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 | Canon i550 Printhead by aliwat (8/17/05 11:00 AM) reply | +1 + / - | I have a Canon i550 which died all of a sudden with the 7 orange flashes. I have soaked the printhead overnight in hot distilled water but this seems to have had no affect. When I put in the printhead and switch the printer on I immediately get the 7 orange flashes - how can it tell so quickly that there is a problem with the printhead? Could this mean its burnt out? I have tried running the deep cleaning cycle, realining the print head etc but none will work. Do you have to reset the printer in anyway after removing the print head. I fear I will be investing in a new printer......
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 | Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (8/27/05 1:21 PM) reply | + / - | Had the same problem with my I550. Was going to buy a new printer (I4000) since I could get one for about $30 more than the price of a new print head. I like canon printers with the individual ink tanks and have had no problems with the I550 for about three years.
Decided to try moving the paper thickness lever back an forth a number of times since some of the error messages indicated it could not determine the setting of the paper thickness lever. I don't know how the printer determines this switch setting but I thought if some contacts are slightly oxidized that movement might break up some of the oxidation. After operating the lever about a dozen times the printer started working. Hope this will help.
Jim.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (8/31/05 1:08 PM) reply | + / - | Hi Jim
Thanks for your help. Have tried this but unfortunately its madly flashing orange at me! Am really annoyed as like you I'm a big fan of this printer and have had no problems up to now. Next time I'll be getting the extended guarantee!
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by jono_b (10/19/05 11:31 PM) reply | + / - | i've got the same problem. do you know for sure that it the 7orange/green(alternate) flashes means the printhead??
Is there a list of the error codes somewhere?
Thanks
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 | Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Printx (10/20/05 10:53 PM) reply | + / - |
Hi all, try this. It is the reset for the waste ink error (7 flashes)
1) With the printer power OFF, while pressing the Resume button, press the Power button. (Do not release the
power button.)
2) While pressing the Power button, release the Resume button, press the Resume button again twice, and then
release the Resume button and Power button.
3) The green indicator flashes during initialization.
When the indicator stops flashing and remains on, press the Resume button 4 times to clear waste ink message.
(The indicator toggles between orange and green each time the Resume button is pressed.)
4) Next, press the Power button, and the green indicator will light, and the function will be executed.
5) Turn off the printer then back on and error should clear.
Cheers Printx
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by ka0ioj (10/29/05 8:39 AM) reply | + / - | Are there any other conditions which will cause the seven alternate flashes? I've tried the "reseting ink waste" procedure and still have the same seven flashes.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by ka0ioj (10/29/05 8:39 AM) reply | + / - | Are there any other conditions which will cause the seven alternate flashes? I've tried the "reseting ink waste" procedure and still have the same seven flashes.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (6/4/06 3:04 PM) reply | + / - | According to my i550 manual all these posts about 7 flashes indicating the waste tank is full is incorrect and should be deleted. 7 flashes (according to the manual) indicates and I quote "Indicates Defective Print Head". To fix the problem it says "Remove the print head and check the contacts for foreign matter, then reinstall. If the print head fails to work properly after reinstalling it, contact the Customer Care Center."
8 flashes (NOT 7 flashes) indicates the waste ink tank is almost full. I hope this clears up all the previous confusion.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Canon tek (7/10/06 3:23 AM) reply | + / - | Try this it worked for me.
Similar to PrintX s solution in that you have to go into service mode first by ...
1.With printer OFF press and hold resume
2.while holding it down push and hold Power button
3.Release resume whilst still holding down power, the light should be green (not flashing)
4.Push resume once (orange) twice (Green)and a third time (orange)
5.release power button.
6.Then power it off and on again after it's finished making any noises and settled down.
This actualy clears the EEPROM so beware and only do this as a last resort.
This cleared the error for me.
Note: I first ran the head under a hot tap to clear out old ink. (Well I thought i've got nothing to loose). I've now got the best prints i've had for a long time. :)
By the way I am a service tech working for Canon and I am appalled at the unreliability of these print heads and the cost of replacement so if I can help anyone save money I am more than happy to do so.
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 | Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Old Coot (7/12/06 9:28 AM) reply | + / - | Canon tek: Bless you! My elderly and well cared-for i550 suddenly began the 7-flash error code. The dilemma of spending $50+ for a new print head (with no assurance of that fixing things) or two times that for a new printer which would not accept my large supply of i550 ink tanks was frustrating to say the least.
Found this (you) via hours of Googling. Soaked the head in warm water, cleared the EEPROM using your instructions and Bingo! it's working again. Many thanks, intend to name our next-born after you!
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Canon Tek (7/16/06 5:29 AM) reply | + / - | Hi,
I don't have any srvice information on the i950 BUT I do for the i900-905. It might be similar or it might be completely different.
On the i900 7 orange flashes mean "No CDR or DVDR". the solution according to my manual is as follows ......
"After setting a CDR or DVDR in the tray set the tray in the tray feeder, and press the resume button."
This is directly out of the Canon manual, it means nothing to me as I am a Copier engineer and i dont even know what a i950 looks like.
Hope it helps :)
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (7/16/06 8:12 AM) reply | + / - | If you clean the print head with hot distilled water etc, make sure its dry, by putting it in a warm cupboard overnight. I had flashing error lights which went after I dried it out. David
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (7/21/06 3:26 PM) reply | + / - | Canon Tek,
Maybe you can help me out here, I was having trouble with black ink so anyway I change all the ink cartridges, when I do a nozzle check all colors show up not perfect but they are there...
When I do alignment check colom A - has nothing B - Cyan but rough C - magenta is fine D - has nothing E - Cyan is fine D - Black is there with stripes through it all...
Do you have any sugestions? I have tried and tried to align don't know rather to go neg. or pos.
Thanks hope to here from ya, Janet
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Canon Tek (7/25/06 12:11 PM) reply | + / - | Sounds like you've both got blocked inkjet nozzles.This, according to my colleagues, is caused by the use of non Canon ink, but who is going to pay 3 times the price of refilled ones in order to prolong the life of a £50 printer ?
My advice is, if you feel you have nothing to lose, run the head under a slow running hot tap until the water runs clear. Try not to get the electrical parts wet if you can, but make sure the inky bits thoroughly washed out. (The tip about drying it out again might be a good idea but I just stuck mine straight back into the printer.)
Please note though that if jets get blocked they can sometimes overheat and that unfortunately will ruin the head.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (7/27/06 7:07 PM) reply | + / - | CanonTek, I tried running the printhead under hot tap until water ran clear. I then went through the sequence you suggested and still gettting 7 orange 1 green. Any other suggestions before I move on to new printer?
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (8/8/06 4:57 PM) reply | + / - | Tried it all - soak the print head in hot water, run it under hot water, spray hot water all over it!! I also did the service mode EPROM reset thing and didnt do anything at all.. Now I'm up to my last option, and thats to throw it out the window! I'll let you know how it goes..
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by jdgerard (8/22/06 8:42 PM) reply | + / - | All of a sudden my colors are blurry and the yellow is VERY faint. The black seems "almost" perfect. My ink is genuine Canon and the tanks are half full. I've tried all the maintenance (cleaning, deep cleaning, nozzle check, printhead alighnment) and those steps don't help. Does this mean I must replace the printhead? Any suggestions or similar problems out there?
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| Thanks Canontek by Happychap (8/25/06 8:03 AM) reply | + / - | Canontek's solution (wash head, Hld and press buttons) hasjust cured my i550. Thanks. And no trouible to find him - just google "i550 error flash".
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (8/29/06 12:17 PM) reply | + / - | ok my colors are full but nothing is printing except the black...
do i soak the printhead??
(and wat about those electrical contacts on the bottom and side of the printhead that your not supposed to touch??)
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (8/31/06 1:59 PM) reply | + / - | I just spent an hour on the web trying to figure out what new Cannon printer I was going to purchase, since the tech person told me I needed to replace the printhead on my i550. I was searching to see the type of ink my i550 used, to see if my refill bottles can be used on a newer model. (I've been refilling my cartridges for 2 years)
Heck, now I don't need that newer model. :) It works after cleaning the printhead and going into the service mode. Thank you so much. I'm now PRINTING out the instructions with my i550 just in case I should need them again in the future :).
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Jeffrey Eccleston (9/3/06 5:51 AM) reply | + / - | I have this problem with the printer head, the black one, using Jettec cartridges. Nothing appears on a nozzle pattern. But before I start bathing the thing, a few queries.
How do you remove the head? This query before was quickly cancelled, so I assume it's really obvious.
How do you count the flashes? I assume the last one when it stays on is not counted. I get 8 otherwise. My recollection is that it flashes so many time when switched on anyway, so I assume that was, say, 4 or 5, indicating it was in order. I'd not appreciated the significance of the no of flashes until finding this thread.
What are the implications of this loss of the EEPROM? So what do I have to do now I've tried the pressing buttons procedure as given. Do I have to redownload the driver?
If washing, is tap water, esp hard, really ok, or is distilled better?
Thanks.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (9/3/06 11:30 PM) reply | + / - | My I550 stopped printing the yellow ink but there were no blinking lights. I tried Canon Tek solution of rinsing the print head. It did not work but I tried it again an rinsed it longer and now it prints great.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (9/16/06 3:34 PM) reply | + / - | To remove the printhead ...
1. Remove all the ink cartridges.
2. lean the print head towards the front of the printer.
3. Raise the print head out.
Note: the printhead is the device that the ink sits on, not "in". It's the piece with all the foam recepticles.
-Duc
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by wire2 (9/23/06 1:14 PM) reply | + / - | My black stopped working, I removed the 4 cartridges, raised the grey lever and tilted the head towards me and out. Soaked in fairly warm water, 130° F or so,for 5 miutes, rinsed, held in my hand and flung excess water out, replaced in printer. Works like new. Thanks to the contibutors in this forum.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by ksine (9/23/06 6:18 PM) reply | + / - | i have a canon 1550 and it does not print anything. i have replaced the black ink and cleaned the printhead and done the reset. i had the 7 flashing orange alert once after the reset did not get this anymore but still no printing. have done the alignments and nozzle checks and cleanings way too many time. any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (9/23/06 8:15 PM) reply | + / - | thanks canontek just saved me a printer replacement,you must wear your shorts over your pants.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (9/27/06 5:34 PM) reply | + / - | I tried canontek's method but my i550 still keeps flashing 4 orange followed by 4 green. Any other suggestions.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (9/28/06 10:39 AM) reply | + / - | Thank you soooo much Canon tek. I am going to try your advise today. I work at a company and we have several i550 and a couple i850's all with the same problem if this works you saved us tons. I got dubbed to try to figure it out and frankley I am tired of going home every day with ink covered hands. So bottom line is thanks for caring about others enough to share your knowledge.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (9/28/06 10:53 AM) reply | + / - | My little book says that four flashes means ink low. It says you can press the resume button to continue with out ink but not advisable to do for long.
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 | Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Canon Tek (9/29/06 11:36 AM) reply | + / - | Well guys thanks for your coments and adulation but I'm afraid to admit that my i550 has finaly given up the ghost.
It lasted about 4 months after my "fix" but now it's doing the same again and no amout of warm water and button pushing will bring it back to life.
I've looked into the cost of a replacement printhead and into investing in a laser printer instead but what seems like a good deal often isn't when you look at the price of new cartridges.
EG Canon colour laser beam printer £200 ( Hmmm not bad, worth thinking about ) BUT a set of 4 replacement cartridges will cost £50 each.
And I've heard through industry insiders that when you buy a new printer the cartridges are often only half filled.
My advice is what I am going to do tomorrow.......
Buy the cheapest possible bubble jet you can find (I'm looking at a Lexmark Z640 for £30) and when it runs out of ink JUST CHUCK IT AWAY ! and buy a new one.
It really will work out cheaper in the long run because these companies take a loss on the original sale in order to make money on consumables, spares and service.
Good luck all !
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (9/30/06 2:50 PM) reply | + / - | 4 orange flahes mean it's out of ink.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Jo M Knight (10/10/06 1:40 AM) reply | + / - | i tried the printhead clean- with computer turned off as per the original installation instructions. I lost all my print profiles. My problem originally, which is not cured, is that the red ink will hardly come through unless on manual set Maximum 50. The printhead alignment still produces equal sized 10 pink and white stripes the same size in every box +7 to -3. I have done the obvious putting in new cartridges and have never used compatable ink because I lost another printer that way. Strangely a copy of just the default red isn't too feint but if it is in a multi colour picture it is vey obviously lacking .The problem with cheap printers is that they are unreliable picking up paper. I can leave the canon to print 50 and it will get on with it without slipping and overlapping paper. Any help gratefully received.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (10/15/06 3:05 PM) reply | + / - | God Bless You, Canon Tek.
It Worked.
Thank you so much.
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 | Re: Canon ip3000 by mt (10/16/06 9:37 PM) reply | + / - | My printer prints the first half of a page fine, then red goes out. I deep clean and it works for one page, then half good-half green and yellow. HELP!
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (10/19/06 5:47 PM) reply | + / - | I too, was about to give up the ghost and replace my i550. Before I read this exchange, I spent time trying to interpret those hieroglyphics that the print head adjustment produces, printing sheet after sheet each time I set it +1 or -2. This is so much more satisfying.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (10/30/06 7:22 PM) reply | + / - | Awesome, I actually went out and bought another printer...but apparently I didn't have to... I gently ran hot tap water over the ink inlets to rinse out the old ink, then I dried off the printhead with a paper towel. The printer still didn't work... so then I did the clearing of the EEPROM procedure described by Canon Tek and my printer works just fine again...maybe better than before... :)
Thanks a lot Canon Tek :)
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Black Arthur (11/1/06 6:07 PM) reply | + / - | I had an i550 when the print heads failed I went to to dealer to buy a replacement head and was told print heads are not a consumerable item and are built into the printer and have to return the printer to canon to have heads replaced. Crapp you fit the print head in the cradle when you set up the printer. I asked a friend in a computer shop if he could get a replacement head for this printer and he got the same line from canon. So I ditched the i550 went and bought a Lexmark X1170 that was also a scanner and copier for about $70
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (11/5/06 8:54 AM) reply | + / - | S520
7 flashes also,
Thanks, Cleaned head by placing print exit area of print head under flowing hot water until clear. Dabbed with tissue till dry then put back in. Ok now!!!
Thanks, again
Rob
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (11/6/06 6:31 AM) reply | + / - | Hi Canon Teck,
I have currently been experiencing some problems with my colour cartridges. Quite honestly we have been getting these re-filled rather than buying new ones at a fraction of the cost. We took these back to the refill center and there were quite good in trying to get things back to normal and they even did a print head cleaning for us for $5. Right now we are seeing that our green printout has a great deal of magenta. When I printed out the alignment test, I see that the blue printout in column B has no full/clear rectangles. Instead, I noticed that each rectangle has a horizontal, solid top half and the bottom half looks like a comb with clear spacing between each bar/vertical line.
Would you happen to know what is causing this and could you make any suggestions. Also, if you like, I can send you a copy of what the alignment test looks like.
Thanks for whatever help you can give.
Phil
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (11/7/06 1:06 AM) reply | + / - | I have exactly the same thing on my i550
Printhead alignment gives only lines on the pink
this means that all pictures I print have a green hue on then
due to the print head only printing 1/2 of the pink
Have you fixed it? Or have any ideas?
What else did you try to fix it?
I have downloaded the latest drivers and done countless head cleaning.
I was going to try and dip my printhead in a printhead cleaning
solution and if that fails I am going to buy a new printhead
or a new printer, depending on what is cheapest
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (11/11/06 3:23 PM) reply | + / - | Hey, when I use my i550 none of my pages contain any black ink. I have cleaned the print head with warm water, and have done the reset test. I have received no errors from the printer itself. I don't know what else do to do. I was printing just fine the other day. Please help.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by 2shane (11/13/06 4:54 AM) reply | + / - | Something that may be of interest.
Using Isopropyl Alcohol (used for cleaning cassette tape heads) to clean the blocked injets is a very good idea.
The isopropyl alcohol has a much higher degree and speed of wicking (self feeding into very fine crevices and holes) and it has a very good solute effect (taking into solution) on dried up inks.
I few drops placed onto a blocked print head, will usually wick into the print head, resolute the ink and draw the fresh ink in from the tank.
It's harmless to plastics, and it's fast to evaporate.
Also cleaned out cartridges can have a few milliliters of IA put in them, to use as a print head purge.
Regards
Shane
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by 2shane (11/13/06 5:02 AM) reply | + / - | Something that may be of interest.
Using Isopropyl Alcohol (used for cleaning cassette tape heads) to clean the blocked injets is a very good idea.
The isopropyl alcohol has a much higher degree and speed of wicking (self feeding into very fine crevices and holes) and it has a very good solute effect (taking into solution) on dried up inks.
I few drops placed onto a blocked print head, will usually wick into the print head, resolute the ink and draw the fresh ink in from the tank.
It's harmless to plastics, and it's fast to evaporate.
Also cleaned out cartridges can have a few milliliters of IA put in them, to use as a print head purge.
Regards
Shane
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (11/15/06 1:25 PM) reply | + / - | THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, My S750 decided that it printed enough for me and started giving me seven orange flashes, after checking the manual on CD and finding that the print head may be deffective I also ran it under hot water till there was no more sign of ink coming out I dried it for a day or so and installed it back into the printer. After a day or so it again started to work intermittently and then it quit again. That was a week ago and I hadn't been able to get it working again until I came across your very valuable information. I entered the codes as you suggest and I now have a functioning S750.
Thanks again,
George
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| Re: Canon ip3000 & i960 printhead by preacherlady (11/25/06 2:30 PM) reply | + / - | I own a ip3000 and an 1960 canon printer. I love canon printers yet I have to say that after a short time both printers failed to print black. I also owned an earlier model canon printer that I had the same problem with. It has long ago gone to the dump. I may try your tips on cleaning the printhead. What do I have to lose except many ink cartridges. I wish Canon would try somehow to correct this problem.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by anonomous (11/25/06 3:27 PM) reply | + / - | Thank You... This also worked for my i550, of which I've been refilling the original tanks for some 3-4 years now... I've got more than my $99 out of this, and now that my seven orange flashes are gone, I'll continue on. I actually stumbled across this post while checking prices on a replacement print head, which I no longer need. Thanks!
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by avago (12/2/06 10:12 PM) reply | + / - | Hi, Thanks for all the info..I had the dreadedd 7 orange flashes..manual said your printhead is dead..tried the bath treatment and the clear eeprom but no go...cursed canon and most of the other printer manafacturers as well...next day before throwing the printer in the bin I thought one last try..took out the head and cleaned the contacts on th back AND pressed down on the silicone seal where the flat cable joins the chip..put head back and hey presto the printer was up and running again!!!!..so before acting in haste give this a try..love to know if it works for someone else...here's hoping....Bruce from OZ
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead -- my Canon S520 by Anonymous (12/3/06 6:35 PM) reply | + / - | Hi there,
Nice to see everybody here.
I soaked my Canon S520 printhead in windex for couple of days and also run under hot water for a while and after a day dry I put it back.
Result: The black works after some cleaning.
Problems: The color doesn't work right. Only couple of nozzel check lines showed up. Never get all the color back. I used a paper towel check the nozzels, I can see all the color on the paper towel very clear and they seem right to me. It just doesn't work right on the color.
Another old print head:
I found my old S600 print head and did same thing. The black almost all back to normal again. The color came out from the norzzel, but no color at all on the nozzel check test paper.
I doubted if the printer head is not completely dry yet, so the circuit may have shortcut someway. Or is Canon S520 so smart that it is programmed to stopped to work?
Anybody ran into this kind of problem and found a solution? Pls let me know.
By the way, thanks for Canon Tech that I ran into 7 flash orange lights and solved after reading the information Canon Tech offered here.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (12/4/06 11:05 AM) reply | + / - | Hi Shane et al
This sounds like a useful tip!
I have an IP3000 with the following problem - black is fine, but anything I print in colour always has fine horizontal white lines over the entire printed surface.
I have run the cleaning routine, and the deep cleaning routine, several times, and also done print head realignment on several occasions. I have taken the print head out and soaked it in distilled (de-ionised) water for two hours before drying it off and re-seating it. I have checked the ink left in the cartridges.
All to no avail!
I'm going to try the cassette head cleaner fluid as you suggest, but here's my question:
Should I turn the print head upside down and drop the fluid into the metal part of the print head?
Or should I put the drops in the screens with which the cartridges actually make contact?
And how long should I leave the alcohol in there, and should I flush it out somehow?
Cheers!
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (12/6/06 1:37 PM) reply | + / - | When I follow your instruction to go into the support mode I still see blinking 7xorange and 1xgreen. Do you have an explaination?
Many thanks
jme
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (12/9/06 6:21 PM) reply | + / - | I doubt that any printer with 7 orange flash lights after a long time use(mine is over 3 years) will come back. If there is any, pls let me know.
I got my canon s520 work again only on the black color after the soak and dry treatment. But the color seems stopped working even the ink is going very well. And it sound all right, even great. but just not color on the paper at all. :(
Kathy
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Brian H (12/12/06 1:53 PM) reply | + / - | First of all thanks to Canon tec and others who have contributed to this thread. I too had the dreaded seven orange flash error code on my i9100. I tried all the suggestions many times and once got printing for 15 minutes, but then the dreaded lights came back. Somewhere I read that someone put his printhead in the freezer for three days. I thought that was a bit odd but got me thinking about the possibility that my printhead had overheated - its carriage managed to jam on the CIS tubing and resulted in the dreaded seven oranges. If the head had got distorted it was just possible that a low temperature might contract the distortion. I put it in my fridge for a couple of hours and the printer sprang into life for a short while. I took the plunge and put it into the freezer for half an hour – and amazingly its been working for over a week now. It would be interesting if this works for anybody else and what the explanation really is.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by ali g (12/15/06 10:45 AM) reply | + / - | hiya buddy printer tech. hey buds i got 9 orange flashs on my i550 and dont know what is going on. just wondering if you might know what that is. i tried changing the printhead and cleaning it under hot water also i tried re-doing the eaprom thingy that you were talking about still no luck. get back to me asap thx buds plz try to help me out
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Peter B (12/16/06 2:07 AM) reply | + / - | Canon tek you are a saint,
tried your method and it worked
had to do it twice but who cares
tip: I used a hair dryer to dry the print head after rinsing the ink holes clear. Medium heat gentle air
Thanks
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by peterF (12/16/06 6:18 AM) reply | + / - | Hello,
nice to hear I am not alone with my problems. I also have a Canon
i550 which suddenly didn't print anymore. I then disassembled the
printer, cleaned the printhead with distilled water. After
reassembling the printer, I tried to print black only for the
first time, the printer seemed to work but no ink got onto the
paper.
When also trying the other colors using the nozzle test in the
printer settings (Windows ME), the printer made a painful
scratching sound and beeped. This was very unfortunate
because the routine said that the task should never be
interrupted. - But I had no choice, I immediately pulled out the
power cable. I remembered that I had forgotten to install the
little spring on the right edge of the ink-soaking cushion below
the printhead. The current situation is that when connecting
the printer to the power cable, the orange LED is flashing
continuously without blinks. Pressing the power and
resume buttons to get into service mode produced no
results. Also removing and reinstalling the printhead
doesn't help in contrary to past attempts where that worked.
Does anyone know a possibility to get the printer out of
that state to be able to enter service mode and reset the
waste ink counter or flashing the EEPROM?
I would be thankful for any help,
best regards,
Peter.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by peterF (12/17/06 1:25 PM) reply | + / - | Hello,
does anyone know what to do when the LED is not blinking but
flashing orange only all the time (no green inbetween)?
Best regards,
Peter
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (12/29/06 8:39 PM) reply | + / - | Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where I can get a replacement s520 print head for cheap, would you? i just thought you might, as you are a service tech...
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by docklc (1/1/07 10:01 PM) reply | + / - | Well, so far I've tried cleaning the printhead per CanonTek's instructions, without success, then reinstalled my old Lexmark 3200 (had a good black cartridge, but color was out). Then I found a Canon Pixma IP1700 and bought it new (spent about $5 on gasoline), unopened for $35, but also found out--after getting it home--that it has no output tray and uses a tricolor cartridge different from i550. How in God's name--and I'm an atheist--could anyone make a printer without an output tray?
I have had Canon products for many years, esp. cameras, and they have been great and I loved my i550, but the lowest price printhead I could find was $62.50 plus shipping of about $9. Outrageous for a little chunk of plastic and metal with some circuitry. The heads are precision made, of course. Anyone know of a refurbishing facility for them?
My time is, of course, worth a lot more than what I'm putting into this, but I used to work for another printing company named Xerox and am now a retired systems engineer. I am now thinking about soaking the printhead for another day in alcohol/distilled water, then letting it dry for a couple days to see if that works. In the meantime I'm setting up the 1700. What the H--it was only $35.
The big problem may be getting rid of the i550 shell in which all the mechanical parts seem to be working just fine. And, anyone want a used Lexmark 3200? It has always worked just great, though it makes a fair amount of noise and is no speed demon.
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| Canon S750 Printhead & Carts by jqcragin (1/2/07 12:41 PM) reply | + / - | Hi All, I need help on refilling the BCI-3e carts on my Canon S750. My instruction kit is not much help. Do I drill and fill on the liquid tank side at the latch end or drill and fill on the foam/felt side at the discharge nozzle end? I tried drilling on the latch end and ink poured out of the discharge nozzle. I must have opened the air vent or something!
I need ideas to fix my daughters machine that now prints all but black. How about filling the non-black carts with black ink and just don't print any color? Thanks JQC
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by 87vert  (1/2/07 4:23 PM) reply | + / - | On the pixma 1700, I worked for canon technical when they were unvailing the pixma line and that was the first question I had for me. They had no answer. We got a ton of calls on those, people saying that they were missing the tray and wondering why their papers were flying all over the place. $35 isnt too bad for them, I think they retailed for about ~80. They were given away with about every new computer sold for a long time.
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| Re: Canon S750 Printhead & Carts by Anonymous (1/5/07 3:56 PM) reply | + / - | You don't need to drill. On the top of the tank (on liquid side), peel back the label and you will see a little plastic ball bearing plugging a hole. Take a push-pin (the ones for cork boards) and pry the ball out. That is where you fill your ink.
Some refill instructions tell you to fit the syringe tip into this hole and hold the tank upside down (syringe pointing up) and fill the tank. I find this to be really messy because the pressure builds up inside and eventually just starts pouring out.
I just take a syringe and needle. Hold the tank with the label/hole up, and squirt the ink into the hole. To plug it back, I use a small set screw with an allen wrench. Hope this helps.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by minim (1/8/07 3:07 AM) reply | + / - | My Canon i550 has stopped printing magenta and yellow correctly. I tried the warm water treatment and also the EEProm resetting, but even after more deep cleaning cycles the magenta and yellow start to print the nozzle check pattern but soon appear to run out of ink, even though I can see the liquid ink in the cartridges.
Any ideas?
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (1/10/07 4:11 PM) reply | + / - | I had similar issues with my i550. My ink was full, and although my nozzle check patterns printed ok, the print head alignment patterns wouldn't ("C" pattern only printed the top half of each pattern, the "E" pattern wouldn't print at all, and "F" pattern only printed top half).
I first tried soaking the printhead in warm water. That didn't do anything. I tried the Windex soak three or four times. Again no help.
I finally got fed up and just bought a new printer. I would have bought something other than a Canon this time around, but Canon is still the best IMO. HP stinks because of high ink prices and the fact that their printed photos smear like crazy with even a little moisture. Epson, I wasn't impress with their resolution. So I bought myself another Canon (MP960) and it works great!!! What I found really impressive is the automatic duplex printing. That will definately save a lot of paper, especially around tax time!
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (1/11/07 12:40 PM) reply | + / - | I'm having the yellow button flashing 7 times problem...which I understand is the printhead...I'm willing to try to wash the printhead but I'm not sure what part of the printhead I should run under water...is it the 4 spots where the inks flows or the bottom of the printhead when it's standing upright which seems to have some ink on the bottom? I don't want to put the wrong thing under water. Please help...thanks, Jeanie
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (1/13/07 6:42 PM) reply | + / - | I found this to work better than the warm water procedure:
Take a small plate or shallow bowl and put about 1/4 inch of Windex. Place the print head upright into the Windex. Let it soak. While it's soaking, get an eye-dropper (or anything that will let you pick up a drop of Windex) and drop a small drop of Windex onto each of the 4 tank inlets. The Windex will appear to float on top of the inlet for a second then you will see it disappear as it goes thru the print head. Once it's thru, put another drop on each inlet and let it go thru. You can put as many drops as you feel necessary to help push the old ink thru the printhead.
Now repeat this procedure two or three times, changing the Windex each time. Each time you do it, you should notice less and less ink coming out.
After things are cleared out, take the printhead out of the Windex and let it dry - either overnight or use a blow dryer on the low setting to help speed things along.
Reinstall the printhead and ink tanks. If the lights are still blinking yellow, then clear the memory as described above. Once you get a green light, run the Deep Cleaning procedure to help push out any remaining Windex and get the ink flowing again.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (1/15/07 6:09 PM) reply | + / - | Dear Canon Tek.... I don't know how to remove the print head to wash it under water... I couldn't find any instructions in the manual or on the Internet. If you have time for a simple explanation, I would really appreciate it. thanks and have a grea new year.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (1/16/07 10:26 PM) reply | + / - | Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (9/16/06 3:34 PM) reply + / -
To remove the printhead ...
1. Remove all the ink cartridges.
2. lean the print head towards the front of the printer.
3. Raise the print head out.
Note: the printhead is the device that the ink sits on, not "in". It's the piece with all the foam recepticles.
-Duc
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (1/19/07 4:32 AM) reply | + / - | Im using canon IP3000, I got printhead clog and tried to clean the printhead, when I put it back, I got 5x orange and 1x green light and canon status monitor say i got wrong print head.
How to fix this?
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (1/22/07 4:38 PM) reply | + / - | Had the same issues as everyone else, 7 orange lights on the I550. Tried everything, nothing worked. Emailed Canon and to my suprise, this actually corrected the problem.
Good luck,
Please follow these steps for isolating and resetting the printer:
1. Open the printer's front cover, and then open and close the print
head lock lever (do not remove the print head).
2. Make sure all ink tanks are seated properly.
3. Make sure all packing materials have been removed.
4. Make sure no paper is jammed in the printer.
5. Disconnect the printer cable from the printer.
6. Close the front cover and turn the printer off.
7. Unplug the printer from the power source, and then plug it back in
after 30 seconds.
8. Power on the printer.
9. Attempt to print a Nozzle Check pattern by holding down the Resume
button until the Power light flashes twice.
10. If the error returns, the printer will require service.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by kwarr (2/7/07 9:31 AM) reply | + / - | Did anyone find a solution to the comb-shaped pattern?
When I print anything containing blue, there are regular pale streaks. When I print the nozzle check or printhead alignment, the 'B' pattern looks like a comb - the top half of the block is solid but the bottom half is alternating vertical strips of blue and white (here is an attempted illustration but I don't know whether these extended characters will show correctly):
███████
▌▌▌▌▌▌▌
This is not solved by soaking/cleaning.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (2/11/07 4:12 AM) reply | + / - | Recent models have a small chip or eprom incorporated in the head and out of sight which counts all printer actions and finally decides at some point to render the print head inoperable. One has to destroy the head to find the chip. Only the print head designers know how the chip is programmed and there is little if anything that can be done to reset it. It's inbuilt obsolescence, a la the current cartridges of Canon et al.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by kwarr (2/16/07 2:41 AM) reply | + / - | "Recent models have a small chip .. which .. decides at some point to render the print head inoperable."
Can it be as cruel as that?
Have others had the same? If so, presumably the result (the comb-like pattern in the diagnostic printout) would be the same.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (3/3/07 9:50 PM) reply | + / - | hi, my printer is printing and knows when to print, but doesnt print out in ink, even though there is ink in it. any suggestions?
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (3/5/07 7:23 PM) reply | + / - | I've tried both of your ideas to clear the 7 flashing error lights and neither worked, do you have any more ideas that might help...
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| Re: Canon i550 by Anonymous (3/8/07 2:18 PM) reply | + / - | Hello, I am hoping someone can help me. I have a printer canon i550 and I have never had a problem with it up until now. I up loaded something from AOL and now my printer does not work. I have tried printing from my dektop and it prints,But when I need to print a document or an e-mail , it says printing and then it disappears and nothing prints.
Help what else can I try?
Thanks
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by trigger1937 (3/8/07 10:12 PM) reply | + / - | In the service manual for the i550,850,950, there are two kinds of Error code alarms. One is called Troubleshooting List by Error/symptom. Here it says that 7 orange flashes is a "Carriage Error" and that you should repace the Printhead/Carriage/Logic board. But it also says under "adjustments" --- Set the Waste Ink counter to Zero and to then set the destination code.
The second kind of error code is called "Service Call Errors". Here it says that 7 orange flashes is the "Waste Ink Full Error" and asks that all waste ink pads be replaced. It also says to "Clear the EEprom", Set the Waste Ink Counter (It meant to reset the waste ink Counter"), and finally to set the destination code to "2" for domestic. The reason for this is that reseting the EEprom wipes out the desitnation code, so I think that the current driver may not work again, and the "Waste Ink setting" is not reset in the EEProm, when it is reset. There is a special note to this effect in the Manual.
So to all of those who got lucky and got their printer to work,.. lucky you. It appears that there are a lot of things that can happen to give the same effect and somehow give the same 7 orange flashes. It is clear that many people have cleaned there printhead and done the reset and got it to work. Others have just reset the waste ink counter and gotten it to work. Some have taken the printer appart, cleaned the pads, and then did the reset and gotten that to work.
I believe they are all tied together and it all goes back to the ink sensor that is part of the cleaning cycle of the machine. I believe that if the sensor has an error, it can be caused by the following;
1. The printhead is so clogged that when the printer tries the cleaning cycle and can't draw or suck any ink out of the head,.. error
2. If the ink carts have an air leak, ink can't be sucked,.. error.
3. If the ink pads cleaning station is so clogged, it can't suck,.. error.
4. If the waste ink tube is clogged, no suction,.. error.
5. If the ink pump is plugged,..no suction,.. error.
6. If the waste ink pads are full, the ink sensor is on all the time at full,.. error.
7. xxxxxx for all the ones I don't know about.---error.
I think this whole system sucks... If must have been designed by some drunk junior engineer, and has been passed down by other bad engineers from printer to printer for the last 10 years. Why do I know this,... because I have the manuals for printers that span 10 years and they are all basically the same. The Japanese won't spend 5 minutes on designing something new or better if they have something to "COPY".
My conclusion from all of this is that if you and I are one of those that have tried many things and the error is still there,... then there is one of these items that is still clogged, (or broken like the pump, or sensor, etc.) and it won't get fixed till we find it.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by trigger1937 (3/11/07 10:57 PM) reply | + / - | Well this should finish off the last post I made on this subject. I located one additional piece of information from the Canon support site, i 550, Drivers/software, step by step troubleshooting. In there are many links to other kinds of problems. Under "Printer Operation Problems" I found the note, "The printer head holder does not come to the center". This just happens to be one of the "Small details" that I was seeing on my printer, besides the Green+7 orange flashes. This note then gives you several other options to diagnose your problem, and takes you to a page where you then can select, "List of power lamp indications". The next page is a list of all the orange flashes, and 7 flashes mean Prinhead error. If turning it off and on won't clear the problem,... it is said to be a bad printhead. So that is my conclusion.
My last post listed a lot of things that I thought may be wrong with the printer, including the waste ink pad, clogged purge unit, etc. I resolved all of them by taking the printer completely apart and cleaning the ink pads, the purge unit, the purge tubes, etc. Put it all back together and still no change to printhead error. The sad thing is that the Service Manual does not have this error information,.. only the Canon support web site.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (3/13/07 2:30 AM) reply | + / - | Canon Tek...
I own a canon S300 and for the first time got the orange lights (much panicking) - found the forum through google, found your "solution" to a different model and with nothing to lose tried your solution.
Amazing! it worked!
Many thanks - in these "green" times I would have hated to add my s300 to the rubbish dump.
Once again thnaks a bundle
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by efinigan (3/15/07 12:38 PM) reply | + / - | After cleaning the printheads according to this thread, I am no longer able to even print a testpage?
My problem before was that normal printing did not use the color inks.
PRINT HEAD ALIGNMENT: showns only the A, D and F patterns. Does this mean that there is a problem with color printing??
Nozzle Check: Grid, plus A, D and F show a pattern.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by BAB (edited 5/31/07 8:12 AM) reply | + / - | I've been reading all these concerns about the i550 printhead with great concern. First off I should let you all know I am a authorized Canon Tech. so here goes some answers.
the 7 flashes, can happen 2 ways, 7 orange flashes is the print head. 7 alternating orange and green flashes with a long green, is the waste ink. OK, now that that is settled, let me also say to you all who are using refilled cartridges, the refills are a water based ink, not filtered to Canon specs and the silver screen in the print head, is a micro mesh filtering screen. Canon inks are alcohol based ink, highly filtered. I have seen a great many printers come in with burned out print heads due to the water not cooling the print head properly and also the filter screens being plugged up from unfiltered water based refilled cartridges and that too will burn out the print head.
Also resetiing the waste ink counter is not a good idea unless you also can obtain and know how to change the ink absorbing blotters. Otherwise you may endup with a table full of ink and I have seen that too! Canon does warranty the print heads the term of the printer, one year. But best advice is if they are out, replace the print head. I sell the i550 printhead for $54.65, part# QY6-0045-000. Thats is what we charge plus $35 for install and complete check to make sure it is operating properly.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by trigger1937 (3/18/07 10:55 PM) reply | + / - | BAB, Thanks very much for taking the time to set us straight. I would gladly replace my Printhead if there was someway to prove it was really out. So many people have thought there printhead was bad, and have gotten the green-7orange flashes, and then done some sort of cleaning or resetting and managed to get their printer working. Yes just as many never got anything to work, and we are still trying. Is there any test you know of, or any additional symptom to confirm the printhead is dead? One symptom that I have been worried about is when I take the printhead out and power down and then power up, I can get the printer to come to a "Green" ready state,, and from there I can enter service mode. However, the instant I put back the printhead, and close the printhead lever, it starts with the green-7orange flashes. I am also scared to put in a new printhead, just in case there is a bad logic board that may burn out the printhead. Many of us have removed the printhead, cleaned it many times, and we have disassembled the printhead to clean out the clogs in the ceramic nozzle housing. In your expereince, is there a specific thing we do that damages the printhead. Again, I really appreciate your post and hope that you will continue to help us. I'm sure you know that the cost of parts and the labor at an authorized Canon Service center is more expensive than a new printer. If this keeps up it would seem that no one will ever bring you a printer for repair. I'm sure you get a lot of warranty business from Canon, but to make your business grow, you need repeat customers. If you help us maybe we can find a way to help you.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (3/22/07 8:30 AM) reply | + / - | Printx and Canon Tek, many thanks to you both! You've helped so many people, and Im amazed at how a simple solution as that saved them from having to buy a new printer.
I tried your solution, and it fixed the flashing error, but unfortunately the printer doesn't recognize the printhead anymore. Although the flashing stopped, whenever you try to print it says the printhead is not installed ((Its there and I tried removing and putting it back in, but that didnt help any)). Anyone know how this can be fixed?
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by JimY (3/22/07 7:16 PM) reply | + / - | Canon tek: I fixed my i550 using your instructions from 7/10/06 3:23 AM
My i550 did the 7-flash error code. I rinsed the head in hot water, cleared the EEPROM using your instructions and it's working again.
Likewise--my prints are now better than before. yaba-daba-doo!!!
THANK YOU!!!
Jim
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by smolaque (3/27/07 7:27 AM) reply | + / - | Hi, I have a strange problem:/ I plug in my i550 into pc, then i want to print something, but i saw an alert that two cartridges are empty, so I have changed them and now my printer doesn't work. I can't turn it on :/ Please someone help me.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by ibanez (3/27/07 5:15 PM) reply | + / - | You say it was working before you replaced the cartridges? And this happened after you replaced them? If the printer doesn't work, you should always check to see if the driver is properly installed. And it if doesn't turn on, check the cables, make sure they are plugged in correctly and aren't lose.
I know thats not much, but I hope it can be of some help.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by smolaque (3/28/07 10:01 AM) reply | + / - | Hi, Yes it was working before I replaced the catridges. And it happened after I replaced them. I think I install driver properly, but i have done one mistake while i was installing it: ( the printer was all the time plug in and turn on while instaling proces and in the install guide was write that printer should be first off and not connect to PC so this was my mistake:/) I uninstall driver now, and i checked cables and they are alright:/ Any idea?
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| Re: Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by JimY (3/28/07 11:29 AM) reply | + / - | A few days ago, I reported that I repaired my i550.
After a couple print-outs, it stopped working again. It's same problem as before--the light code give 7 orange flashes, which means bad print head.
I tried rinsing out the print head again, but that didn't work this time. I'll just throw out the printer, and get a new one...
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by ibanez (3/28/07 2:10 PM) reply | + / - | See what happens when you plug the power cable into the printer and into an outlet, and turn on the printer...
If it still doesnt turn on, it could be that you disconnected something while replacing the cartridges, bad/damaged cables, defective printer, or a defective outlet (that has happened before!)
@JimY - I'd suggest looking for a canon i550 print head on ebay. I saw one for $12, cheaper than buying a new printer + cartridges!
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by BAB (3/29/07 5:58 AM) reply | + / - | Ok here is what we do in the shop.
Wet the purge unit pad with water or denatured alcohol. Why denatured? becuse regular alcohol you buy at the drug store is rubbing alcohol and contains oil and other additives. Denatured is pure alcohol, but don't dare try to drink it, it has methanol added so its highly poisionous.
So wet the purge unit pad and allow it to run, if the purge unit is working properly it will pull in the alcohol and look dry, alco is will sort of self clean. It will also clean the prin head at the same time. You don't need the inks to be in to run the cleaning test. Now also put a drop of water or alcohol on the inside print screens. If after the test the screens are clean and the purge unit is dry, run a nozzle test. If you get the same results, chances are the print head is bad. If the purge unit is still wet, it needs to be changed. If only Black is not printing, but the print head is clean, change purge unit.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by JimY (3/29/07 7:33 AM) reply | + / - | ibanez & BAB: THANK YOU for the reply posts!
Before throwing out my printer, I'd like to try BAB's fix. However, I don't know what the purge unit pad is. I searched the net for the i550 service manual, but Canon doesn't have it on their site, and others want $20 for it. Is it publicly available?
BTW: I checked ebay for a new printhead. FYI, my search for both "printhead" returned more results than the search for "print head". Currently, there's just one used one out there, for about $35 with shipping...
Thanks again,
Jim
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| Re: Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by W.G.Fuller (3/29/07 9:27 AM) reply | + / - | The purge unit is the rubber seals where the print head parks itself, when done printing, or when the unit is turned off. They are like a couple of rectangular suction cups, which pull ink from the print head. The ink in turn drains down the bottom of the suction cup, and is pumped into the waist ink pad on the bottom of the printer.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (3/30/07 4:34 PM) reply | + / - | open cover loosen up ink cartridges in print head tray lift print head tray arm and back down then secure ink cartridges, close lid.
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| Printing Problems i550 by Anonymous (4/10/07 1:02 AM) reply | + / - | Thanks for all the help. So some more hints from a long user of a i550x (which flashes 7 orange now...):
it is not only the cost of a new printer, it is also the software you get used to over the time and the advantage of installing the i550 driver a few times saving different modes selectable in the printerwindow - versus the time you spend in installing and trying new printer and setup, which may justify the cost of a printhead in the end.
Problems of printing with ink still available can be found in the colortank itself. If you look at it you see two chambers, one supplying the ink (where you refill) and one with fibre. Where the ink gets out there is another fibreseal.
Starting with the fibreseal: it should be unspoiled to get a contact and undisturbed flow of ink.
I found, that an "oversoaking" of the "sponge" above (after a few refills) disturbs the flow of ink. I rinsed it with flowing water till all color went out and then used compressed air to get the water in turn out and kind of "dry" the tank.
After this refilled (not overfilled, less is more) in the usal way - for me that worked.
Note: the printhead can only do his work properly if supplied in a proper way.
(PS: mine is gone now after years of printing, printing black only I filled the other colortanks with water - that helped saving on the cleaning routines, but as I learned here, I should have also used some alcohol to keep it running (even printheads are human)).
tums
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by moe (4/10/07 9:56 AM) reply | + / - | Hold on there! You "learned here" to use alcohol to keep it running? The only uses for alcohol are to clean the electrical contacts and for drinking purposes. As any avid reader of the forum knows, alcohol has absolutely no effect at all on dissolving ink, unless you get the 70% isopropyl. That will dissolve ink because of the 30% water contact. 100% water is a lot more effective on water soluble ink.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by trigger1937 (4/10/07 12:21 PM) reply | + / - | Moe,.. There have been some posts to this thread stating that Canon inks are Alcohol based and not water based. In reading the details of other ink mfgs. they indicate that their inks include both water and alcohol but won't disclose the percentage.
Do you know anything about this. It seems to me that since alcohol evaporates very fast, it the ink were alcohol based, it would evaporate and leave nothing but pigment or dye particles and the viscosity would change rather fast, making it difficult to keep the carts from clogging up. I have use Isopropel alcohol in gas tank for lawn mowers and boat motors to dissolve the condensed water vapor. It is basically the same ingredient used in the "Gas Treatment" you can buy for the same purpose.
I would think if they use any alcohol at all it would be a very small percentage of the total volume.
On the "Alotofthings" web site they have their view on this. I have asked them about this but have not heard back yet.
Hope you can clean this up.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (4/15/07 1:19 PM) reply | + / - | Thanks printx and canon tek I did both of these and the printer started working again.
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| Re: Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by trigger1937 (4/15/07 6:36 PM) reply | + / - | I wish I knew who was "Anonymous" on this last post. I would like some more details on what the error conditions where on your i550 and exactly what you did to fix it. This would help those of us that have tried these fixes and they have not worked.
For example, if you were getting the "7 Orange flashes", where they cyclical, that is were they Green-Orange-G-O-G-O-G-O-G-O-G-O-G-O-Long Green.,... or where they Green-Orange-O-O-O-O-O-O-Long Green. There is a big difference. The first is really the waste ink error and can be reset. The second is reported to be a bad printhead, which can not be reset.
Feedback would help the rest of us.
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (4/23/07 10:41 AM) reply | + / - | I have same problem with my S600.
Partially solved by using driver for pixus IP3100 from canon.
ftp://download.canon.jp/pub/driver/bj/linux/
download :
"bjfilter-common-2.50-3.i386.rpm"
"bjfilter-pixusip3100-2.50-2.i386.rpm"
install the driver :
"rpm -i bjfilter-common-2.50-3.i386.rpm"
"rpm -i --nodeps bjfilter-pixusip3100-2.50-2.i386.rpm"
create a printer : CANONS600, driver Canon Pixus IP3100.
blue is now better, although it's pale.
But marges are now false.
To correct A4 marges, i have edited /etc/cups/ppd/CANONS600.ppd :
change line
*ImageableArea a4: "11.64 14.17 585.64 833.39"
with :
*ImageableArea a4: "16 0 595 824"
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| Re: Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (4/23/07 10:45 AM) reply | + / - | > Did anyone find a solution to the comb-shaped pattern?
>
> When I print anything containing blue, there are regular pale streaks.
> When I print the nozzle check or printhead alignment, the 'B' pattern
> looks like a comb - the top half of the block is solid but the bottom
> half is alternating vertical strips of blue and white (here is an
> attempted illustration but I don't know whether these extended characters
> will show correctly):
>
> ███████
> ▌▌▌▌▌▌▌
>
> This is not solved by soaking/cleaning.
>
> Canon happily tell me to replace the head.
>
> Any suggestions gratefully received.
I have same problem with my S600.
Partially solved by using driver for pixus IP3100 from canon.
ftp://download.canon.jp/pub/driver/bj/linux/
download :
"bjfilter-common-2.50-3.i386.rpm"
"bjfilter-pixusip3100-2.50-2.i386.rpm"
install the driver :
"rpm -i bjfilter-common-2.50-3.i386.rpm"
"rpm -i --nodeps bjfilter-pixusip3100-2.50-2.i386.rpm"
create a printer : CANONS600, driver Canon Pixus IP3100.
blue is now better, although it's pale.
But marges are now false.
To correct A4 marges, i have edited /etc/cups/ppd/CANONS600.ppd :
change line
*ImageableArea a4: "11.64 14.17 585.64 833.39"
with :
*ImageableArea a4: "16 0 595 824"
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (4/25/07 3:59 PM) reply | + / - | I want to thank you sooo much for your suggestion, it worked like a charm. You're a lifesaver!
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (5/6/07 9:03 AM) reply | + / - | Just a note to say thanks. I followed your advice ( including washing print head ) and the dreaded " 7 amber flashes " fault cleared. Printer now working normally...no need to buy new printer.
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| Re: Canon i550 Printhead by efinigan (5/17/07 6:53 AM) reply | + / - | My i550 problem is that it no longer prints any colors except Black. No warning - just stopped printing colors??
No colors at all, even with new full cartridges. Black couldn't be better.
Neither the Print Head Alignment nor the Nozzle Check show any colored patterns under B, C or E.
And I do not get any flashing errors when printing documents (everything comes out Black).
From the Service mode, I've been able to print the Service Test Print and the EEPROM Information Print, but I have no idea of what the numbers and paterns mean?? Should I invest in an i550 Service Manual if I can find one?
Wonder if I should resort to to the Windex treatment of the caps?
I would try to remove the case to inspect the ink waste it I could only locate the "three screws".
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| Re: Re: Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (5/17/07 10:22 AM) reply | + / - | Many thanks for the suggestion to solve the 'comb' pattern by installing the driver for pixus IP3100.
Can you tell me how to do this in Windows XP?
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| Re: Re: Canon i550 Printhead by Anonymous (5/17/07 3:26 PM) reply | + / - | Dear C-Tek,
Are you still checking this posting, nearly a year later?
If so, THANK YOU for the great advice. I had about given up trying to recover the cyan print capability on my well-used and beloved i550. Multiple deep cleanings resulted in short0lived relief before the blue would start to drop out again (right in the middle of a page, no less.)
But a half hour under a stream of hot water and several squirts of Windex seem to have put me back in action. The other color's print socket generated clear water almost immediately -- but that blue just a kept on coming. Clearly the build up had been building for awhile.
One of the great things about the marriage of internet and search |
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