if you have one or use a straw.

Open the cover to your printer.

Remove the full black cartridge.

Put in an empty black cartridge.

Close the cover.

Wait for activity to stop.

Open the cover.

Remove the empty black cartridge.

Put some Windex on the screen in the printhead that receives the black ink.

Put some Windex on the pad off to the far right where the head parks.

Put in the full black cartridge.

Close the cover.

Do two or three nozzle checks.

Repeat all these steps until the nozzle check prints correctly several times in a row.

 

[Jane]

These images indicate an ink flow problem rather than a normal printhead problem. The ink flow problem could be in the printhead but it is definitely not any burned out nozzles.

What I would do is get some Windex with ammonia and put it in a syringe if you have one or use a straw.
Open the cover to your printer.
Remove the full black cartridge.
Put in an empty black cartridge.
Close the cover.
Wait for activity to stop.
Open the cover.
Remove the empty black cartridge.
Put some Windex on the screen in the printhead that receives the black ink.
Put some Windex on the pad off to the far right where the head parks.
Put in the full black cartridge.
Close the cover.
Do two or three nozzle checks.
Repeat all these steps until the nozzle check prints correctly several times in a row.

Thanks for the replies.

It is a relief to know I am not contending with a case of burned out nozzles.

Now to double check some things before I start doing. Want to make sure you understand I am located in the US.

What I have on hand in the way a cartridges for possible use in the black slot consist of: Three (3) full ones that are refills. Each has been refilled several times. 2 are Canon brand and one is from a source that I dont remember. There is one other non-refilled Canon on hand that had reached the low warning but should have a good deal in the sponge. There is an empty that was at one time used for cleaning with a cleaning solution from Compubiz Inkjet (inkjetsaver.com) but the plug got away from me and it is throughly dried out. I could pull a plug from one of the others from that set of cartridges, virtually all of which have no fluid remaining in the reservoir.

I have none of the cleaning fluid mentioned earlier still on hand. Nor do I have Windex brand glass cleaner. What is here is a private label from the grocery store that looks like Windex and is labeled as Non-Aerosol Glass Cleaner with ammonia.

So. . .which is the best choice for the empty? Do I need Windex brand glass cleaner or should what I have work without damaging my printer? Being a refiller for many years I do, of course have syringes on hand, even a couple different sizes. For amount to inject I assume it is a matter of having it look throughly wet but not overflowing?

Thanks again. I will be holding off until I hear back.
Jane

 

[ghwellsjr]

What I have on hand in the way a cartridges for possible use in the black slot consist of: Three (3) full ones that are refills. Each has been refilled several times. 2 are Canon brand and one is from a source that I dont remember.

Switch between the Canons for the full cartridges. Don't use the unknown.

There is one other non-refilled Canon on hand that had reached the low warning but should have a good deal in the sponge.

Actually, when I said empty I meant empty in the tank which is what gives the low warning, so use this one when I say empty. The purpose for putting the "empty" in is to get the printer to do a prime (cleaning) cycle after you put the "full" cartridge back in.

I have none of the cleaning fluid mentioned earlier still on hand. Nor do I have Windex brand glass cleaner. What is here is a private label from the grocery store that looks like Windex and is labeled as Non-Aerosol Glass Cleaner with ammonia.

This will be a perfect substitute for Windex.

Being a refiller for many years I do, of course have syringes on hand, even a couple different sizes. For amount to inject I assume it is a matter of having it look throughly wet but not overflowing?

That's the goal but don't be surprised if you accidently overflow. It won't hurt anything to overflow.

 

[Tin Ho]

Jane, I have seem a similar problem like yours before. I believe it is a problem in the cartridge. When you refill the black ink cartridge how did you reseal it? I think the sealing is not air tight. You can easily verify this by replacing the cartridge with a new one or just a different one. You will likely see it working again. What happened is likely that too much ink had come out of the nozzles which blocked off some nozzles. It would work fine after some cleaning cycles but some printing later ink leaked enough to repeat the problem again.

 

[Jane]

After things seemed to be improving I decided to get a new black cart. on Sunday, May 18. Going to it seemed to finish solving my problems as I got a good nozzle check and printed a number of pages that were mainly text. I was ready to post my thanks but before I got to it. . .

Then . . . came one in draft mode that had a magenta cast. And one from a web site that was a comparison of several models of a product which was really quite magenta but with the information about the site location that prints at the bottom of the page really BLACK as expected.

Today I did a nozzle check before the photos that I was ready to print and discovered that it has NO Cyan printing. The descriptions of each color (6BK, 6C, etc.) are magenta and the vertical bars either side of those are bright magenta from the 6C through 6Y (see earlier posting of the nozzle check from this model in this thread if you are not familiar with it); then it gets darker from 6PC on through 6PM but not black. Except for the now missing cyan bars all of the other horizontal color bars print fine.

I have a file from MIS that is supposed to print test pages of any of the six colors or all six on one page. If I do one that is supposed to be cyan it comes out magenta.

I have spent several hours today going back looking at old postings here; but remain uncertain what the best next step is. I had hoped to take prints to the photo club that I am a member of tomorrow.

Help! Please!
Jane

 

[ghwellsjr]

It's interesting that another thread referenced this thread for a similar problem:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2999

Several people suggested that your original problem was due to overfilling, causing an ever-growing drop of ink on the bottom of the printhead that blocked more and more nozzles during the course of the nozzle check. It appears that you solved this problem by replacing the cartridge with a new one (presumably not a refilled one).

Now it appears that you have a new problem. When you do a nozzle check, is cyan COMPLETELY missing? You should refrain your printing to ONLY nozzle checks until you get this resolved. Usually this symptom points to an electrical problem either in the printhead or in the drivers within the printer. Had you removed your printhead and subjected it to a cleaning solution? Did you try the cleaning process I described earlier in this thread? Please tell us what else you tried and what happened.