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Topic: Ink Jet Printer Woes |
Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 11 Jan 2003 1:40 pm |
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I have a Canon multi-function ink jet printer I don't use very often but now it won't print.  I cleaned the print heads and all contacts I could see with alcohol on a Q-tip. Then the printer said it was out of black ink. I installed a brand new black cartridge but still got the same message. I powered the printer off and on and got rid of the message, but when I tried to print a page I just got a blank sheet. 
This seems to be quite common as the same thing happened to my girlfriend. She solved it by buying a new printer, but now her new one is doing the same thing. Any ideas of what's going on or a better way to clean things out?  |
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Gary Dunn
From:
near Camel City, NC
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Posted 11 Jan 2003 2:07 pm
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Jim,
I use to have a Cannon Ink Jet also but, now I have a laser printer(Brother MFC 9600) and have not had a problem. Besides, I get about 6000 pages to a cartridge.
Look into a Laser, you will not regret it.
Gary
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Joey Ace
From:
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 11 Jan 2003 2:36 pm
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I strongly agree with the Laser Printer being better. I have a HP.
(I had a Cannon Ink Jet years ago.)
It might seem expensive at first, but you'll save so much on ink cartridges that's is actually cheaper.
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Roy Thomson
From:
Wolfville, Nova Scotia,Canada
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Posted 11 Jan 2003 4:20 pm
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Jim,
I had the same exact problem as you a few months ago and took it in for repairs.
The unit that houses the black and color cartridges had to be replaced. There is a small digital board on the side of it that had worn out and the signal to print was not
being communicated.
It was expensive to replace the part. Were I to do it again I would have bought a new printer.
In any event the new part solved my problem.
------------------
http://www.clictab.com/royt/tabmenu.htm
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Steve Frost
From:
Scarborough,Maine
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Posted 15 Jan 2003 3:00 am
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| Jim- I had the same problem with my canon printer. I finally fixed it by taking the ink tanks out of the cartridge,and putting a drop of water on the "Pads" that transfer the ink to theprint head. I don't know the correct terminology, but they are little wells in the bottom of the cartidge ontop of the print head. In short time I had ink flowing again. I don't know if yours is set tp the same way, but it might be worth a shot.BTW, mines a BJC-2100. |
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Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 15 Jan 2003 6:29 am
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Thanks Steve. Someone else mentioned soaking the cartridge in warm water for a while and your tip sounds good too. However, since I can't even get a brand new ink tank to print, my guess now is that the problem is in the cartridge itself.
I've tried these tips from the Canon website but they didn't work either. I did the Nozzle Check, then I tried the Head Cleaning five times, followed by another Nozzle Check, still nothing. I repeated both tests and still nothing. If I don't get it fixed soon, I'll be looking for a laser printer too. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 16 Jan 2003 4:34 pm
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Ink jet printers (especially Canon) don't like to sit too long unused. With no "flow" of ink occasionally, the print-head capillary feeders sometimes dry out, and it takes quite a while of fooling with them to make them work well again. Here's some tips to keep the thing working...
1. Print a page every day or two, this will keep the ink flowing through the head.
2. Replace empty cartridges immediately! Nothing causes the feeders to clog faster than their drying out.
3. Resist the temptation to use "bargain" cartridges. They sometimes don't fit as well, and they will hasten the clogging process if they don't.
If the cartridges are full, Jim, and they fit properly (a nice "snap" when you install them), chances are the thing might fix itself if you just let it sit for a week or so. If not, there are some good deals on Canon printers now. I just bought an i550 for just over $100...brand new at a discount house (Best-Buy). It's a discontinud model, but it's much faster and better than my old 515 (which lasted about 5 years).
I use and prefer Canon printers because they have seperate cartridges for each color |
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Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2003 7:21 pm
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Thanks Donny, but even a brand new black ink tank won't print. What I call the cartridge is what the ink tanks snap into. That's what I'm thinking of soaking in warm water, when/if I ever get the time.
My Canon is a MultiPass C530, that will print, scan, copy, and fax. It has one cartridge for black and another for the colors. It does not have a separate cartridge for each color. |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 17 Jan 2003 2:55 am
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I use two printers with our PC's The HP laser is the obvious choice for B+W high quality but I also use an HP 932 C which is pretty good in the color quality.
First..I would check the Cannon website for any new drivers or downloads..or messages concerning your printer. A few printers doing the same thing leads me to believe that it's more than a local issue. Remember these days..new in the box does not mean good in the box..it means new in the box..two different things...And I doubt that you and your girlfriend are the only two on the planet with this problem. Remember, when you hit the print command..all sorts of stuff is going on to actually send info to the printer..buss issues, memory issues, driver issues..resource issues..It looks like it's click and print but that really is not the case...
Concerning the sitting around thing..I sometimes go 3 or 4 months without using the 932 and there has never been an issue related to ink or ink paths..
My feeling about these inkjets is that they are so cheap now they are just about disposable.. A #78 Ink Cartridge costs $30, you can buy a whole new printer now for about $100..
Now I have had to reload the printer driver and software once or twice due to the famous " It don't work no more and know one knows why" and that has always brought it back. Maybe thats what is required here....It wouldn't hurt...
Just a little extra note here on the HP 932...if you care to read it...
The only issue I have ever had with this HP 932 is that the bundled Installation software set is corrupt..and all one needs to do is go to the HP website and it is perfectly clear that they are selling a product that really will only work correctly if you download an all new software installtion set and install it with new instructions.If you install it with the included bundled software it will use up about 50% of your available memory resources evertime you use it..It makes me really wonder about those folks who buy these things and bring them home and think that everything is working fine ...HP recommends a USB corporate install..whatever the heck that means..but the instructions and downloads were clear ..and it worked.. after two or three try's.
My brother has a Cannon Ink Jet of sorts and when he first got it he hooked it up and it worked..sort of..he complained that it was supposed to print 4 pages per minute..it prints 1 page in 4 minutes...Now that is a driver/software issue but he was lucky to actually use the right cable to connect it..so he is living with it. I offered to check it out but he declined.
I took my first 932 back to best buy thinking a newer model would have upgraded software...I told them the problem and of course the "KIDS" told me I installed it wrong, I let several of them tell me this for about 10 minutes and then..what do ya make of this .. I handed them the HP error report from the website with the error detailed and new instructions. They all walked away from me like I was from another planet...
I should never have showed them the picture of me playing Steel Guitar ..What was I thinking ?
tp
[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 17 January 2003 at 03:07 AM.] [This message was edited by Tony Prior on 17 January 2003 at 03:13 AM.] |
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Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 17 Jan 2003 6:05 am
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| It's worked fine for over a year so it's not a driver issue. The printhead moves and the paper advances, it just prints a blank page. The Nozzle Check is supposed to print a pattern of black and colors, but it also prints a blank page. |
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Mark Ardito
From:
Chicago, IL, USA
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Posted 17 Jan 2003 7:02 am
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With the price of Ink Jet printers so low, it is hard to justify a repair on them. Unless you are truely in love with the model printer you have, the best thing to do is pitch it and buy a new one. But, before you buy a new Ink Jet, please take a look at some laser printers. They have really come down in price over the past couple of months and they produce some terrific images.
Mark
------------------
Sho~Bud Pro I, Fender D-8 (C6&E13) http://www.darkmagneto.com
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Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 17 Jan 2003 7:30 am
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| When I get a new one, it will be a laser printer. However, I'd like to figure this issue out, as this is the second inkjet I've had that has decided to quit printing within two years of ownership. Although they are admittedly cheap, I can't believe that with reasonable care and maintenance, inkjet printers won't last any longer. |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 17 Jan 2003 12:20 pm
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Jim, The reason I mentioned the driver issue is that you mentioned that your girlfriend had the same error with two printers. PC's can and are as you know not the most reliable things on the planet..things can change ..and they do. A little gliche here and there..something gets downloaded from the internet..many times vendors or manufacturers make changes to drivers or add patches which are intended to resolve known issues. I know the company I work for does..we make changes to our software products based on feedback from customers often.
I'm not saying that this is the problem, but getting the latest driver and doing a new install eliminates two possible unknowns..and it's free....
It's just a thought.
Good luck
TP |
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Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 17 Jan 2003 12:37 pm
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| I've never heard of a driver issue causing the print head to move and the paper to feed, but not print anything on the paper, have you? The last time I checked Canon's website, they still don't have an updated driver for Windows 2000, and tell you to use the one that came with the OS. |
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Steve Frost
From:
Scarborough,Maine
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Posted 17 Jan 2003 2:32 pm
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Jim-my situation sounds identical. Twice I concluded I needed a new cartidge, so I had the choice of paying $50 for a new cartridge, or buy a new printer with the same cartridge for ...$50. I thought I was pretty clever until that one dried out a year or so later. So I bought another one. When history repeated itself yet again, I said , No Way- i refuse to own 4 printers!!! So I the tried the water in the cartidge well.And it worked.  So don't do anything hasty.  |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 18 Jan 2003 12:12 pm
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Jim.. I am not saying it is a corrupt driver..or corrupt software .
What I am saying is don't take it for granted that it is not .
Why would a driver cause this ? Don't know..Why would several printers act the same way ? Certainly the ink cartridge is a common link and should be considered the primary suspect.
Why does a perfectly good working PC lockup for no unknown reason ? Don't know that either but can speculate..
yes..My HP 932C at initial install mechanically moved the printhead and advanced the paper..but no printing. It did turn out to be the install set was corrupt and required a download from HP to actually get the dang thing working correctly. They have actually posted an entire download set with upgrades and revisions for this 932C printer..pretty scarry...but after all is said and done it does work well with nice quality.
I have been involved in technical repair of mechanical/electronic, PC software controlled systems for many years and have seen many strange things. The one thing that I have come to understand is that sometimes it's the simplist things that cause the biggest headaches.
It's not gospel..checking the website like you did is a just a starting point.
More than likely you have already done a re-install so you can rule that out.
I don't have the answers to these types of issues but I do have a starting point and a method to my madness...Rule out the easy simple stuff first..
I fully agree that the printer should last many years, especially for folks who don't use them much...
tp |
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Sheri Salomone
From:
Deadwood, California, USA
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Posted 24 Jan 2003 12:38 pm
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| I have a cannon printer also, and I kept having problems with it also,until I finally figured out that the little circuit board on the side was the problem. So I drilled a hole through the clip that holds it into place, and pulled the little plastic tape off the top of a new cartdridge and popped it in. Now when it says the ink is getting low, I can refill it without ever having to remove the cartdridge! |
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Jim Smith
From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
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Posted 24 Jan 2003 1:01 pm
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Sheri, it sounds like your ink tank and cartridge setup is different from mine. My printer is a multi-function C530 and ink tanks are BCI-21 color and black.
I reinstalled the drivers, no luck. I soaked the cartridge in warm water until the pads were clean and no more ink came out, still no luck. I bought an old C5000 that uses the same tanks and cartridge and tried those in my printer, no luck. I'll try my cartridge in the C5000 next.
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