Has Anyone Ever Succeeded In Cleaning A Print Head?

[DaveM]

I have a Canon F60 all-in-one machine which has served me well for at least five years. Yes, it's a bit of a "classic", but ink has always been cheap and it's been the least "fussy" printer I have ever owned.

About a month ago, however, I started having problems with the black output--blank bands in printouts at regularly-spaced intervals. Running the head cleaning and "head refreshing" routines improved it a bit, but only a bit. As best as I can tell, the print head is the trouble and if I can't clear it, a new machine is in order, since Canon stopped selling replacement print heads last December.

As it is, the thing prints well enough to do black text reasonably well, so if I can, I'd like to squeak by with it for a while. I have a lot of ink on hand, and do not look forward to buying a new printer and having to pay $30 for ink cartridges when the ones for this machine cost a fraction of that. So....has anyone ever tried unclogging a print head with any kind of success? I'm wondering if alcohol or something of the sort would do the trick. At the same time I hesitate to attempt anything that might be destructive, since the printer is still "sort of" usable.

Any thoughts, anyone? I know, I know, I should break down and get a new printer, but this old clunker has worked so well for so long....

[Mary6906]

Does that printer have a nozzle cleaning option? If it does, I assume you've tried it and no luck? Don't some refill kits come with some kind of cleaning solution maybe? I don't know...

I use a Cannon S900 but it has a nozzle cleaning feature and so far it's worked for me.

[DaveM]

There are cleaning solutions available--some quite inexpensive. I have a sneaking suspicion they are small bottles of alcohol, but....might be worth trying.

Yes, I have run the "head cleaning" and "head refreshing" (I believe a "deeper" cleaning) options several times. Things improved a bit but not completely.

[paularoid]

Any thoughts, anyone? I know, I know, I should break down and get a new printer, but this old clunker has worked so well for so long....
Entering the simple term "how to clean your printhead" into the Google search engine here (http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+clean+your+printhead&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a):

http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+clean+your+printhead&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

reveals just about anything and everything you'd ever want (or not) about how to do it. Google is your friend! :p



.

[DaveM]

I've been through several searches, Paul. Strange thing is that everyone seems to have their own pet solution. Some suggest cleaning with isopropyl alcohol, others with Windex/ammonia, and others with hot water. I suppose I can try them all....just want to avoid reaching the "test to destruction" phase for as long as possible. If I can at least avoid making anything worse....

[RedjackRyan]

We had an addressing unit at work that used ink cartridges, every so often we'd just swipe over the head with a damp lint free cloth. Likely the print head is impacted with tiny bits of paper dust.. you may try just holding a wet paper towel against the head and let the towel wick a bit of the ink and gunk out slowly.

You may also want to try gently removing the print head and cleaning the contacts behind it.

Outside of that, there are a few places you can get replacement print heads fairly cheap.

[DaveM]

Hah! Now I can blame it on Redjack! But I'll try it....

Unfortunately, Canon, stopped selling new print heads for my machine 3 1/2 months ago, otherwise this wouldn't be much of a problem. I used to go through at least one printer per year, but this one is built like a tank and has outlasted at least five predecessors....I really hate the idea of giving it up simply because I can't imagine getting the same results from anything currently on the market.

Not that long ago the State of Minnesota was selling tested HP laser printers on its surplus sale for $20 and sealed toner cartridges for $5 apiece. At those prices it would be a bargain if they lasted through one cartridge! No color at that price, alas.

[Oak Kitten]

When all else fails, hit it with a hammer. That's my motto.

Oak

[DaveM]

I am attempting the isopropyl alcohol route and it seems to be making a difference. Certainly makes the apartment smell interesting too. It's very strange....for the most part it prints just fine, but every 1 3/8" there's a faint spot in the black output leading to about half a line of 12 point type being very faint. I am coming to believe that printers are very much like cats.

Mind, I do not advocate taking a hammer to a cat--or a printer. Unless of course if all else fails in the case of the latter. In the case of the former, you just smile and wait for a mood change.

[David_Gardiner]

I had a quick Google to see if any UK or European supplier might happen to have old stock of discontinued Canon printheads. The answer seems to be no. The situation is complicated by the fact that Canon have also manufactured a thing called the Multipass F60, one of those all-in-one scanner/printers, which I think is entirely different. The only thing I came across that might be of interest (and it's USA-based) is a fixed-price repair service for printheads that lists the F60: http://www.printerheadrepair.com/Canon/f60.html

Good luck!

David.

[DaveM]

David--that's what mine is, a Multipass F60. Forgot to mention that earlier, and I really appreciate the legwork.

This is turning into quite an adventure, isn't it? And so far, not one mention of food.

[David_Gardiner]

It is the Multipass! That changes things. There was an earlier model just called the F60, which is the one I thought you were talking about. The printhead for the F60 Multipass is still available from several suppliers in the UK, although it isn't cheap. The cheapest supplier seems to be the first one:

http://www.versor.co.uk/products.asp?product=X78X4306

http://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/QY6-0041-000.html?mv_pc=gacanisk&gclid=CPX9ks-PiKECFYJi4wodABoHNQ

http://www.systeminsight.co.uk/acatalog/Canon_QY6_0041.html

http://www.thesuppliesshop.co.uk/catasp/pdetl.asp?fldStockID=13415

[RedjackRyan]

And just for completeness. Cajun rubbed Rib Eye Steaks.


There, now theres food in the topic as well as blame for Redjack. Life is complete

[DaveM]

Thanks, you two....now I can rest.

Shooting a few drops of alcohol into the "well" that the cartridge plugs into seems to have cleared about half of the problem so far. Will give it another try, and with any luck....