DANIEL Z : I havent use my printer for about 2 years and I want to buy the 12 inks again
this maintnance cartilage will clean the lines? and how can I tell if my printer still works or if the heads still work?HARVEY M : You may need it if the current tank is somewhat full. I think it simply catches the expelled ink as the machine tests and runs some ink through the print heads. There are two. They come out easily and are easy to replace, but cost over 400$. You might unclog them with something like windex or magic head cleaner as seen on youtube. Some have used ultra-sonic cleaners to open up ink jets. And you might go to all the trouble and still have to replace them as they were near to that usage limit 2 years ago. You can buy a service manual at ebay that you download as a pdf, but it does not go into salvaging print heads. A user group where you could ask better informed people is here canonipf.wikispaces ( a web site, but I can't include links) or you might just search online for more info. Mine gave a error code and one replaced head fixed it . good luckBILLY Y : You can only tell if the printer works by making a print and seeing how much ink comes through to the page. All the Maintenance Cartridge does is catch extra ink coming through the system. It does not clean anything.
It is possible that the ink in the heads has dried up, or it may all still be fine. The printer may report a clogged head, in which case you will have to replace the heads (which is very easy to do, but expensive). It is possible to buy cleaning solution to put into ink tanks but I have not had any success with that.
Just fire that thing up and see what happens. I wish you the best of luck.RICHARD K P : The maintenance cartridge merely collects the "waste" ink from the system: the overspray, plus the ink used for head cleaning and line purging. There is already one in your printer, and you may not need it unless it is nearly "full". (It's never really "full", but it has some method of knowing how much ink is in it.) But ... your printer will stop if it runs out of capacity, so keeping it on hand is a good idea.
I've purchased aftermarket inks, BTW, at about 1/3 price.GEORGE O : I did purchase the Maintenance Cartridge and it has worked fine. When it is filled the plotter will not work. My plotter, also had not been used for a long while, but when it went through the motions it worked fine.BORIS K : Maintenance cartridge does not clean the heads. It is used to dispose the inks during the print heads cleaning. You don't really need to validate. Turn on the printer, insert the inks and leave it on. The printer should check the print heads and do cleaning if the heads are clogged. You could also check the heads and do the cleaning manually from the printer's menu.KENNETH N : A maintenance cartridge has nothing to do with cleaning the heads. It's strictly a reservoir for the waste ink used to try to "blast" the clogs out. I'll be honest: you may be in VERY serious doo-doo if you really haven't used the printer in that period of time. Large format printers need to be used regularly -- minimum of a couple of prints a week minimum. I just spent $900+ with Canon for service because my output from my blue heads was totally non-existent. And that was because I let the printer sit for a couple of months -- not years. If you don't have enough ink to run a check, etc., then a full set may be your only recourse only to find out you need head replacements. The first thing you need to do is run a nozzle check. That will tell you if you have clogs. After cleaning once or twice, check again. Don't waste more ink than that. The next step is to try to get some cleaning carts from someone like Jrano (brand name). After loading those and cleaning, you could try a new ink set and see what happens. But be prepared for the worst. As strange as it sounds, you may be better off getting a new printer than spenind the money for a full inkset, cleaning and a Canon repair call.PAUL D : The maintenance cartridge does clean the printer. Make sure you get the correct one. I do not presently remember, but there may be two. If your head needs cleaning or if there is a maintenance issue, you should get an error on your machine.
Frankly, if you have not used it for two years, I would recommend putting all new ink in it and cleaning the heads. If the heads don't clean, you will have to buy new ones.
The printer is awesome and does incredible canvas for us.TERRY C : This maintenance cartridge does not "clean the lines". It captures the ink that is pushed through the lines during the printer's cleaning process. To see if the printer and the print heads work, power it up, install the driver & utility software from Canon's site, and send it a print job. It will go through a cleaning process before it prints. Be patient, as it will take some time and several cleaning cycles. At the end of the process it will either print your document, or tell you that the heads need to be replaced. If any of the ink cartridges are empty, the cleaning process will be aborted before completion and you will need to replace the empty cartridges before proceeding. It is not possible to determine if the print heads are good/bad without completing the cleaning process. The printer's utility software will also tell you if the maintenance cartridge needs replacing.
Shopper : Why Did You Choose This?RONALD P : Works in the IPF-6400 Canon printerRONALD P : This is for the Canon IPF6400 printer
