I bought a Canon Pixma MG7765 printer less than two years ago. I had previously replaced the large black, and blue cartridges with no problems. A few weeks ago I decided to replace the other cartridges (pink, yellow, small black, and grey) as they were running on empty.
When I inserted the new cartridges, only the grey cartridge would register. Unless all the cartridges register the printer is rendered useless. You can’t even perform scanning which doesn’t even require ink. So I returned the other cartridges and received replacements. Again the small black, pink, and yellow cartridges would not register.
I contacted Canon service and after trying all suggested fixes was told that the printer was out of warranty and would cost more to have it fixed so to just throw it away and buy a new printer.
I questioned this, mentioning the printer was less than two years old and surely there was a way to fix it but they kept insisting that I just throw the printer away and buy a new one. I explained that I am on limited income and can’t afford to go throwing out electronics and buying new ones. I also questioned the environmental impact of disposing of the printer plus the environmental footprint left by Canon in the manufacturer and transportation of equipment with limited life. Ended up that Canon could not care less about customer service or our environment.
Been wondering if anyone else has had such a response from Canon.
Did they suggest to you to remove and clean the print head? It should be the cradle mechanism you put all the ink cartridges into. If not, I would suggest you do so. Have a look at how to clean a Canon print head
It is curious that the printer did not recognise 3 carts all at once.
Been there a few years ago, discovered that, and do not buy Canon again. My last two inkjets and a laser have been Brothers and I have been very satisfied, although the inkjets are not great at photo printing (which I do not do). I needed Brother support once and it was a good experience.
Canon ‘Support’ probably reads scripts that usually work, but they are not paid to ‘help you’ they are paid to go through the scripts that might help you.
Have to ask, as I expect Canon ‘support’ did. Did you buy original Canon inks or compatible inks? nb. Sometimes if you admit to compatibles some support is done with you. Sometimes compatibles vendors get batches with bad chips that will not register in a printer. Replacing the inks does not work unless from different batches.Bad chips are known but uncommon for compatibles and very rare for originals.
I presume you did all of the following, but for the thread:
Resetting printer memory:
1 Remove your new cartridge and replace it with the old one. Leave your printer and go and do something else for 10 minutes.
2 Replace the old cartridge with the new one again.These two steps alone often resolve the issue, so see if your printer now recognises your new cartridges. However, if you’re still having trouble…
3 Remove the new cartridge. Make sure you place it in a clean and safe place where the cartridge or the surface won’t be damaged.
4 Turn the printer off button using its power button
5 Unplug your printer at the wall. It’s important to do both steps 4 and 5 separately, as some printers can remain in sleep mode if you’ve only switched off the power button on the printer control panel. Leave your printer like this for about 10 minutes or so.
6 Plug your printer back in at the wall (but don’t press the power button just yet)
7 Insert your new cartridge
8 Press the power button on your printer
9 If no joy try removing all the inks and doing the above a single ink at a time
Considering there are a number of sources that quote printer life as 1-2 years you might not have a good chance claiming a printer of that ‘price and quality’ should last longer than it did, but you might get a sympathetic ear. The normal failures are mechanical or print heads, not failing to recognise inks, so you might focus on that aspect.
The cartridges were Canon cartridges, so were the replacements I got when I took the first ones back. The shop tried all the cartridges in their machine and they were fine.The printer would work with empty cartridges which is weird as well.
I did do the reset, and about 1,00 other things but nothing worked. It is really infuriating that it seems to be a known fault that they could probably develop a work around for. At least to allow the printer to print/black/grey/draft, and scan. But it is now a piece of useless junk that I am having a moral dilemma over chucking out and creating yet more e-waste.
Have you tried cleaning the terminals on the printer…the metal pins/bits in the cartridge rack that connects the printer to the cartridges.
They may be able to be cleaned with a clean soft cotton cloth (one which won’t leave lint)…possibly with a little metho.
Also check if the metal pins, if spring loaded, will move in and out when gently pressed. Do not press to hard as the pins may jam in the pushed posit.
Also try jiggling the cartridges when inserted and before the last push to lock them in.
I am very critical of many printer manufacturers who peoduce new printers cheaper than it is to buy replacement cartridges. This only creates unnecessary eWaste when some decide to buy a new printer each time the cartridges run dry.
If the printer head (which is the ink cradle) was properly cleaned inside and out, then this would have been done.
I had a Canon printer where the print head malfunctioned. After having tried lots, I cleaned the print head using metho. I kept spraying metho onto the various colour receptacles until no more colour came through the print head. That got it working for a while before it finally gave up the ghost.
Unfortunately, replacement print heads (if available) are exorbitantly priced. Even though it’s a huge waste, print heads are just not worth replacing if it’s not under warranty. The chances of the remaining ink fitting into the new printer are not great either. Waste, Waste, Waste.
The business plan is to give away the printers and profit from the ink. Once upon a time when printers lasted more than 1-2 years it made sense to accountants since a printer was one sale while inks were many sales. Now that the printers can cost less than a set of inks, no matter how much ink a cheap one uses, it is strange people still buy original inks at exorbitant prices because they are worried that cheap compatibles might damage their printers. I can understand they might err on the safe side while in warranty, but then? For most printers the ACL might be neither effective nor worthwhile considering costs and average lives these days.
I once had a problem caused by a bad chip on a compatible cart. What I learned was that the firmware was sequential as it recognised carts and every cart ‘down the list’ from the bad one was ‘not recognised’. 3 of 4 ‘went missing’. It was not so obvious because I changed 3 of 4 at the time. When the faulty one was replaced the printer was quite happy with the others. It was a trial and error process suggested by good support staff.
It is possible only one of the print slots is ‘bad’ and that is blocking the others from being recognised. Trying to clean the terminals as @phb noted might be worthwhile.
My first mental image was from Forester’s Hornblower, sweaty sooty men toiling to service their fire-belching weapons in cramped decks while waiting for the deadly enemy broadside …
I bought a Canon Maxify 5360 …Marketed as a Reliable business resource 20 months ago Because I have a Canon IP5000 which is 12 years old and still works well
.The 5360 worked fine until when I replaced the cartriges . Then the black cartrige stopped working … nothing appears in the black area on a nozzle check Ok I thought … I’ll just replace the Cartridge but no that’s not possible until the cartridge tells the printer it is empty … So I ring Canon and they confirm that is not possible … ( It is and it is easy but it’s not "supported or approved by Canon )
This is a design flaw it can happen to any cartridge Canon or OEM …
So Again we went down the warranty trail Sorry its out of warranty and because you live in a regional area, it would be cheaper to by a new one . So I then suggested to them that there was an implied warranty under the Australian Consumer law… several emails “we have escalated your concern and are waiting for an answer” after three weeks I called and asked for the 2nd level tech whose name was on one email … while waiting for him the call taker said that Canon believed the estimated service Life of this “Reliable Business Resource” is only 2 years !
Just after this he was available so repeated this and my assertions . I asked him had he heard of The Checkout . He said they were. He offered me a coupon for 10% discount on the retail price on their online shop.
I declined given I could get a better price in town ! and asked him did Canon really want the publicity for a small value printer. He said he would escalate … 2 weeks later sorry our best offer is the 10%
I am getting ready to make an FU Tube
Maybe you should too
All of this depends on how long between print jobs and if the printer has been turned off (so it does a proper clean and shut down) if not used for a while.
Inks will dry out and set hard in a little used printer. It is very difficult to get one (no matter what brand) from this state.
Sorry to hear about your issues with Canon. They appear similar to mine in regard to the printer. I had to throw it away. I had a problem with the electronics in my camera and that had to go as well. Then Canon simply stopped updating the driver for the scanner which meant I had to buy a third party driver - not cheap but still less than buying a new piece of equipment. My lesson is that I will not buy another Canon product - ever.
I have a Canon scanner that they abandoned by policy, not technology, when Win 7 was released. Never bought a Canon anything again. I still have the scanner working using a different Canon driver (force loaded) that is happy on Win 10 and works 100% with the aged scanner.
I’ll not publish the scanner model nor driver model as Canon could interfere.
Between the printers and scanners ‘support’ it is a wonder they still have customers, but I guess pretty photo printing carries them along.
Same. Did have it working on a Linux desktop for a while, then it died - had a couple of their printers - never another Canon for me either. HP is in the same boat as far as I’m concerned. Couldn’t be happier with my Fuji/Xerox multifunction …
HP, Epson, Canon & similar cheaper domestic printers are from my perspective buy, use the ink, throw away at eRubbish bin and buy the next one. HP, Canon, Epson, Lexmark and similar commercial offerings are far superior but that is expected but the cost is far more substantial than home use stuff.
My best hint if you want to buy a “disposable” (though it isn’t resource conserving) is when the cheapies are reduced on a special don’t buy one buy two, three, or four. I have in the recent past been able to get some reasonable “disposable” types for $15 or $20 on specials and the specials do appear through the year. This means when one fails (though I do refill on the cheap until it fails) you can just plug the next one in with no need to change drivers, setup the software or change your printer in your settings until some reasonable time into the future.
The lifetime costs of a laser print vs an inkjet printer are closer than ever. I know that there are advantages and disadvantages to each.
I moved from inkjet years ago, and don’t miss all these problems. The toner is more expensive to buy than a cartridge, but lasts and lasts. There also doesn’t seem to be issues with after market toner products being used. Also, once on the page, the image stays there. And, no inky fingers.
I would guess 12 months as a minimum as some are cheap eg $30 or $40 dollars and they typically come with a “standard” 12 month warranty. At that price it would be difficult to argue for a longer coverage.
Some I would expect 24 months out of them and yet others perhaps 3 or 4 years warranty. It would depend greatly on how much was paid and what the manufacturer declared the printer capable of eg "Superior Quality, “Long Life” and similar selling points.
That’s one of the challenges with the ACL. CHOICE has called for more guidance on what is ‘reasonable’ in the past, but it’s basically a case to argue. Surrounding factors like the ones @grahroll mentioned can help, and you can also chat to your local fair trading or consumer affairs body, along with CHOICE Help for guidance.
I think the real question is whether you bought original from a Canon outlet (or a Post Office outlet) or, did you go to one of the refill companies to purchase?
Known refill outlets have been a bit of a hit-or-miss with refills. I have bought from refill and had a problem… I know to purchase from my local PO outlet.
