Scheduled print head cleaning?

[EricRFMA]

I have a Pro-10 and have learned the hard way that the print heads need to be cleaned regularly. Of course, I'm contantly forgetting to do that.

What I'm looking for is a way to have the head cleaning happen automatically. I'm on a Mac, so I looked for a AppleScript dictionary in the printer utility, but there isn't one. There doesn't seem to be a separate utility in the Canon IJ Printer Utility bundle either.

Anyone know anything?

Thanks!

-Eric

[EricRFMA]

Hi @ArthurJ...

The print quality is what you get when all the nozzles in group2 are clogged (or otherwise not working). That was verified by printing a test sheet in the Canon printer utility.

This is the second time this has happened... I plead guilty to not using the printer/running cleaning cycles often enough. The first time is documented here: https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/Professional-Photo-Printers/Pro-10-Group-2-Printheads-non-functio...

But why is it always all the nozzles in group 2 clog? Group 1 remains clean and fresh!

Regards,

Eric

P.S. I'm having a harder time getting the group 2 heads printing again... I ran out of one cartridge which has only arrived yesterday, so I'm going to see how far I can get without having to replace all the group 2 inks again 😞

[ArthurJ]

Hi EricRFMA,

If all the sections in group 2 of the nozzle check are blank after cleanings then I recommend contacting Canon at 1-800-OK-CANON (1-800-652-2666), Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM EST.

[EricRFMA]

Thanks for the reply, but I do have a couple of questions:

• How much cleaning should I do? In the past I just kept deep cleaning until everything was unclogged. The Cleaning dialog says run cleaning twice, and if that doesn't clear things out run deep cleaning. But it doesn't how many times.
• What should I expect when I call Canon?

Thanks for your help!

-Eric

[EricRFMA]

OK, now this is not to be believed...

The printer has been sitting for five days, waiting for the new ink to arrive, and five days ago there was only the GY and CO nozzles showing up on a test print. I had run of of GY first, so I replaced that cartridge, and ran a test print.

Now... all nozzles are firing! I wish I knew why, so I can make sure I could make it happen again. But I don't plan to let it happen again.

Thanks to all who replied

-Eric

[ArthurJ]

Hi EricRFMA,

Glad to hear everything is up and running.

You also wanted to know what to expect if you contacted Canon. Not sure what you are looking for but best I can tell you is you will speak with someone who has been trained on your model printer and will just ask you some questions to narrow down any issues you may be having. They will walk you through any steps needs to troubleshoot and will provide you with good information.

Hope that helps and that you have a good day.

[EricRFMA]

@TCampbell, I've got an AppleScript working that will print a test page. It required much Dark Magic. It needs a little polish and then I can post it here (or wherever it would do most good).

[SLbrainTrust]

Did you ever get this automator script running?  And if so can you share it?  I just lost a print head due to not printing for a bit (about 3 weeks) and I need something to do the exact same thing you were.

Thanks!

[EricRFMA]

It was getting pretty hairy (needed to Applescript via System Events which is NOT fun), so I abandoned it. I think I'll pick it up again, though, since I'm sheltered-in-place.

Also, I didn't update what eventually happened... I spoke with Canon support, and after first talking to a bozo that really didn't know what he was talking about, but on the second call they ultimately offered me a replacement printer! For no charge, even though it was out of warranty! Hooray for Canon! 🙂

Now I can go for weeks with no clogging!