MX922 inkjet prints horizontal black stripes

[rtelschow]

Suddenly, Black stripes started printing over text or graphics with each pass of print head.  Alignment etc does nothing to fix it.  See attached sample.  Changed black cartridge - it's no better.

[Patrick]

Hi rtelschow,

Based on your description of the issue, it would appear as though the encoder/timing strip in your PIXMA MX922 is dirty or smudged and would need to be cleaned.  To clean the encoder/timing strip, please follow the steps outlined in the following Knowledgebase Article available from Canon's web site:

https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/index?page=content&id=ART142447

After cleaning, please attempt to print again.

[rtelschow]

Thank you - but this didn't seem to be the problem.  After trying everything else, I finally swapped the print head from another MX922 and that fixes it.  Is it possible to buy a replacement print head cost effectively, or do I just buy another printer?