Hello all, I'm a screenprinter who uses my Canon Pixma ix6820 to print transparencies, but I'm running into issues all around. Previously, I had been using the all black ink kit from filmdirectonline.com since I first bought my printer in February 2021. However, I wanted to maintain my ability to print color if needed, and have only been using the PGBK and K refillable cartridges with UV Blocking ink, also from the same vendor. Most of the time the printer has worked great. I used Printfab to create transparencies, and I never had many issues with fading, lines, etc. As time has gone on, however, I've been running into more and more problems. As a note, I have done multiple alignments, deep cleanings, printhead cleanings, etc. I thought I had a clogged printhead, but that seems less likely to me.

I have stopped using Printfab, and print directly from Illustrator/Photoshop. When I go to print a transparency, I will get sections of excellent opaque black ink, then it will "skip" a few inches, and resume printing normally. When I print documents or shipping labels, I never have any issues. Here is an example of the most recent transparency printout I attempted:

The reason I added the border around the edges of the 2nd printout was because it seemed that whenever there was blank space, the beginning of the next section of ink would fade at the start, then get better. I thought that by adding a continuous border, there would always be something keeping the ink flowing. Here were my prinout settings for those images:

This is such a lovely printer, and I wish I could use it to its full potential. I used to be able to print without any issues at all, and I'd love to get back to that point.