Pixma MX922 printing problem

[Bigclyde]

Prints all colors beautifully.  Problem is either with the PGL 250XL (black) or the PGL251 (black).

It will print beautifully with  Windows photo, a perfect print.  If I try to print using  Adobe Photo Elements or with Word Perfect, the black makes bars and fuzzy lettering. 

I have tried various way to clean the clean the printhead, but no luck. 

Could this be an electrical problem that is effecting the feed from one of the two black tanks, but not the other?

[Caemene]

Hi Bigclyde,

With the information that you have provided it appears that the encoder film may have smudged or been damaged. Cleaning the encoder film may resolve this issue.

Note: The following items may be useful in resolving this issue:

Flashligiht
Q-tips or cotton swabs
isopropyl alcohol

The printer uses this film to determine where it should release ink. A smudged encoder film can cause double printing, blurry printing, misaligned text, and shifted printing. A problem with the encoder film can also cause the printer to make loud noises.

There is an article available through our online Knowledge Base that contains the information that you need to know. I will include a link to this article a little further down. However, before you start doing anything to the printer, please finish reading the next three paragraphs.

The encoder film is a thin strip of plastic ribbon that is inside the printer. Above the encoder film is a drive belt. Below the encoder film is a metal rail called the chassis. Do NOT clean the chassis. This metal rail is normally lubricated. Cleaning the grease off of it can cause the printer to not work properly. There is no need to clean the drive belt.

Be very careful when cleaning the encoder film. If you press or push on the ribbon, it can bust. If that happens, the printer definitely needs service. You only need to gently wipe the ribbon with a cotton swab that has been dampened with a glass cleaner or isopropyl alcohol. You should start by checking the entire length of the ribbon for smudges and cleaning any that you find. If the problem persists, clean the entire strip, even if you do not see smudges.

Before you start cleaning the encoder film, I recommend reading the article completely. Please pay particular attention to the information marked next to a CAUTION. Please click HERE to view an article that contains the instructions for cleaning the encoder film. You can now start cleaning it if you would like to do so.

[Bigclyde]

Well, the doc says I have 20/20 vision, but I have loooked and looked and looked, and I can find no strip in front of the drive belt that looks anything like the picture. Guess that I better just leave well enugh alone.  After all, the printer is printing color in all programs (Photo Elements, Word Perfect, etc), and I am able to print everything perfectly by using Windows Photo.  (For example, a screenshort will print fine right from the screenshot window.  If I move it over to Photo Elements and try to print it, the smudges and bars appear.  However, it I save it to my pictures and then print it from there with Windows Photo, it prints perfectlty.)