Inkjet printer print head cleaning advice

[swee'pea99]

I suspect it might be dead, but I thought I'd post and see if anyone had any ideas.

I have a Canon large format (A3+) photo printer, which has gone wrong. One of the six nozzles isn't nozzling. I've tried the print head cleaning routines built into the machine (it has three, of rising levels of grunt), but without success. The manual says that if even routine C doesn't work, you need to replace the print head.

Now this print head (along with the machine) is in reality virtually new. This printer is meant for graphic design studios and the like, and should be quite capable of turning out literally hundreds of thousands of prints before going bad. This one's probably done no more than a few hundred. I suspect that what's happened is old ink has clogged it somehow.

Might there be a case for physical intervention? Like removing the print head and swooshing it round in distilled water, or isopropyl alcohol? (In which case, which would you recommend?) Or any other thoughts much appreciated.

Hope you can help. It really goes against the grain to send such a fine machine to landfill for such a tiny fault. (Oh, incidentally, Canon won't help. I've tried. But they don't support this machine any more, and neither does their appointed service agent.)

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Back in my IT days I remember talking to a Hardware engineer about such things. He stated that isopropyl alcohol was a "kill or cure" method. It is certainly work better than distilled water though. Best of luck.

 

[swee'pea99]

Well, I tried it, but it's neither killed nor cured! It's made naff all difference. I suspect the blockage may be somewhere in the tubing that links the ink tanks and the print head (which are about a foot apart), but I'm at a loss to think how I might be able to clear any such blockage. *sigh*. Any further suggestions more than welcome...

 

[ian turner]

I work for an industrial inkjet company.
I write software
But I'll ask the ink mixer. Can't guarantee a useful answer mind.
Did you use official inks or compatible stuff? The latter can be more prone to blocking heads if you don't pick the right one.

 

[swee'pea99]

Thanks. I used official inks, but like I say, I suspect they may have been a bit elderly. It's an old/obsolete printer and the inks haven't been made for a while, so any you get are likely to be long in the tooth. But thanks - I'll await the words of the ink mixer!

 

[ian turner]

He says meths or an ultrasonic bath. Though no guarantee on that and reckons the isopropyl should have worked.

 

[swee'pea99]

Thanks. Yes indeed. I think the problem is that I was cleaning the wrong thing. Like I say, I suspect the blockage isn't in the print head but in the tubing between the cartridge and the head. How I'm going to get the isopropyl into that I don't know, but I think that's what I need to do.

 

[classic33]

Can you access the tubes at either end?

Remove both ends if your able, don't attempt to pull the tube through. If you're able get a small syringe(5ml) from a local chemist, explaing what you need it for. Its not that small & some are not keen on selling them now. Failing that get a cheap ink refill kit & use the syring supplied with that.

You will require either highly absorbant material or a small container to catch the liquid on exiting the other end. Repeat the above process until the liquid runs clear.

Point to note. You say the tubes are about a foot in length. You've not had the cover off the machine at any stage have you?

Canon Service Agent
www.electroversal.com
Tel: +44 (0)1582 582023

Possibly not the cheapest way, but worth asking