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Author Topic: Canon iPF6100 blue ink comes out as gray - service call=$900 or iPF6400 = $1900?  (Read 972 times)

tyurek

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I have a 5 year old iPF6100 which has worked fine with light use. I had to replace the L print head a few years back and the R print head last March. I have to admit that I've been using this printer sparingly - sometimes going a few months without printing. I always kept the printer ON though. When I was printing a 24x36 print with a large dark blue sky the other day, the blue color shifted to a greenish cyan with some banding along the direction of print head movement during the transition. Nozzle check showed the blue pattern from the R-print head was completely missing. Head cleaning - A recovered the pattern (although with some imperfections) but the color of the patterns is grayish green instead of the correct purple. The blue ink tank is about 60% full. Some online searching revealed that this could be a problem with the purging mechanism where the head is sucking in waste ink. But the printer is giving no errors so not sure what the problem is. I called Canon support and they immediately told me that it must be a hardware issue, it's not a print head issue and that Canon service would fix the problem with a flat fee of $900 (which would include a new R-head and any parts that need replacing). At this point I'm debating whether to go this route or spend $1900 instead to get a brand new iPF6400. I'm not a professional and either will hurt the budget, but I'd like to do the smarter thing.

I know that I should print more often since these machines are built for that but I was thinking that this would only result in more often print head replacement due to nozzle clogging, not a hardware issue. Either way, I'm bummed. Don't know if I can try anything on my own to fix the unknown problem. Maybe head cleaning - B and reinstalling the R-head?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2014, 05:20:39 pm by tyurek »
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darlingm

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I likely would be happy about doing an unplanned upgrade, but for such a close cost difference, I'd go the iPF6400 route.  A new warranty is quite valuable, considering that if it needs a second service call (for a different issue) you'll have paid just about as much.  You'd also pick up all the improvements the iPF6400 has over the iPF6100 (which I'm not too familiar with, being an Epson person.)
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Mike • Westland Printworks
Fine Art Printing • Amazing Artwork Reproduction • Photography
http://www.westlandprintworks.com • (734) 255-9761

tyurek

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A bit of good news. Head cleaning - B seems to have solved the problem, at least for the time being. The nozzle check pattern still shows a few imperfections in the blue ink section but the color is now purple (as it should be). I'm getting correctly colored skies once again. I will make it a habit to at least print the nozzle check pattern once or twice a week when I'm not using the printer.
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