New print head for Canon ipf8400?

[darinb]

I'm getting the hardware error/need new right print head warning. Trying to make sure it is legit before spending $$ to replace it.

I tried turning off and on, unplugging, updating firmware, and running a head clean. No luck. I *do* see a tiny bubble in the red line--it doesn't block the tune as far as I can see. When people talk about air bubbles causing a false warning how big of a bubble are they talking about?

Anything else I should check before buying the new head?

--Darin

[Richard.Wills]

Couple of things. In printer info, what's the age of the head, and mdot count? While you're there, what's the count on the left head?
What does the nozzle check look like, both in regular and service mode? I find it useful to scan the nozzle checks, and then invert in PS, to see what the condition really looks like.
I (and my dealer) tend to accept the 03130031-2F590 as time for a new head (I run on a print plan, so heads are included, ink just costs a touch more).

I've not found tiny (less than 10mm) bubbles to cause problems, normally disappear over the course of a few large prints.

[darinb]

Hey Richard,

I'll run a nozzle check in the morning--very late now.

But meanwhile, here is the info:

HEAD LOT NUMBER/ DATE OF INSTALLATION
  HEAD INFO1   L:E64I19U1a R:E64I19U1a / L:2015/09/11 R:2015/09/11
  HEAD INFO2   L:********  R:E64I19U1a / L:********** R:2015/09/11

They are the original print heads, although it gets light use as I am an individual photographer, not a printing service. Printer is generally left on all the time.

mDot:

L: 295,210
R: 339, 243

I guess the heads are sort of old??

(I was considering selling it for whatever I can get and buying a Epson P900 (I no longer have much need to print bigger than 17x22)...but I'm not sure what to do about the ink--they are all essentially full. Can I remove them without ink spilling everywhere? How do I move the printer without ink spilling?)

--Darin

[Richard.Wills]

I find heads don't get much beyond 300,000 mdots, and six years is good going.
If you're going to replace right head, be prepared for the left head to follow shortly after. Head replacement is quick and easy, though heads (right pondian) are £275 per head, so not entirely painless

I believe you can't tilt the printer beyond 15degrees with ink in the system.  If you do need to do a full move (level2 or 3?), you'll need to drain the subtanks, which'll take a fair amount of the available ink away.

If you've got full ink tanks, that's a lot of printing available to you. If the printer was running well before the replacement warning, then I'd be very tempted to replace the head (s) and keep running it. Cheaper than buying a 900 with its pocket size carts, the canon measures ink in bottles (which are priced on a par with vintage champagne...)

[gchappel]

The ipf8400 is a terrific printer!!
That warning message is real, and expect to change the other head within a couple of months. 
It does take a fair amount of ink as well.
Enjoy the printer
gary

[darinb]

Thanks for all the help.

I see now that the right head is bad and the left isn't far behind--so $900 in replacement costs coming. Which is fine except that, as I mentioned, I don't print large much anymore, etc.

So I just ordered the Epson P900 and will see how that goes. The major bummer here is, of course, all that ink in the ipf8400. Can I remove the ink carts without ink spilling out--do they self-seal? I expect they do but haven't tried it. Perhaps I can sell the ink and get something for it? Maybe someone local to Sabn Francisco will want the printer but the beast is *heavy*!

The fill levels are:   

Printer Info
    Ink Info
      MC: 20%   PC:100%  C:100%  MBK:100%    Y:80%    M:100%  PM:80%
                 R:100%  G:100%    B:100%  PGY:100%  GY:60%   BK:80%

All but one are the larger carts, of course.

Has anyone done this--sold used ink carts--I don't see anything here or on e-bay....

--Dariin

[mearussi]

I've bought two of these and they work fine:
https://www.amazon.com/Generic-1634157-PF-05-Druckkopf-Canon/dp/B0036ZZ2NQ/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=canon+pf-05+printhead&qid=1637720325&qsid=130-3805688-2490417&sr=8-4&sres=B00C7LPXN4%2CB0036ZZ2NQ%2CB0065FNOR0%2CB07RZMVKJB%2CB087JM4QWZ%2CB08V9CJBW4%2CB08PQCLBJ4%2CB08NFVNN66%2CB07JH57DKM%2CB08GFSTYR9%2CB00T23MZWM%2CB0029O0AFA%2CB07K1B4GSJ%2CB015PEV5QS%2CB08YDL9SLC%2CB072XPXVM9&srpt=INKJET_PRINTER_INK

[raminolta]

On Ebay, some are being sold for $300 or so but they come from China. Does it mean they may not be authentic? (I don't know). If you keep watching, eventually, some may show up for less than that.

I had a print head error on my ipf6400 once. It turned out being due to one cartridge running out of ink in the middle of the regular start-up /maintenance process. I replaced the depleted cartridge and the printer was back up with no error message (after going through it s normal cleaning cycle).

[darinb]

O.K. now I'm see-sawing the other way. Thanks for that link, mearussi.

I think I'll order one of those and see what happens. If it's defective I'll know right away and can return it. If it's good I can get the left head in a few months.

So complicated!

--Darin

[Richard.Wills]

Darin, you've got a couple of thousand worth of ink there.
You'll likely need a new maintenance cart, which will be less than $100.
You'll lose some of that ink on a head change, but still have plenty to keep going.
So for less than the price of a new P900, you've got years of effectively free printing.

A proportion of the ink is in the subtanks, which would need to be drained before moving the printer, and I personally wouldn't buy partial used carts.

[darinb]

O.K., an update. The Canon print head arrived from the E-bay source that measrussi provided. Head looks legit, packaging looked like the real thing. So far so good.

But as I go to replace the head the machine now says I need to replace the Maintenance cart and it won't do a head replacement until I do. Funny, I just ran the replace head routine the other day and it let me (pretend to) replace the head, no problem.

It seems odd that I just happened to "cross the line" on the maintenance cart's capacity at exactly the same time I am replacing the head. Will order a new maintenance cart and we will see what happens.

--Darin

[mearussi]

The printer will dump a lot of ink when it changes heads. Try resetting the maintenance cart and see if that helps.

[darinb]

>>The printer will dump a lot of ink when it changes heads. Try resetting the maintenance cart and see if that helps.<<

Hmmm, I did the press Menu/Navigate start-up sequence but I'm not seeing a service menu...do you have a procedure I might try to see if I can reset it?

[UPDATE] O.K., saw my mistake (Load/Navigate+ Power) and got the serve menu up and reset the Maintenance tank. Then I ran a nozzle check using the existing print heads--and it looks...fine? Would a bad right print head show up here or is it failing in some other way?

--Darin

[mearussi]

>>The printer will dump a lot of ink when it changes heads. Try resetting the maintenance cart and see if that helps.<<

Hmmm, I did the press Menu/Navigate start-up sequence but I'm not seeing a service menu...do you have a procedure I might try to see if I can reset it?

[UPDATE] O.K., saw my mistake (Load/Navigate+ Power) and got the serve menu up and reset the Maintenance tank. Then I ran a nozzle check using the existing print heads--and it looks...fine? Would a bad right print head show up here or is it failing in some other way?

--Darin

I've had perfectly good nozzle checks one day and the next day the printer wanted me to change out the head. I suspect there is some kind of timeout circuit built into the head that after so many hours or prints it will automatically force you to replace the head even if there's nothing wrong with it.

[makaphoto]

I've had it happen twice that replacing the heads after I got the message to do so wouldn't help. This was with an IPF 6100 and an IPf 8400. Invested more than $1000 in new print heads and a technician who had a look at them, before I had to dump both. 6100 was 8 years old and 8400 only 6 years. Tech's opinion was not to dig further and lose even more money.

Martin

[darinb]

O.k., I think this is the final update on this.

I resent the waste tank but got the hardware error after the first print. Changed the right print head and I'm on the second day of printing without issues. New head tested correctly without any problems.

Looks like I'll need a left print head soon--the e-bay source makes this somewhat less painful--although I ink prices at B& have gone up quite bit since I last ordered...$279 to 326. Sigh.

--Darin

[mearussi]

O.k., I think this is the final update on this.

I resent the waste tank but got the hardware error after the first print. Changed the right print head and I'm on the second day of printing without issues. New head tested correctly without any problems.

Looks like I'll need a left print head soon--the e-bay source makes this somewhat less painful--although I ink prices at B& have gone up quite bit since I last ordered...$279 to 326. Sigh.

--Darin

You have a ipf8400, an old printer. Why are you buying new ink when there's a lot of outdated ink available for it on eBay? In my ipf6400 and ipf8300 I have run nothing but outdated ink bought on eBay (at around 1/4-1/2 the new price) for years without any problems.