The Green/gray dilemma canon mp270

[Wondering_Mike]

Dear readers,

i've enjoyed my canon pixma 270 for many months until recently it started to print a green/blue hint over anything gray or grayish. I'm wondering what could be the problem and how to solve this considering this:
-the 'primary' colours cyan/magenta/yellow come out like they should (no streaks/pure colour) (so a clog is not likely)
-the ink I use to refill has been used for several months without any problem (also not likely)
-I also tried selecting different cartridge settings to print with ('pure'black/'pure' colour/both black and colour)

Could it be the cartridge is fried?

btw gray via the black cartrigde does work...

 

[Grandad35]

Wondering_Mike,

Here is a screenshot from Photoshop's "Variations" adjustment to show the relationships of R/G/B and C/M/Y.

Since Cyan is between blue and green, an excess of cyan is the likely cause of your blue-green color shift. Note that the partial absence of magenta and yellow could also cause the same problem.

A few questions:
1. How many times have you refilled your cyan cartridge with your current ink?
2. What ink was in the cartridges before you refilled them?
3. What ink are you using to refill?
4. Did you purge the cartridges before switching inks?

The sponge holds a lot of ink, and when switching inks there will be a gradual transition as the new ink mixes with the old. It can take several refills for the color to stabilize unless you purge them before refilling.

 

[Wondering_Mike]

Wondering_Mike,

Here is a screenshot from Photoshop's "Variations" adjustment to show the relationships of R/G/B and C/M/Y.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/uploads/113_colortest072810.jpg
Since Cyan is between blue and green, an excess of cyan is the likely cause of your blue-green color shift. Note that the partial absence of magenta and yellow could also cause the same problem.

A few questions:
1. How many times have you refilled your cyan cartridge with your current ink?
2. What ink was in the cartridges before you refilled them?
3. What ink are you using to refill?
4. Did you purge the cartridges before switching inks?

The sponge holds a lot of ink, and when switching inks there will be a gradual transition as the new ink mixes with the old. It can take several refills for the color to stabilize unless you purge them before refilling.

Thank you Grandad35 for your swift and thorough reply.

The replies to your questions.
1. I've refilled the cyan part of the cartridge (all the colour are in the same cart) about 5-10 times.
2. The ink before my refilling was the 'standard OEM' ink from the cartridge.
3. Do you mean pigment of dye? Or do you mean a brand? This is ink is likely a dye based ink because of the presence of a solvent (It smells bad after printing) It's a brandless ink.
4. I didn't purge because at the time I was new to this 'game'

 

[Grandad35]

Wondering_Mike,

After 5-10 refills, the color should be stabilized, even if the carts weren't purged. Most inks contain glycol, and it does have a distinct smell.

As you are using a generic ink, it's little wonder that you are getting a color cast on your grays. If you are up for a long read on the subject of how and why colors can vary, look at this link:
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2681

If you want to improve your color, you might want to purchase a custom profile, but:
1. Don't expect miracles - a profile can only do so much, and hitting a perfect gray isn't easy.
2. Don't be surprised if your colors shift again when you buy a new batch of ink - it can come from anywhere and can be changed at any time. All inks aren't the same.
3. If your monitor isn't color calibrated, the problem could lie there.

 

[Wondering_Mike]

Hi Grandad35,

its been a couple of days sorry 'bout that.
I haven't been sitting stil and i've bought ink which is meant for Canon printers and the cartridge type i have.

Thanks for the reading material, i'll start reading tomorrow. My plan is to try and get the sponge to take the new ink. Though from what i understand it will take a while.

I'll keep you 'guys' posted om my progress.

Thanks for the help so far

 

[Wondering_Mike]

I've 'purged' the cartridge using distilled water and a couple of tissues. After the cartridge felt empty enough I filled the cartridge with the new ink. My test color page containing magneta/cyan/yellow looked a lot better. I'll start printing my pictures again and see if the gray is gray again.

 

[qwertydude]

Since you're refilling, colors are going to be a little off unless you profile your printer. But considering this is a tri-color cartridge your blacks will never be truly black because they are a composite black. You can mess with the color slider bars til you get a neutral gray but then you may notice other colors then are a little off and you can be chasing a correction that's only a compromise.

 

[Wondering_Mike]

Since you're refilling, colors are going to be a little off unless you profile your printer. But considering this is a tri-color cartridge your blacks will never be truly black because they are a composite black. You can mess with the color slider bars til you get a neutral gray but then you may notice other colors then are a little off and you can be chasing a correction that's only a compromise.

I never had a problem with refilling colors with (cheaper) refill ink until recently when my gray turned greenish. Before then my gray was gray and black was black because I always use the setting that uses both the black and color cart.

Just before I ordered the (better) refill ink I was toying with the color settings and found a combination is which more magenta and yellow was required to produce a better shade of gray, still not 'perfect' though. But then I started using the better (and more expensive) refill ink and things are way better.

Just for the fun of it I made color slide by dripping a drop of the old cheaper magenta ink of a piece of white paper and the new magenta ink on paper. After drying I found out the cheaper ink was more red-magenta than purple-magenta, the latter being the desired result cause magenta is more a shade of purple than a shade of red

I got to admit the Canon OEM color ink is pretty awesome and it hard to find a suitable replacement, having said this I would rather have a slighty lesser result for a lesser price than a perfect result for an high price.

Keep you guys posted on my progress.

 

[qwertydude]

having said this I would rather have a slighty lesser result for a lesser price than a perfect result for an high price.

That's kinda my feeling too. It's why I like stratitec ink. It's significantly cheaper than the factory matched refill colors and it's only a profile away from being perfect. Longevity-wise it's a toss up and from my experience it depends more on the paper whether you get longer print life.

 

[Wondering_Mike]

Just for the fun of it I made color slide by dripping a drop of the old cheaper magenta ink of a piece of white paper and the new magenta ink on paper. After drying I found out the cheaper ink was more red-magenta than purple-magenta, the latter being the desired result cause magenta is more a shade of purple than a shade of red

To give you an idea about what i'm talking about




"A" is the old magenta ink (more red than magenta)
"O" is the new magenta ink (more deep purple than magenta but close enough)
and the last row on the right is a mix of "A":"O": DW (distilled water) 1:1:2 which is a lot more like magenta.