Computer Related > Printers Computing Issues
Thread Author: legacylad Replies: 45

 Printers - legacylad
And just when you need to print something important.....Sods Law.
Support Code B203 on my ( very) lightly used 2015 Canon Pixma MG7550. Ink cartridges full, tried solutions suggested online....as a last result I’ll try to speak to the Canon Service Centre on Monday but expect to be buying a new one imminently.

Technology is great when it works...a PITA when it unexpectedly doesn’t.
 Printers - bathtub tom
The motherboard of my PC went TU, my only link to the internet. You try buying a PC when you've no access.
No I don't want paperless billing!
 Printers - Zero
Yeah but your PC is not your only way onto the web. Is It?
 Printers - bathtub tom
>> Yeah but your PC is not your only way onto the web. Is It?

No, there's always the public library (30 minutes at a time).
 Printers - Zero
Printers - the type we buy anyway are disposable.
 Printers - Duncan
>> Printers - the type we buy anyway are disposable.
>>

He's right you know.

Back in 2012 he said 'do not buy an Epson, get yourself a Canon, take my advice'.

That Epson I bought has only lasted 10 years. Load of rubbish. I should have listened. It will pack up any day now, you mark my words.

www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?t=10356&m=231580&v=e
 Printers - Zero
I am disappointed it hasn't outlasted you.
 Printers - Lygonos

I can't believe Trading Standards haven't had a mass investigation into inkjet printers/inks.

HP at least don't measure the ink in the cartridges: they count the pages printed then brick the cartridge to make you buy another, and if you use a non-HP cart they brick that.

Anyone recommend a maker of printers that isn't totally pushing their ink at stupid prices?
 Printers - MD
Some kind soul on here pointed me towards a brother citing that they supply a lot to building sites etc. (I think). Trust me he was correct. No issues. Instant start up, No clogged heads. I have used a company called Printerbase. They've served me well twice now, nice folk.
 Printers - Duncan
>> I am disappointed it hasn't outlasted you.
>>

It may yet do so.

I will let you know how it goes. Of course, you may not hear anything, in which case....
 Printers - Fullchat
If you've done the online research LL I presume you may well have seen the printerhead removal video on Youtube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfZNh5WP5lM

These can be soaked in warm water to remove blockages. I had short term success on a Canon Pixma that way.

I also got a cleaning kit off these guys printheadhospital.com/gb/ for later issues on a Brother printer. Its basically diluted ammonia, I think, run through the pipes with a syringe.

Last year My daughter trashed 2 new Brothers with some serious printing and Dad being a tight wad buying compatible inks which basically gummed them up. To be fair the ink suppliers credited me well over £100 for inks because once you start the head cleaning cycles vast amounts of all the inks are consumed for little gain. I doubt whether Brother would have entertained compatible ink usage despite what the suppliers would say.
 Printers - smokie
My reasonably expensive but now old Epson started telling me something critical needed replacing. I forget what.

I found an online company who supplied a little program which reset the counter which triggered the message at least 2 years ago, and it's been fine since.

I know it will happen again sometime, I have the tenner ready.

That has always run on compatible inks, though it often warns me of the possible consequences.
 Printers - Stuartli
I have the same Canon 7550 model - the only occasional problem that crops up, probably due to little use these days, is that the wi-fi link is lost and has to be set up again.
 Printers - legacylad
Thanks for replies....a print head cleaning kit is circa £16, but I can buy a new compatible printer head unit for £26.02 from EBay.
I think a genuine Canon Pixma MG7550 replacement printer head is nearer £90. After studying several videos I think I’ll go for the £26 option...worth a punt.

As they say in Cambridge.
 Printers - Kevin
My MP980 is coming up for 14 years old and has run on 3rd-party ink since I bought it. Only needed to manually clean the printhead once by dipping the jets into warm water and leaving them to soak overnight.
It has 6 ink cartridges and Canon charge about £10 per cartridge compared to the £1-£2 for a compatible so the savings have been considerable.

Might be worth dipping yours in some warm water before you shell out for a replacement. Nothing to lose.
 Printers - legacylad
Tick.
I was going to dip in warm water and use a syringe to flush out....I’ll find some clear tubing to put over the ink heads and syringe warm water down the tubing.

 Printers - Robin O'Reliant
Dot matrix printers had their limitations, but in my experience caused far fewer issues.
 Printers - VxFan
>> Dot matrix printers

Still use one, along with tractor feed paper connected to one of our 40 yr old pieces of equipment at work. Trying to find a new replacement 3 or 4 yrs ago that also had a serial port took a little while though. Eventually found an OKI printer to replace the old Epson one.
 Printers - henry k
>> My MP980
>> It has 6 ink cartridges and Canon charge about £10 per cartridge compared to the
>> £1-£2 for a compatible so the savings have been considerable.
>>
Just to add.
( I have a Canon MG7550 printer that needs a head wash. )
Canon appear , in the newer printer models, to have swapped over from the 6 cartridge design to a two cartridge design.
One black and one multi colour cartridge and a a high price.
Back to fill it yourself !

I have lots of the cheap cartridges so i need to get washing the 7550 head.
 Printers - legacylad

>> I have lots of the cheap cartridges so i need to get washing the 7550
>> head.
>>
Did that today before going on an afternoon drinking soirée.
Printer head removed, 6 colour ports flushed through with a syringe, airline tubing and hot water.
Now drying out.
Fingers crossed when I reassemble tomorrow.
Easy job. Almost too easy with ewe tube video.
Strongly suspect the printer still won’t work but happy to be proved wrong
 Printers - Duncan

>> Did that today before going on an afternoon drinking soirée.

Pedant Corner.

Bit early for a soiree?
 Printers - legacylad
1:30 bus to KL. Home on the last bus at 16:45.....that’s life out in the sticks.
I suppose the soirée began on our return early evening.
For one reason and another it didn’t last very long.


>> >> Did that today before going on an afternoon drinking soirée.
>>
>> Pedant Corner.
>>
>> Bit early for a soiree?
>>
 Printers - bathtub tom
>>1:30 bus to KL.

Kings Langley, Kings Lynn, Kuala Lumpur?
 Printers - legacylad
Kirkby Lonsdale....a very pleasant part of the world.
From the delightful churchyard, a short cut between the Orange Tree and several other drinking establishments, it is but a short walk to Ruskins View.
A view across the river Lune, painted by Turner, and described by John Ruskin as “one of the loveliest views in England”.
It is indeed a bonny spot.
 Printers - Zero
>> >>1:30 bus to KL.
>>
>> Kings Langley, Kings Lynn, Kuala Lumpur?
>>

Filmed trains at all of them
 Printers - VxFan
>> My reasonably expensive but now old Epson

My Epson printer/scanner at home must be at least 12 yrs old now. Only problems I've had with it is lack of use. If I want to print anything, sometimes I have to run the head cleaner first to get a clear printout.
I think it's only on its 2nd or 3rd set of colour cartridges, and 4th or 5th black cartridge. As you can tell, I don't print out much stuff (isn't that what work printers are for ;) ).
I use the scanner more than anything. It did however have a good workout last year when I was forced to work from home for a couple of months.
 Printers - Fullchat
(isn't that what work printers are for ;) ).

What you mean? Like the 95 page user manual for your latest gadget? Surely not! :)
 Printers - legacylad
I am disappoint.
Removed printer head, removed rubber grommets, flushed out the 6 ink ports with hot water using a syringe and airline tubing until the water ran clear.
Dried overnight. Reinstalled. Same error code and US.

Canon Helpline were useless

Time for a new cheap wireless printer methinks.
 Printers - legacylad
Help.
I had one final try....bought a set of 6 ink cartridges for the Pixma MG7550. The printer still doesn’t work, but rather than waste them how can I find out which newer Canon Pixma models use the same compatible cartridges, and must be able to AirPrint wirelessly ?
Thanks for any guidance
N. Ludd.
 Printers - smokie
I just searched for the model number of the cartridge then searched for that cartridge and came up with this page, which has a compatibility list half way down.

www.cartridgeink.co.uk/compatible-canon-pgi-550pgbkxl-black-ink-cartridge-high-capacity.html

Check I used the right number though. Also you might want to check the colour cartridges as they cold be different.
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 9 Feb 22 at 13:22
 Printers - legacylad
Thanks smokie....PGI-550 ( and CLI-551) is correct...

I found two compatibility charts....they stated that Canon printer models TS705 and TS6351 accept these cartridges, but when I input compatible cartridges for those printers it ain’t PGI - 550 showing up on the INKredible website.

Think I’ll stick with Canon and order a replacement tomorrow....don’t know of the TS6351 is worth the extra over the TS705 though.
 Printers - legacylad
Bought a replacement Canon wireless TS5150 @ £60 Argos.
Much flimsier, and half the price of the previous MG7550 bought in 2014.

It won’t be any good for photos, although I only print photos on rare occasions.

Surprising just how many printers are currently unavailable from numerous sources

I’ve now got 6 brand new ink cartridges which I can’t use....installed in a last ditch attempt at getting the printer to work.
 Printers - Dog
>>Bought a replacement Canon wireless TS5150 @ £60 Argos.

77 knicker from: www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-PIXMA-TS5150-3-Printer/dp/B075CL64RV
 Printers - legacylad
Dat is y I collected it from the Argos store in Guiseley. It was in stock and I kneaded a printer PDQ. And it was but a short drive after my 9month dental inspection @ £23 so an expensive morning !

Not sure if it accepts compatible ink cartridges, but shouldn’t need any for a while as I bought a Canon 540XL black cartridge (£27.99..21ml) whilst I was there.
 Printers - VxFan
>> Surprising just how many printers are currently unavailable from numerous sources

Chip shortage. It's affecting loads of new products.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58230388
 Printers - legacylad
No chip shortage at The Fisherman in Settle
 Printers - VxFan
;o)
 Printers - zippy
Canon is telling customers how to bypass the notifications about using dodgy products because they can’t get hold of enough chips that identify the product as genuine!

www.techspot.com/amp/news/92915-canon-printer-owners-get-official-guidance-bypass-printer.html

Oh the irony!
 Printers - Stuartli
I've had two Canon and one Epson printer over the last 24 years and always used compatible inks. Never had any problems quality or price wise.

Current compatible inks supplier I use (in fact for several years now) is Inkredible.co.uk.
 Printers - legacylad

>> Current compatible inks supplier I use (in fact for several years now) is Inkredible.co.uk.
>>
Likewise. Used compatibles since I bought the printer.

On their website they aren’t offering compatible inks for my new Canon TS5150.
 Printers - smokie
I use Stinkyink for my Epson compatibles, always been OPK.

They do yours www.stinkyinkshop.co.uk/canon/ink-cartridges/canon-pixma-ts5150-ink-cartridges

The Epson started to throw an error (something like "Parts inside the printer have reached the end of their service life") which I discovered was a software "feature" based on the number of prints it had done, and/or it's age. I found a site with a free patch to reset the limit :-)
 Printers - legacylad
>> I use Stinkyink for my Epson compatibles, always been OPK.
>>
>> They do yours www.stinkyinkshop.co.uk/canon/ink-cartridges/canon-pixma-TS5150

Many thanks Smokie. Appreciated & duly noted.
 Printers - VxFan
The only thing that has generally gone wrong with my Epson (other than I previously mentioned above - lack of use) is that I've had to remove the foam pad that absorbs excess ink from head cleaning and the like and give it a wash. I think it's unofficially called the tampon.
 Printers - bathtub tom
>> I think it's unofficially called the tampon.

I think you'll find it's officially called that. Remarkable how much ink comes out of them. At the price you pay for cartridges, it's like throwing money down the sink. And then you have to clean the sink!
 Printers - MD
I've only bought genuine Brother ink. I cannot be ruggering about with carp and getting issues.
 Printers - Crankcase
Interesting that all of you go for ink jets. Do you all need to print colour things?

I went the laser route with no colour, but never needed it. No clogs, no bothers, just works all the time, though I don't print much. But this week I printed a 96 page HMRC guide and it just worked.

Still on the original toner it came with in June 2019. Printer cost £89.
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