What to do with my Printer

cepheus

I thought there must be problems with my iP1600 Canon printer when the following fault appeared with cartridges which had been working fine for months:

"ink cartridges are not properly installed, or a non-supported ink cartridge is installed (the ink cartridge EEPROM data is abnormal)"
http://www.scribd.com/doc/18360819/Service-Manual-Canon-iP1600

I tried everything, but it refused to print black and white OR colour or any sort of test print.

I took it to a local shop. They tell me the cartridges need refilling, which is true in the colour case, but this doesn't explain why this fault is appearing. Normally it just tells me the ink is low.

However the shop insists that the new Canon cartridges are built to prevent refilling now and the software comes up with this fault when empty. They said they could sell me some more cartridges, but I would have to accept them, unfortunately they cost more than the printer!

The shop tells me the printer is naff anyway and the ink soon dries up and will ruin the heads if not regularly used. It would be better to buy a Canon IP3600 with individual ink cartridges (BOTH of which they sell of course). They also tell me to upgrade to windows 7 for some reason and XP support was discontinued from today. (Sure I read it was being continued till 2014 http://www.pcworld.com/article/189236/when_xp_is_discontinued.html).

So do I buy cartridges for an extortionate cost and risk the problem occurring, or buy a whole new printer AGAIN. Note my use of ink is very low and have probably only used a few hundred sheets of paper since I bought the printer, that is the reason for buying cheap printers every few years.

fwor

I would recommend that you don't go back to that shop. They are being very selective and misleading about what they are telling you.

For example, XP with SP2 has recently stopped being supported by MS, but all you need to do is install SP3 if you haven't already done so. It's available for free from MS, and as you say, that's supported until 2014.

While it's true that Canon have moved almost entirely to "chipped" cartridges, the people who make the cheap "compatible" cartridges have found ways to copy the chips, so if you buy copies that are "chipped" you should have no problems.

And yes, many inkjets are prone to drying up if not used a lot, but it doesn't make sense to bin a printer until that has actually happened.

totalsolutions

For those of you running a colour printer on the "cheap", and only printing a few hundred pages a year, a black & white, laser printer is the cost effective answer.

magpiecottage

I bought a chip resetter for my Canon printer on e-bay. Its batteries were dead but since I replaced them it has worked fine.

cepheus

Thanks

Do you think this message simply indicates lack of ink though? It's the first time I have ever seen it. Why not say the ink catridge is low? Don't wan't to end up with a broken printer and unused cartridges again.

"ink cartridges are not properly installed, or a non-supported ink cartridge is installed (the ink cartridge EEPROM data is abnormal)"
http://www.scribd.com/doc/18360819/S...l-Canon-iP1600

Presumably this is a re-chipped compatible. Only costs £13
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Colour-Cartridge-CL-41-CL41/dp/B000B8TJ08/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1279394787&sr=1-1

Yes I have SP3

fwor

No, it doesn't sound like low ink, it sounds as though either the data on the chip attached to the cartridge (the EEPROM) has become corrupted, or the printer is no longer able to read it properly.

The former will almost certainly be corrected simply by replacing it with a replacement (chipped) one. The latter may not. I'm afraid there is no easy way to distinguish between these two without obtaining a replacement cartridge.

samwsmith1

Is this any use?
http://www.ijtdirect.co.uk/?sct=dell1320cn

cepheus

Just received my new colour ink cartridge and it makes no difference. :mad: Seems it is the printer at fault as I feared. Canon helpline were no use either, they were more interested if the original cartridge was a genuine Canon one without any suggestion of a printer fault.

I suppose the only way to make use of the cartridges I have now is to buy the same or a compatible type of printer.

cepheus

totalsolutions wrote: »

For those of you running a colour printer on the "cheap", and only printing a few hundred pages a year, a black & white, laser printer is the cost effective answer.

Well a B&W printer isn't a replacement is it? I suppose you could print colour photos using the various free introductory offers, and use the laser for letters.
However laser printers start at about £65.

Don't these have to be serviced, what about toners, ?

cepheus

Guess what. I've just cleaned both cartridges on both sides of the electrical contacts and that is all it was! A friend suggested this, and HP also do with their printers!

However, the cartridge shop wanted me to buy another printer (and throw all the other cartridges away since they don't fit any new printers) and Canon was only interested in whether I had bought one of their cartridges, cleaning the heads or sending it back to them for a service.

It is not the printer which is designed to be thrown away, but the crap advice!

This makes you wonder how much hardware could be saved by very simple but unbiased advice, and money made by business by avoiding it!