Pro 100 does not recognize the black cartridge

[Kat37]

I was happily printing on my P100 and got a black cartridge needs replacing warning. I opened the cover, the print carriage moved to the correct spot, the light for the black cartridge was off, I removed the cartridge and inserted a new black ink cartridge. The cartridge light was still off. Inserted another new cartridge and still no light. I checked the printer status on my laptop and it still showed no black. The orange trouble light is blinking 4 times which indicates an unrecognized cartridge .... duh. So my printer is functioning perfectly, runs out of black ink (I checked the cartridge and it was out but the tank pad was full), I install a new black ink cartridge and suddenly only the black ink cartridge can't be recognized.  I turned the printer on and off with no change. I turned the printer off, unplugged it waited about 30 seconds, plugged it in, turned it on and........ no joy. It is unable to recognize the black, all the others are fine. Yes, I re-seated the two new cartridges twice each to ensure they were fully inserted. I even checked the cartridge chips to see if they were clean (they were). Apparently in order to find the location of the nearest repair center I have to contact Canon tech support at which time I am sure to get a sales pitch for a new P200 or P300 as those are the available "exchange" options. I don't want to wait 30 or 40 minutes to be told you should probably just purchase a new printer.  I have heard the P200 isn't much of an improvement over the P100. So do I purchase a used P100 and hope the seller sends me a functional printer, or purchase a P200? Or even better, are there solutions I might fix the problem?

[canonsky]

Hi Kat37.  Might be a foolish question -- you didn't say whether you have a real Canon ink cartridge or one you got at a discount from Uncle Vinnie's Garage and skateboard shop. If it's real you probably ought to bite the bullet and call the Canon guys.  BTW where did you hear that the pro 200 isn't much of an improvement over the 100?

Thanks.

[Kat37]

Hi Canonsky.  Yes I was using OEM cartridges. I even swapped out the cartridge for a brand new Canon cartridge and got the same result. All of the other cartridges registered both in the machine and on the printer status accessed through the P100 preferences on my computer. My initial thought was it could be the print head and was going to try cleaning the print head, but upon looking at the print carriage the only direct communication between the cartridge and print head are the four prongs that the cartridge makes contact with. I checked to see if the prongs were clean and they were so I inserted the two black cartridges two to three times each to see if it was a problem with the contacts. I then checked to see if the prongs were clean which they were and then if they were bent but I couldn't see any indication of that. Since it isn't likely to be the print head, then my options are it's the print carriage or a bad circuit board. I looked at the print carriage and there is no way to replace it without doing a tear-down of the printer. The same is true of a failed circuit board. In both cases, indeed any case that didn't involve cleaning or replacing the print head I would have to take it to a repair shop and the expense of a repair would not be worth it, especially if I include my time and expense to take it to a repair facility. If I am lucky there might be a repair center less than 100 miles from me but I doubt it. With the price of gas now days, I might as well just purchase a P200 or P300 or both and save money.

The P200 info came from a handful of reviews with about a little more than half from photography boards or people who have used both and the other half from other sources on the web. I should clarify though. For me considering the type of printing I am doing right now, the 200 isn't a big improvement over the 100. Nearly all of the reviews were positive and if it met my needs and usage. I would purchase a P200 if my printing requirements justified it but right now they don't. I have been using Canon printers since about 1992. One or two were not very good and I was forced to use Epson printers for a while, then went back to Canon when I was able to find a printer that was reliable and had good print quality, and most importantly, used individual ink tanks. So I am a Canon fan, but I generally stick with what fulfills my needs until my needs change or I can't find a replacement.