Canon MG7760 only printing blank pages

[sshipway]

I have a Canon MG7760 printer/scanner which has worked well for years.

Yesterday, my daughter was printing successfully, and then it stopped working.  It makes all the expected noises, moves the head back and forth etc, but the pages all come out blank.

* I have checked the ink levels are all good (they are)

* I have printed test pages form the printer control panel (still come out blank)

* I have reinstalled the Windows print drivers

* I have reseated all the print cartridges, no difference

* I have run the cleaning and deep-cleaning from the control panel, but still nothing is printed

* I have tried different papers and different connection methods (network or USB)

I do not think it is a driver issue (printing test pages from printer control panel come out blank).

I do not think it is an ink problem or clogged nozzles (since NOTHING comes out, and it was working fine before)

Could this be a failed print head?  I have checked this visually and nothing appears wrong but I have no way to properly verify.  A replacement costs $40 and takes 2 months to be delivered so I want to try out other avenues first (and may opt to just replace the whole thing if this is the case).  Are there any other things I can try?  It seems odd that it just failed completely without warning.

Another possibility is the "Ink Absorber".  I am told that Canon printers have a counter for this and self-destruct after a set period of time if the counter is not reset (this seems a very bad thing to do)?  I have a Service Tool which is supposed to reset this counter if the printer is in Service Mode, but all it does is give me "Error 5" or "Error 6" when I try to do this.  Some more detailed instructions would be good.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

The troubleshoot steps you performed thus far are correct. 

The fact that the printer appears to operate normally would indicate a problem with it, and not the communications between your PC and the device.  This is also confirmed by your not being able to print a test page or nozzle check patterns from the printer's control panel. 

So ink delivery is indicated.  Have you removed and reseated the print head?  I know you did the carrtridges. 

If you aren't getting any error messages, try reseating the printhead.  If you have reason to believe it could be clogged, try cleaning it with water.  Take care and do not fully immerse it.  Allow it to throughtly dry before reinstalling.  Compressed air is a good start to get much of the water off.  Be sure to inspect the contacts for any debris, dust.  Now reseat.  If you are using 3rd party inks, I'd switch for Canon inks.   

Print Head replacement.  If you decide to go this route.  Ensure you purchase a genuine Canon replacement.  Be careful you are not getting a counterfeit or knock off item. 

[sshipway]

Thanks for replying on Xmas day!

Anyway - I've tried reseating the print head, but no joy.  It just fails to print even a tiny dot.  It appears to be clean and unclogged as far as I can see, though - and anyway, clogging would not prevent ALL colours from printing suddenly.

I know you need to push the Genuine replacaqement parts, but one of those costs more than replacing the whole printer (this probably makes sense to someone) so that's not a reasonable option.  In any case Im not convinced that it is a print head fault.

The "ink absorber counter" seems to be the most likely given that it just stopped printing, but I've problems with making the service mode work.  Can you give me any more information about this? (And taking it into a service centre is again not economic as they want $75 just to walk through the door)