Printer troubles

[Skybird]

I use a Canon iP5200. so far I did love it. Exellent picture quality, perfect design, worked reliabl, always.

And all of a sudden it does not print yellow ink anymore.

It has 5 cartridges, photo-black, text-black, yellow, cyan, magenta.

I started the cleaning and printing of test patterns. I started intense cleaning. I replaced the yellow cartridge, although full, with a new one. Removed all cartridges, unlocked the printhead and got it out, cleaning it with dust-free tissue. I deinstalled and reinstalled.

Yellow does not get printed anymore.

Ideas, any? Is the printhead dead?

(The list of breakdowns since early winter: a digital camera (in autmun), and since x-mas a table lamp, a TV, a receiver, a PC monitor, a graphics board, a harddrive, and now this. I leave out three repairs of my bike in six weeks. I have started to lose my humour :down:).

[Reece]

Gee your having some luck lately, shame it's all bad!!:damn: Inkjet printers certainly don't like sitting without use for long periods or the ink dries out and clogs, probably what has happened, I'm not familiar with your model but what I have done & worked on some is to use an electrical contact cleaner (pressure pack) and using the nozzel firmly pushed against the jets, and spray, be aware that this is a last resort, I don't want to give you a bum steer that may result in turning your printer into a boat anchor!!:oops::yep:
Saying this your model might have the jets built into the ink cartridge throwing this theory out the door since it's new, you may notice on the cartridge a small contact circuit, you could give the contacts on the printer a clean with the spray, been awhile since I've worked on any.:) Hope this helps.

[Skybird]

Contact cleaner - I'll try that on the printhead. It is a separate unit, not built into the cartridges. The printer is also not new, but again: not old. 2 Years or so. I could roder a new printhead, but that costs as much as the whole device costed, completely. Where is the sense in that?

It seems there are 3rd party heads available, like there are also 3rd party links and cartridges. I hope that maybe just some of that in was bad. I really like that printer, it is so very clever in ergonomic design, and prints extremely good quality, fast and not loud.

The more technical progress we get, the less enduring the items of this progress are. - Is that really progress? At school age, I used an old typewriter, by Olympia. It was produced before the war, in the mid-30s. It still is fully functional. And the crystal radio of my father - also build before the war - still fully functional, only the headphone got replaced.

Most modern producers and marketing specialists could take lessons from these old things.

[Skybird]

Sh##. Cleaned the printhead with isopropyl alcohol, showered the last ink out with destilled water, then put it into isopropyl alcohol again for over 3 hours. Tested it - no yellow ink goes through. Even more, the other colours now produce white lines in print mode. So it's worse than before (not your fault, Reece). There are third party printheads available, for around 40 euros. Does anyone know if these are recommendable? I would like to keep the printer, if the financial aspect falls into place. I have no nerve to just walk pout and again seek out technical devices - I have done it repeatedly in past weeks, I have a bit enough of it.

[Reece]

It is starting to sound like the print head unit, the electric yellow ink pump must be stuffed, I doubt the electronics would be the cause more likely mechanical, try looking for a workable second hand printer (same model), might get one cheap & atleast you'd have spare parts, better than buying a new head and finding out it was some other fault!!:doh:
PS. Sorry the cleanup didn't work!

[AVGWarhawk]

My experience with printers such as yours and HP here at my office, it is done. These printers were great until one piece goes wrong and the manufacturer tells you to go get a new one. No need to trouble shoot. HP is particularly horrible with customer support and trouble shooting. Heck, about 4 weeks ago one HP decided not to detect the printer cartridge as installed. Darn thing is about 1 year old. HP said, sorry, no fixing that one:down: Off to buy another planned obsolete printer:shifty: I suspect the part that makes the yellow ink feed to the paper is broken.

[Skybird]

Well, the new printhead should arrive tomorrow. the good thing of this printer ip5200 is that it is an easy mechanical construction, and the printhead being attached in a self-guiding way. If using alternative solutions for ink, you can save a lot of money also. I have ordered 2 times a collection of 20 cartridges for 20 and for 25 euros including shipping, that is 45 euros for 40 cartridges. A single Canon cartridge costs 13-16 euros. I have saved around 450-500 euros that way. Compared to that, 50 euros for a new printhead can be forgiven, even more if it is so extremely easy to attach.

The ip5200 and comparable printers, I heared in printer forums, is one of the most demanded second hand models on the printing market. While I bought mine new for 70 or 80 euros, I now have seen second hand prices reaching almost 300 euros.

I know why I hate to give mine up. ;)