Author Topic: My Canon IP5000 inkjet is dead :( What now? (Read 16124 times)

Ampa · « **on:** November 22, 2010, 04:57 PM »

After a beautiful relationship spanning 5 years, with no warning, my Canon IP5000 has given up the ghost.

I turned on the power today and was greeted with an ominous pattern of flashing LEDs. After searching out the service manual I discovered that "5 Orange flashes" means "Error with printhead".

So I removed the printhead, reinstalled it, re-removed it, cleaned it, re-reinstalled it, re-re-removed it, stripped it down and re-cleaned it, re-re-reinstalled it - and still no joy.

Now I've spent several hours looking for someone selling Canon spares who will sell me a replacement, but the part is discontinued, and nobody has any stock left.

Why do I mourn the passing of this particular printer so much? Well, it is a good quality product, which has functioned faultlessly throughout its life, but more than that, it was the last printer that Canon made which used chip-free ink cartridges.

So, what now?

I am pretty much broke so can't afford to splash out, and am loathed to replace it with a cheap inferior product, especially any machine that will lock me into using chipped cartridges.

Can anyone suggest a good retailer / manufacturer / product that is worthy of investigation?

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #1 on:** November 22, 2010, 05:26 PM »

Assuming I can remember...I'll check (with the service techs) at the office tomorrow to see if we have a source (or fix) for the part.

tomos · « **Reply #2 on:** November 23, 2010, 08:12 AM »

I probably cant help much but FWIW I'll tell my experience with Canon.
I've had canon printers a good few years now, and loved the prints, but I but havent had as much luck as you have in term of lifespan.
Things go wrong and I hear that *possibly* a new printhead, which costs half the printer price, *might* fix the problem. At that stage I've usually bought a new printer.
I've decided to get an Epson next, from what I have heard, they keep going for years - the older ones tended to get clogged but they actually work again if you clean out the printhead. You see some fairly old Epson printers on sale on Ebay. Obviously I'd need to research a bit more to decide what exactly.

I've found this forum to be very helpful re inkjet printers
http://www.nifty-stu....com/forum/index.php

mouser · « **Reply #3 on:** November 23, 2010, 08:20 AM »

i had an hp before i had my canon pixma, and i don't think ill ever go back, canon has been a joy to use.
5 years is a long life for an inkjet, especially given costs of inks vs cost of machine. if it were me, unless it is an expensive wide format printer i'd just dump it and get a new one.

cranioscopical · « **Reply #4 on:** November 23, 2010, 08:43 AM »

i had an hp before i had my canon pixma, and i don't think ill ever go back, canon has been a joy to use.
5 years is a long life for an inkjet, especially given costs of inks vs cost of machine. if it were me, unless it is an expensive wide format printer i'd just dump it and get a new one.
-mouser (November 23, 2010, 08:20 AM)

Not quite on topic but here's a cautionary tale…

I've used Canon all-in-one machines for grunt work for some years now and been extremely pleased with them.
Being of a miserly bent, I regularly cursed the cost of printer ink.
I read all the cautions about using cheap ink.
Recently, as a trial, I bought and used one set of non-Canon 'bargain' ink.
Need new print head.

Nobody's fault but my own

tomos · « **Reply #5 on:** November 23, 2010, 09:10 AM »

I use replacement inks for my canon printer - but I only use good quality ones (that have been tested/reviewed) - not the really cheap ones (the really cheap ones have no chip - and trying to add the chip from the old cartridge to a new chipless one is a royal PIA plus that you dont get notification of ink running low).

I dont believe that using replacement ink is why I've had some problems but I cant prove it either way at this stage.

I wonder are there any inkjets these days that dont use "chipped" cartridges?
I know kodak introduced a printer within the last year or two where the idea was to keep the manufacturer-ink costs low. I believe HP also have inkjet printers now that have much cheaper ink costs (I think they had a bad rep before).

It would be good to try find a comparative review that includes ink/printing costs if running costs are to be considered as well...

Ampa · « **Reply #6 on:** November 23, 2010, 07:06 PM »

Well it may be pure coincidence, but the last batch of inks I bought were real cheapies of eBay. One of the blacks was burst, another didn't release any ink, until I picked a glob of glue out of the breather hole (at which point it emptied the entire contents in one go!), the other colours all seemed to work as well as any other inks... until the printhead error.

All that said, I used inks from PoundLand for a period until they stopped selling them, and never had any issue with those!

Anyone know a site that lists chipped and non-chipped printers?

Ampa · « **Reply #7 on:** November 23, 2010, 07:18 PM »

Having made that last post I thought I'd just try turning it off and on one more time - just in case it magically fixed itself... and... and... <gasp>

And no... it didn't.

Now it doesn't come on at all!

<sigh>

Now I find myself missing the flashing sequence of error lights

app103 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 24, 2010, 12:50 AM »

i had an hp before i had my canon pixma, and i don't think ill ever go back, canon has been a joy to use.
5 years is a long life for an inkjet, especially given costs of inks vs cost of machine. if it were me, unless it is an expensive wide format printer i'd just dump it and get a new one.
-mouser (November 23, 2010, 08:20 AM)

Once upon a time I had an HP that I loved and I cried when it died.

The replacement was also an HP and I'll never own another one again. In order to clean it, you have to buy a $20 single use contraption direct from HP and this one needed it right out of the box, which HP would not send me for free. Without it, it either eats the whole stack of paper or won't auto-feed the paper at all. You have to feed the paper in manually, one sheet at a time. (oh, what an acrobatic act that is, to hit print and then run to the printer to feed the paper in)

I believe HP also have inkjet printers now that have much cheaper ink costs (I think they had a bad rep before).
-tomos (November 23, 2010, 09:10 AM)

My first HP printer had the expensive jumbo ink cartridges that lasted over a year and gave you tons of prints (I think my daughter printed out everything she viewed on the internet when we first got it). The HP from hell had the cheaper ones...they are much smaller capacity, don't last much more than a month, and they are prone to "drying out". (put one in, don't print anything for a few weeks, and you get the out of ink notification)

IMHO, the much more expensive ones were a much better deal. The printers they make now days are disposable...toss it when it runs out of ink and buy yourself a new printer instead of replacement ink cartridges. They cost about the same any way.

Oh, and if anyone in the US needs an older HP ink cartridge, I still have one to give away.

40hz · « **Reply #9 on:** November 24, 2010, 07:28 AM »

IMHO, the much more expensive ones were a much better deal. The printers they make now days are disposable...toss it when it runs out of ink and buy yourself a new printer instead of replacement ink cartridges. They cost about the same any way.
-app103 (November 24, 2010, 12:50 AM)

+1

My sister's marvellous Laserjet 4MV (nicknamed Seurat after the pointillist artist) finally went "paws up" last Saturday. It had seen heavy use in her design business since she bought it back in 1994. And in all that time it required no maintenance other than one fuser replacement at the ten year mark! Other than that, all that was needed was an occasional light cleaning and new toner cartridge. I doubt we'll see its like again.

Ditto for inexpensive inkjets. The last three times we went out to get color cartridges for my GF's cheapie desk printer, we came home with a new printer and saved a few bucks in the process. So much for being green, right?

Apparently this was happening a lot because I've noticed most consumer inkjets now ship with what are euphemistically called "starter" cartridges - as in 30 color and 100 B&W pages before replacement becomes necessary.

"So it goes." as one Wiseman so aptly put it. $:-\$

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #10 on:** November 24, 2010, 09:42 AM »

+1 for Canon printers (certainly over HP).

HP software/drivers is truly awful - it can take up to an hour to install. If you need to update the software it can take an hour to uninstall the old stuff and install the new and you'll probably have to download 50-90% of a CD of software too. (Installing a new version over the old works occasionally but isn't good if/when you need to remove the lot). Numerous problems with software breaking and having to be reinstalled - generally massive software bloat.

I have an ip5000 too and it eventually died. Have you tried cleaning the printhead yourself manually? Buy a bottle of isobutyl alcohol and soak the printing parts of the head for a few hour. Tap the head on the side of your sink to shake out any ink residue - then wash with clean alcohol. Give it a good shake outside and see if you can get the printer to run a cleaning cycle.

I have fixed a number of print heads doing this.

The big disadvantage of Canon printers is that you have to use Canon ink (I have seen so many clogged print heads as a result of using non original ink). The plus point is that it is generally considerably cheaper than the rivals because the ink cartridges contain little or no electronics.

FWIW I am now using a Canon XM850 all in one (including fax, sheet feed printing and CD printing) and it is fantastic. I think it has been discontinued but there is an MX860 (I think) that replaced it. If you don't need fax or CD printing try the Pixma MP560 - fantastic, good quality, wireless all-in-one printer.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #11 on:** November 24, 2010, 12:01 PM »

HP software/drivers is truly awful - it can take up to an hour to install. If you need to update the software it can take an hour to uninstall the old stuff and install the new and you'll probably have to download 50-90% of a CD of software too. (Installing a new version over the old works occasionally but isn't good if/when you need to remove the lot). Numerous problems with software breaking and having to be reinstalled - generally massive software bloat.
-Carol Haynes (November 24, 2010, 09:42 AM)

What?!? You have actually seen an HP software update complete successfully without BSODing the machine?!? - Say it isn't so! - I work for an HP ASP and have never seen that happen. Something (granted it may be quite small) is (almost apparently) always destroyed.

But seriously, HP did finally start making the bloated garbage optional. So there is an option (that you have to hunt for) to just install the printer driver (which really only needs to be updated if you are having a problem with the device).

I have an ip5000 too and it eventually died. Have you tried cleaning the printhead yourself manually? Buy a bottle of isobutyl alcohol and soak the printing parts of the head for a few hour. Tap the head on the side of your sink to shake out any ink residue - then wash with clean alcohol. Give it a good shake outside and see if you can get the printer to run a cleaning cycle.

I have fixed a number of print heads doing this.

This is the same (fix) option the service department suggested (they can't get the head either). However they did suggested soaking/cleaning it with plain water because it's cheaper, safer, and right there (seriously the tech was pointing at the sink when he said it).

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #12 on:** November 24, 2010, 01:54 PM »

Isobutyl alcohol or isopropanol are much better solvents for ink than water. They evaporate completely and quickly. It's also pretty cheap - in the UK I buy it by the litre from Amazon!

Try this in the US: http://www.amazon.co...PROPYL/dp/B001B5JT8C

I tried water and ended up flushing it with alcohol simply because it was a beggar to get the water completely out with the any ink residue - some always remained and then the ink dried out again.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #13 on:** November 24, 2010, 02:17 PM »

...And that tracks with my logic too *Shrug* But the techs do (tons of these things) this for a living, so I gotta defer to them.

If you've ever had to do a cleaning station service/repair - which is a huge mess if the customer has (most do...) tipped the printer spilling ink every where inside the printer (I've done a few...) - Plain water works perfectly for the cleanup.

Frequently just setting the print head on a folded wet paper towel (for an hour or so) will wick out the offending dried ink.

4wd · « **Reply #14 on:** November 24, 2010, 05:42 PM »

Methylated Spirits is generally cheaper and easier to get, (any DIY, garage shop, hardware, etc), and can work just as well.

With respect to Isopropyl Alcohol that is, not water

cranioscopical · « **Reply #15 on:** November 24, 2010, 06:03 PM »

FWIW I am now using a Canon XM850 all in one (including fax, sheet feed printing and CD printing) and it is fantastic. I think it has been discontinued but there is an MX860 (I think) that replaced it. If you don't need fax or CD printing try the Pixma MP560 - fantastic, good quality, wireless all-in-one printer.
-Carol Haynes (November 24, 2010, 09:42 AM)

Really, printing on CD?
I have an MX850 and neither it nor the 860 prints on CDs (here, in Canada)

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #16 on:** November 25, 2010, 03:13 AM »

Blame the Hollywood mafia - in the UK/Europe lots of Canon printers are shipped with CD trays but I believe in North America most models have had CD printing removed as a feature to placate the movie and music industries who claim that printing a CD will cause: rapid global climate change, the end of the world by video piracy causing tsunamis, death to thousands as terrorist bombs go off everywhere, massive outbreaks of piracy of the Baja peninsular (and around Manhattan), a world war and strikes from extraterrestrials who want to pirate I Love Lucy DVDs to Andromeda etc.

Do I exaggerate - not a lot judging by some of the ridiculous copyright notices we get bombarded with on DVDs!

cranioscopical · « **Reply #17 on:** November 25, 2010, 06:48 AM »

Do I exaggerate - not a lot judging by some of the ridiculous copyright notices we get bombarded with on DVDs!
-Carol Haynes (November 25, 2010, 03:13 AM)

Thanks.
The only half-decent, CD-printing wireless all in one I've seen here recently is from Epson (Artisan 8xx). I'm leery of Epson, having had two, quite expensive models start flinging ink around like 19th-century schoolboys on a rampage.

40hz · « **Reply #18 on:** November 25, 2010, 08:48 AM »

+1 w/cranioscopical regarding Epson. They are the hardware embodiment of "the little girl, with the little curl, right in the middle of her forehead" AFAIC.

I have sooooooo wanted to like Epson printers. So much that I purchased two (and spec'ed a few for clients) over the years.

All started out working great. All turned into 'bad dates' a little while later. Usually shortly after they reached "out of warranty" status.

All the reviews I read sing Epson's praises so maybe I'm just unlucky.

But I don't think so...

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #19 on:** November 25, 2010, 06:42 PM »

You could always import an EU machine if CD printing is important - not sure whether they are universal voltage or not though. I'd guess they are likely to be since sealing up the CD tray slot and not including a tray and the software is a trivial modification whereas a whole different power system ... who knows though.

Trouble with importing is the additional cost of import taxes - plus the inflated prices we suffer on this side of the pond.

cranioscopical · « **Reply #20 on:** November 25, 2010, 06:53 PM »

Trouble with importing is the additional cost of import taxes - plus the inflated prices we suffer on this side of the pond.
-Carol Haynes (November 25, 2010, 06:42 PM)

Yeah, shipping costs as well: it's just not worth it.