Re: Canon woes continue - funny though that I'm experiencing identical issues on two different models

This link describes how the Think Tank system works.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/canon_ip8500_pg2.html
If you have an empty tank of any color (yellow would be best) install it in
place of whatever color you want to reset. If the light sensors are working
properly, you should get a low ink warning. Reinstalling the original tank
will reset the status monitor to full for that color. Also, look at the
'Start Status Monitor' box on the maintenance tab of the driver. Be sure
that 'Enable Status Monitor' is checked and the option to display low ink
warning is selected. If all that seems in order, check the print head
carrier to see if there is anything blocking the light source which would
result in it never being able to sense an out of ink condition. Replacing
the print head (nozzles) wouldn't accomplish anything. The light sensors are
not part of that assembly.
--
Ron

"Miss Perspicacia Tick" <test@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:rhEQe.6346$NB.582@xxxxxxxxxxx
>I have two Canon units (i9950 and iP8500) both are experiencing identical
>issues, which really makes me wonder (am I correct in thinking that the
>basic driver for both models is identical?). I have two boxes here - one
>running Windows XP, the other OS X Tiger and the issues are happening on
>both systems which makes me wonder if Canon actually know how to write a
>decent driver.
>
> I first noticed this about 10 days ago when the print quality on my Pixma
> declined. I opened 'er up and saw that the black tank was completely
> drained, but I'd received no warning from either the status monitor or the
> printer itself. I had a quick shufty at the ink levels in the status
> monitor and it was showing that the black was still roughly half full
> (even though it was obvious to anyone looking at the tank itself it was
> completely empty). I popped in a replacement, but the printer didn't go
> through a charge cycle, so I ran a cleaning cycle in the hope that it
> might update the status - it didn't. I then compared the other SM levels
> with the actual amount of ink remaining in the other tanks - and noticed
> that it was misreporting every single colour (and it's indiscriminate
> about how it reports - e.g. it's informing me that the red and green are
> practically full when, in reality, they're both two-thirds empty, it's
> telling me that the yellow is nearly gone when, in fact, there's more than
> half a tank left).
>
> I then, just for the sheer hell of it, decided to do a manual head
> alignment. This is where I noticed the next problem - each bar in the 'K'
> column (I believe that's the bi-directional one) is equally flawed - i.e.
> I cannot select the best one because there isn't a best one!
>
> I spoke to Canon (and got put through to India - literally!) and,
> obviously, had real problems making myself understood (I think they're
> just trained to tell people to reinstall the driver and that's the sum
> total of their English). I was then called back by a tier two rep who
> spoke English but was just about as clueless as the tier one droid. He
> wants me to return the printer, at my expense, for them to have sitting on
> a shelf somewhere for 10 working days (I don't trust these repair centres
> as far as I can spit at 'em).
>
> Just for laughs, I switched on the i9950, which hasn't had much use since
> I bought the Pixma. It was furnished with a new set of OEMs not so long
> ago and all are practically full. I checked out its status monitor and
> it's telling me that each tank has 25% left - obviously erroneous. I then
> performed a manual alignment and it's having identical alignment issues as
> the Pixma, but not with column K; this is column E (photo cyan).
>
> Both units are using OEM tanks. The Pixma is less than three months old.
>
> Could someone tell me how the SM obtains its information from the printer?
> Would I be correct in thinking that the little white pads under each tank
> contain a sensor and that sends info to the driver? If that is the case,
> would replacing the print head and reinstalling the driver help matters? I
> bought a printhead (I believe that both units use an identical head) on
> eBay (brand new, still sealed in its foil) for 99p because I was the only
> interested party and there was no reserve.
>
> Could anyone tell me how best to troubleshoot? Please don't tell me to go
> back to Canon - I couldn't stand another 90 minutes on hold only to be put
> through to some Indian who cannot string a coherent sentence together).
>
> Both units are hooked up via high speed USB connections.
>
> Any ideas or do I have to write off two (otherwise) perfectly working
> units? The Pixma is my office printer and is in constant daily use.
>
> Cheers m'dears!
>


.

Quantcast