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Author Topic: iPF5000 ink tank problem  (Read 18640 times)

iggam

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« on: December 07, 2006, 01:24:16 pm »

My Canon iPF5000 had a problem of which I have not read in the forum or elsewhere, so I thought it could be useful to share my experience.

About 2 months after installation the printer started to warn me that the magenta ink tank was missing (of course it was not). I pushed it out and re-inserted it; this low-fi technique worked for about 5 or 6 times. Then, the magenta ink indicator suddenly dropped down, and I started to receive a warning about the fact that magenta ink level was quite low, although it was certainly as full as the other tanks. After some more prints the reported magenta level was so low that the printer refused to do an automatic cleaning cycle (and to print, too).
I called Canon Italia support service. They sent a technician and he installed a new magenta tank (130ml full) at no cost. It took 14 (fourteen) days  .
After this I also heard from another iPF5000 user that he  had a similar problem, but on the green ink tank.

If anyone else had this problem...

Ciao,
Stefano
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Stefano Maggi, Italy
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John Hollenberg

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #1 on: December 07, 2006, 02:35:20 pm »

Sounds like there was something wrong with the chip on the ink tank, or perhaps a physical problem with how the tank mounted?  I am surprised they sent a technician rather than just mail you a new ink cartridge and ask you to send the (presumably defective) one back in a pre-paid shipping box.  Pretty expensive to send a tech out to replace an ink tank :-)

No problems since the new ink tank was installed, I assume?

--John
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iggam

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2006, 03:01:56 pm »

Quote
No problems since the new ink tank was installed, I assume?
No, but only one day (and one print) has passed since the replacement.
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John Hollenberg

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2006, 03:13:44 pm »

I will add your experience to the Wiki FAQ, since at least one other person had a similar problem.  Might save someone else the hassle of a service call if they can convince Canon to just send a replacement tank.

--John
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serf

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2006, 09:20:29 pm »

Similar experience with the original magenta tank; bought new one before it got extreme & (knock on wood) no problems since with the new one.

Quote
I will add your experience to the Wiki FAQ, since at least one other person had a similar problem.  Might save someone else the hassle of a service call if they can convince Canon to just send a replacement tank.

--John
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TS-500

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #5 on: December 19, 2006, 07:17:07 am »

Same here with Magenta after one month.
But in Germany they told me that the replacement parts like ink tanks are not under warranty. So I had to buy a new one.
I send the old one to Canon and they tested the tank. It was a failure at the chip. They they send me a new tank. I asked if the can send an other colour because I have already bought Magenta because of the failure. That was not possible.
Now I have Magenta more than I need.
Not really a good service I think.

Thomas
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Martin Phillips

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2006, 07:32:31 am »

We had the same problem with a newish yellow tank 2 months ago. The distributor shipped a new tank the next day with no charge. No problems with 2 further sets since. One tank flashed up on the 8000 a couple of weeks ago, but a reset solved that.

Martin

Quote
Same here with Magenta after one month.
But in Germany they told me that the replacement parts like ink tanks are not under warranty. So I had to buy a new one.
I send the old one to Canon and they tested the tank. It was a failure at the chip. They they send me a new tank. I asked if the can send an other colour because I have already bought Magenta because of the failure. That was not possible.
Now I have Magenta more than I need.
Not really a good service I think.

Thomas
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« Last Edit: December 19, 2006, 07:38:12 am by Martin Phillips »
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jonreid

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2006, 02:06:30 pm »

I just had the cartridge missing yesterday with Grey.  I reseated it and the error went away.

The other interesting thing is that the usage of Grey is almost twice that of any other colour (I do more colour than B&W).  Is that normal ??
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holmherzer

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2006, 07:00:20 pm »

My PM cartridge reads 100%. This is the start-up cart, all the others read 60%. Canon says its most likely the chip and if I send it in they will check it and if bad they will replace it. That's helpful.
    I did have the chips go bad on two carts on my 4000. I had to send them back to Epson and they replaced them.

David
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John Hollenberg

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2006, 07:05:26 pm »

Quote
My PM cartridge reads 100%. This is the start-up cart, all the others read 60%. Canon says its most likely the chip and if I send it in they will check it and if bad they will replace it. That's helpful.
    I did have the chips go bad on two carts on my 4000. I had to send them back to Epson and they replaced them.

David
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I would hope they would take your credit card number, send you a replacement  cartridge and then wait to decide whether to charge you after they examined the returned cartridge.  Otherwise, you have to buy an extra cartridge while they take their time to examine it, or not print for a while.

--John
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David White

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #10 on: December 19, 2006, 07:39:21 pm »

I had a similiar problem with the starter magenta cartridge.  It stayed at 80% for a long time but I ignored it since the others were going down fairly evenly.  When it finally did run down the indicator did change.  I haven't had any problems with the regular cartridges.  I wonder if they had a bad batch of chips that were installed on the starters.
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David White

TwiceDaily

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #11 on: December 20, 2006, 07:14:59 am »

My 1st cart has just supposedly run out. It is, as someone else has mentioned, the Grey. Strange thing is I took it out and can still feel (if you know what I mean) ink slopping about inside.

Do you think this is a chip failure or just normal? Has anyone else that has replaced empty carts felt like they still contained some ink or have they felt and sounded completely empty.

Thanks in advance
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Gary Damaskos

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #12 on: December 20, 2006, 11:12:49 am »

I have replaced 5 so far and so far each has felt utterly empty, little weight and no sloshing sound.
Gary

Quote
My 1st cart has just supposedly run out. It is, as someone else has mentioned, the Grey. Strange thing is I took it out and can still feel (if you know what I mean) ink slopping about inside.

Do you think this is a chip failure or just normal? Has anyone else that has replaced empty carts felt like they still contained some ink or have they felt and sounded completely empty.

Thanks in advance
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=91564\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
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cariarer

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2006, 04:47:05 am »

I actually had the opposite today. My PM ink showed 80% all the time. I didn't bother much, as other cardridges were similar. Yesterday, all of a sudden, the printer told me to replace the card very soon. It instantly went from 80% to 20%. I took the card out and it felt, very, very light. The problem is, I have to do prints for customers (before Christmas) and local shops don't have the ink. I ordered some yesterday evening and it should be there tomorrow. It will be very, very tight. Usually, I order when the ink goes to 20%.

Till now I only replaced one cardridge and it was really empty )

Regards, Marco...
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John Hollenberg

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #14 on: December 21, 2006, 10:25:12 am »

These ink level problems have been frequently reported for the Canon Starter inks, to the point that it appears there was a defective batch of chips or some other systemic problem. Haven't seen any reports of problems with the 130 ml cartridges.  

Canon should step up to the plate here and take care of these problems promptly.  Reports to date have indicated that the cartridge has to be sent in and tested by Canon before being replaced.  Meanwhile, the user has to go buy inks with their own $$$ and then ends up with an EXTRA cartridge when Canon replaces it.  

One user reported requesting a different color than the defective starter cartridge (since they had already gone out and purchased a replacement at their own expense), but Canon refused.  Very poor compared to the support by Epson Pro Graphics.

This topic has now been added to the Wiki FAQ:

http://www.canonipf5000.wikispaces.com

(including the inadequate response by Canon on this issue thus far)

--John
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CRDubeau

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #15 on: December 23, 2006, 12:18:11 pm »

Just thought I would add to the general discussion about this issue.  Had the same thing with my yellow tank about a week into the use.  My issue seemed to be that the printer no longer recognized a cartridge was installed in that position.  After checking it and feeling it to be as full as the other starter cartridge, I clicked and played with the menu.  I some how got to a  menu option I was asked if I wanted to keep printing and had to agree to some legal warning about using non Canon ink.  The yellow now displays as “?” in the LCD indicator.  The printer does make me check every 50 or so prints (7.5 x 10) if there is still ink.  I have now finished some 350 pages of printing and have time to deal with this issue.  Sounds like a call to Canon is warranted since I no longer can track the ink level in that cartridge and from the discussion sounds like there is no way to get it back.  The only thing I am nervous about is running the cart dry and getting air in the line.  My question would be how long I should keep going with this situation.  I just have a few cartridges starting to drop to 40%.

The only other issue over all that printing is the tray (bottom one) not feeding the paper reliably.  I was using Moab Kayenta matt paper when this occurred.

Carl
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CRDubeau

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #16 on: December 28, 2006, 09:53:33 am »

I thought I would add Canon Canada’s at (1-800-OK-Canon) response to the ink tank issue.  I was told there is no warranty on consumables.  Just go out and buy and new one.  The only other suggestions was clean the contacts (didn’t work) and try removing and replacing the print head (I refused to try that one unless he provided me with a new set of inks).  There was no supervisor available I was told. Discussion ended at an impasse, I just told him I would be returning the printer since it had only been a few weeks.  Five minutes later someone phones me back and says that although they have never heard of this problem and there is no warranty on consumables they would exchange the yellow ink on this occasion.  One is being sent out Puralator and a prepaid envelope to return the defective one.  Overall not impressed with the customer service hope it gets better.  A side note the big 1-800 number for support that came with the printer did not work for me, automated message from a mailbox service saying box did not exist.

Carl
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John Hollenberg

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #17 on: December 28, 2006, 10:56:33 am »

Carl,

I have added your (very negative) experience to the Troubleshooting section of the FAQ.  We need to publicize this so that the message gets back to Canon that the failure of these chips, reported by multiple people is indeed THEIR problem, not ours.  I can't believe a company like Canon would risk their reputation (and future sales) with this kind of nonsense.

I have added a strong warning about the defective starter ink cartridges to the front page of the Wiki due to its importance to potential purchasers.

--John
« Last Edit: December 28, 2006, 11:19:50 am by John Hollenberg »
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jonreid

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #18 on: December 28, 2006, 09:37:17 pm »

I can report it is not just the starter carts that have the problem.  I have had a full Grey cart that kept showing as not detected.  I could reseat it and the problem would go away for a short while.  After a while I gave up and put in a new cart.

I dropped the faulty cart into Canon and they are replacing it.
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Ron Woolhether

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iPF5000 ink tank problem
« Reply #19 on: December 30, 2006, 03:25:58 pm »

I can add another instance of a starter cartridge problem to this list - mine occurred on the PM cartridge 20 days after initial printer installation. Due to a very busy December, I had only run about 10 test prints through the machine, and have had the printer in auto sleep mode.

The first "ink tank empty" error was resolved by reinstalling the cartridge in it's bay. The second error occurred the following day, and reinstalling the cartridge did not solve the problem, so I went through a similar menu navigation as Carl, agreeing to a legal warning about turning off ink monitoring to the tank. The PM cartridge now displays as a ? on the LCD indicator and in the GARO status monitor, but printing appears to work fine.

I tried to find a way to reset the monitoring of the ink tank, but apparently this will only occur when I replace the tank with a new one. Unplugging the machine for a time period of 30 minutes didn't resolve the issue (I didn't think it would, but thought it may be worth a try). Neither did gently swabbing the contacts on the tank.

I am wondering if this problem has occurred on machines that have been left in sleep mode or turned off, or both. Just trying to narrow it down and see if maybe the printer's auto sleep mode may be contributing to the apparent cart chip failure in any way.

-Ron
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