Is my Canon Pro 1000 done?

[pkkelly]

Hello All,

I'm getting an "error code B208-unplug printer and call service center" on my Pro 1000. Is it going to be worth fixing?

[Simon J.A. Simpson]

The error code doesn't reveal much.

The answer to your question would depend on the following:

• what is wrong with the printer and is it repairable ?
• how much would such a repair cost (in comparison to buying a new printer) ?
• how long have you had the printer ?
• how many prints has it made ?

The last two points are to assess how near the end of its life it is.  You would also need to know how easy it would be to get repaired in your locality.

I hope this helps.

[pkkelly]

Thanks, Simon, for your quick reply. I've had the printer for 7 years with what I call moderate use. I can't tell how many prints because I can't get past the error message. A new printhead is $400-500 and paying a tech to interpret the error code will be what, another $100-150? A new one from Canon tight now is $1250 and of course you get $600 worth of ink. One reason I give when I recommend Canon printers is that the user can replace the head. That's not working for me in this case.

[Simon J.A. Simpson]

Well, if it's any comfort, I've had a PRO-1000 for about two years and quite a bit of trouble.  It's printed around "800 pages" and been through three ink sets.  Currently it is not printing either the Photo Black nor Chroma Optimizer channels despite a new ink set and a lot of head cleaning.  I'm waiting for an engineer's visit.

Last year it had failed to take-up the paper for a 1.2m panorama and had sprayed ink all over the vacuum platen for half of the length of the print before I realised what it was doing.  An engineer came out and spent the best part of two hours cleaning the ink out of the platen and replacing the foam ink absorber strip which was literally dripping with ink !

However, this printer suffered a serious mishap during delivery from Canon and was dropped by the shipping company (UPS) resulting in the expanded polystyrene packing disintegrating.  There may be a connection between this and my problems  .

However Canon UK/Europe have been pretty good, offering me an ink set and maintenance cartridges at half price in compensation.  And they have been willing to send engineers to fix the problems fairly quickly.

My only worry is whether the printer will hold-up for as long as yours !

If it is definitely the head that is your problem it is very easy to replace yourself and Canon give step-by-step instructions both in the manual and from the printer screen (a menu selected option).  My previous experience with Canon printers that it is worthwhile replacing the head.  One Canon office printer I had had a new head and waste ink collection tray before I had to give it away, still working, because the software was no longer compatible with my new Mac.  It had done 37,000 pages.

And, finally, the PRO-1000 does make the most beautiful prints.  I love it (when it's working !)

[pkkelly]

Hi Simon,

Yours are the worst problems I've heard about with this printer. Three of my shooting friends have one & I'm the first to have trouble. I do print quite a bit more than they do though. I've been recommending it to anyone who asks because the print quality is untouchable and Epson, after leading the industry for a number of years, has stumbled on reliability. The Pro 1000 is a bit of an ink hog though. That's how it keeps the head from clogging.
I understand Canon is coming out with a new line of large format photo printers. Maybe this one will get discounted. Meantime I've fired up my Epson 3880 to step up to the plate for awhile.