[HoppaLong]

My friends call me about anything related to computer
hardware. I am a partner in an electronics related
business, but I don't know a lot about printers!

A Canon S300 bubble jet is flashing its Resume/Cancel
LED. Eight orange flashes means that the built-in ink
waste tank is full.

I removed the printhead and cleaned it with a chemical
formulated for delicate electronic components. Some
waste ink did ooze out of the printhead, but it didn't
resolve the problem. Except for the printhead, there
are two ink tanks. One black and the other color. I
don't see anything in the box that collects waste ink.
The troubleshooting guide for the printer says the waste
ink tank should be replaced.

Does this model really have a waste ink tank, or is this
"tank" part of the printhead? If there is a waste ink
tank, it must under the main chassis cover. If necessary,
I'll remove the screws so I can lift the main cover and
expose the printer chassis.

My friend used this printer sparingly over the years, so it
looks almost new. I don't want to do anything that would
make the problem worse.

If you're familiar with this "waste ink tank" problem, I
would appreciate a little guidance.

Thanks guys.

[bonestonne]

I have fixed very few printers that have this problem, it's not a simple, reliable or permanent fix either.

What's essentially happened is two things. First, the waste ink tanks are filled, and yes they can be cleaned, but only to a point. There may also be a small shred of paper inside the back of the printer around the motor area. Secondly, inside the print head, it may be full of waste ink as well, which at this point would be dried up, and more or less impossible to clean.

Replacing the print head may not fix the problem, and it's also a very expensive thing to try if it's not definitely the problem.

The waste ink tanks are the small "buckets" underneath the ink cartridges when they are in the parked position. I have never seen anyone replace waste tanks, so I'm not sure how that would go down to be honest, but I can tell you that the entire printer would need to be taken apart for this, so it's down to whatever you feel is worth it. When print heads go, or you start seeing these errors popping up, it's actually cheaper to buy a new printer than pour money into an older one to keep it going.

Just my $0.02.

[puntoMX]

Time to get a new printer.

Why? It's much cheaper and easier. Let me explain you why in more detail.

Inkjet printers are programmed to be used up to some, say 5000 pages, before it gives you the waste ink reservoir full error, which in most cases is a sponge (never seen a bucked) system that sucks up the ink that was wasted when cleaning the heads. To get writ of this error you need to software reset the printer, either to 0 prints or to "ink waste reservoir reset". Most of the time you won't find much about this as it's only done by "service centers". When you read service centers you got the idea... the "fix" will cost you probably way more than a new printer... Like bonestonne already said. I've done reprogramming the printers before, but to find a new sponge is hard. There are external waste ink storage boxes but I tell you it's a mess. I use external ink systems and place the printer in something where it can leak like desire.

Darn home and small office inkjets, no good word for them...

[jaclaz]

puntoMX, on 06 September 2010 - 01:04 PM, said:

Most of the time you won't find much about this as it's only done by "service centers".

It must be tough living with a broken google ....
http://www.fixyourow...ms/inkjet/15284
http://inkjetprinterhelp.us/S9000.htm

Quote

Canon S9000, S300, S400, i550, i560, i850, i860, i865, i9100, i9950, PIXMA IP3000 above,
1. Turn off printer
2. Hold down Resume button and press Power button.
3. Keep holding down Power button and let Resume button go.
4. Press Resume button 2 times then let BOTH buttons go.
5. Green lights will flash and then stop blinking.
6. When green lights are solid, press the Resume button 4 times.
7. Press the Power button and the printer should turn off, if not, press the Power button once more.
8. Your printer should respond as normal.

IF it works, it seems to me like MUCH cheaper!

jaclaz

[puntoMX]

jaclaz, on 06 September 2010 - 01:24 PM, said:

It must be tough living with a broken google ....

Nice they did it that simple on those Canon models. With some other brands to reset it will be less easy.

Be prepared also to spill some ink when you won't replace the "sponge".

[Glenn9999]

puntoMX, on 06 September 2010 - 03:18 PM, said:

Be prepared also to spill some ink when you won't replace the "sponge".

Yes, indeed. It's quite an experience to see one of these sponges or external reservoirs. I took apart my old Epson once and truthfully only video did what I saw justice in trying to explain it. Nasty.

[jaclaz]

puntoMX, on 06 September 2010 - 03:18 PM, said:

Be prepared also to spill some ink when you won't replace the "sponge".

I have one word for you :
CAPILLARITY:
http://en.wikipedia....apillary_action


jaclaz

[Zenskas]

I used to use inkjet printers for a while until I decided it was time to get something that would print a decent amount of pages without a new cartridge and it wouldn't break after a year. So I grabbed a black and white Canon laser printer, forgot the model but it was only about $150 so about as much as a "good" inkjet. Will look up model tomorrow.

I have never been happier. Super fast printing, and so far I have replaced the cartridge ONCE in about 1.5yrs. On all my old inkjets the cartridge's would be replaced once every 3 months at best. So I have been saving myself a wad of cash, and it works just like new still. All the waste ink is collected into a separate chamber within the standard ink cartridge. Then when you get a new cartridge you have an empty chamber again for waste ink

Only thing is I miss out on color. That's fine as the only color printing I did was photo's. It worked out cheaper and easier to take them to a store to print on a dedicated photo machine rather than have to buy a heap of photo paper/cartridges just to print out a half decent amount of photos at home.

[HoppaLong]

Before I posted my question I knew this printer was toast.

When I was a kid you fixed things. My hobby, which became my
profession was any kind of mechanical or electrical device.
Even today, when everything is disposible junk, I still feel
good if I can ocassionally repair an appliance.

I'll tell you guys, this disposible world is a nightmare!
In my business, we have a couple of offices where the ducts
supplying the central ac are in poor condition.

I've purchased four portable air conditioners in the last
five years to cool these two offices. (Fixing the ducting
would cost a fortune.) All four units are dead! We did
more to maintain these units than any homeowner would ever
do. The digital controls or the microcontroller board (like
a motherboard) failed. We paid between three and five hundred
for these portable air conditioners. Unlike most folks, I've
got the needed test equipment to find the problems with each
unit.

Like the printer and thousands of other devices, the cost of
parts means that these air conditioners go straight to the
junkyard.

If you repaired anything when you were a kid, I'm sure you can
remember all those smiles from people who thought you were some
kind of a "genius" because you made their dead gadget work again.

Our electronics junk is so massive we ship it to poor countries
where millions of people poison themselves ripping the guts out
of these gizmos for a few bucks.

Sorry for rambling on about this. I really do appreciate all
your thoughtful replies. I'm not kidding, I really do!

[jaclaz]

HoppaLong, on 07 September 2010 - 04:01 PM, said:

Before I posted my question I knew this printer was toast.

Sorry, but I don't get it.

Please choose one :

• Before I posted my question I knew this printer was toast, but I posted the question all the same as if it was an actual problem I was having, just to see how I could waste some other people's time for nothing
  
• Before I posted my question I assumed this printer was toast, and I am so stubborn I won't even try the suggested remedies
  
• Before I posted my question I assumed this printer was toast, but now I have tried resetting it and it worked
  
• Before I posted my question I assumed this printer was toast, but now I have tried resetting it and it did not work, then my assumption was correct
  
• Before I posted my question I knew this printer was toast, as I surely killed it using the cleaner on the head, but ....
  
• Before I posted my question I was bored to death, just like I am now, and not having anything better to do in my electronics related business and when this happens I just post something random on a technical board to see how people reacts to it

(or expand to the actual meaning...)

jaclaz

[puntoMX]

jaclaz, on 07 September 2010 - 02:42 AM, said:

puntoMX, on 06 September 2010 - 03:18 PM, said:

Be prepared also to spill some ink when you won't replace the "sponge".

I have one word for you :
CAPILLARITY:
http://en.wikipedia....apillary_action


jaclaz

Err... yes, okay, no wiki needed there. So, what do you want to say with this?

[jaclaz]

puntoMX, on 09 September 2010 - 06:44 PM, said:

Err... yes, okay, no wiki needed there. So, what do you want to say with this?

Provided that the ink in the "waste tank" is still liquid (otherwise you need to use some kind of solvent, you get a piece of paper napkin, you roll tightly, you wrap it in some kitchen plastic film, and put the tip of the small and long cylinder you created touching the inside of the "waste tank" or of the "sponge".

Then you go for a walk, have some fun, take a nice cup of coffee, whatever.

Once you come back, you will find that a conspicuous quantity of the ink will have "migrated" to the paper napkin without a single drop of ink spilled anywhere (thanks to capillarity).

Throw away the napkin and make another one.

Repeat until everything is clean.

A long time ago I had a number of Canon printers, B/W, A3 size that had a separate reservoir of ink connected to the print head (cannot remember the exact model, some 15 years have passed and I am getting lold and forgetful ... ) that did have a tendency to "waste" lots of ink, with this method I was able to clean them periodically before things got out of control, smearing ink everywhere...

jaclaz

[puntoMX]

jaclaz, on 10 September 2010 - 02:46 AM, said:

Provided that the ink in the "waste tank" is still liquid (otherwise you need to use some kind of solvent, you get a piece of paper napkin, you roll tightly, you wrap it in some kitchen plastic film, and put the tip of the small and long cylinder you created touching the inside of the "waste tank" or of the "sponge".

Ah yes, that would work indeed but it won't be perfect and thus I would not recommend it to a "customer" for example. You won't get it so clean.

They should just make it an easy to change product; you can buy the cartridges but not the waste tank/sponge and that's something I don't like about inkjets/ bubblejets.

I wish they would push more the solid ink printers (besides the laser ones).

[jaclaz]

puntoMX, on 10 September 2010 - 11:23 PM, said:

but it won't be perfect and thus I would not recommend it to a "customer" for example. You won't get it so clean.

That's a good thing, as otherwise you would have to pay me a small fee for the intellectual property of the idea.

If I get it right, your customers have normally only two choices:

• perfection
  
• throw away an otherways good printer an buy a new one

I thought you were also prone to quick and dirty hacks....
http://www.msfn.org/...pic=144426&st=9

jaclaz