Okay, so I have a Canon MP520 practically new! I only use it sporadically and now when I need it the most, the magenta ink cartridge is not working! It reads as not full or not properly installed when it is practically full and I've re-installed it over and over again! Does anyone have any suggestions?? I really need this edible image and this is ticking me off!

Have to tried running it through the cleaning cycle a few times ?

I agree, try the deep cleaning function the ink may be dried up on the printhead and not flowing through. It will take a lot of the ink to run the deep clean a number of times. Then once the printhead is cleaned you will have to print something at least once or twice a week to keep it from getting clogged up again. Good luck !

I've ran the cleaning and deep cleaning several times and now when I re-install and try to clean, the error comes up right away and therefore won't even let me attempt to run the cleaning cycle again. I'm about ready to take a bat to it! GRRR!

I wonder if your print head is bad ?

If the print head is bad, why would the other colors print??

Well I know it sounds wierd but Mine has printed somewhat when it was going out, and so I thought maybe it printed 1 time and not the next? Just a thought,when I had a cannon mine did the same thing with the magenta ink cartridge . then I changed the print head and it was good to go !

EEGAD! Just what I want to do - spend money on a new printhead!!

Im sorry.. and Please dont take my word for it, if you get any other Ideas Try those first I wouldnt want you to spend the extra money if that doesent happen to be it.

i know the feeling of not being able to use it when u need it the most,,,,i have an epson stylus 7800 (i think thats it ) and its only been used 3 times ... im having issues too with the ink too. for some reasonn its not reading ANY of the colors! wont let me do anytihng except turn it on....ive tried to reset it with a chip i have, tried replacing with new cartriges which was expensive... cant get it to go through a cleaning cycle or nothing i paid almost 600.00 for this printer (as a kit) and its just been sitting on my counter collecting dust for the past 2 years

If either of you use kopykake icing sheets they will be glad to talk to you and try to help with the problems, maybe they can offer something new to try ?

Yeah jade that sounds like the problem i have. I have a canon ip4000 and it erks me when i have to print i an mage and the stupid thing wont work. It will print the picture but the color is always off as if a cartridge is clogged. Last time I needed it i actually took the print head out and ran hot water over it. It worked then. I know I dont use it enough so that could be a problem. If people only knew what we go through to make their cakes perfect.

fiddlesticks, i tried contacting kopykake and they gave me instructions to do ... unfortunately they couldnt help me passed the first step . so i dunno. im thinking that maybe its the "ink" itself ?! i think its not reading because the printersare made for ink... not "edible ink" which i noticed is thinner than regular ink. i dunno eventually when i get the free time and the enthusiasm to fet it fixed ill take care of it. im not doing too many digi pix so its not much of a big deal ... for now. coffeechick, i wish this cake stuff was as easy as people seem to think it is. *sigh*

Jade Im so sorry your having a rough day with the E.I. printer. I hope you figure it all out.

I have an IP3500 worked great the first time then one week later I had the same problem you had. I ran the deep cleaning several times but didn't work. i thought Ihad to buy the steam for $65 plus shipping so I was getting mad. So I remembered that I have a humidifier. Turned it on and put the print head on it and not even 5 minutes later it unclogged. I"m thinking if you boil water and grab the print head with something to hold over the steam it would unclog.

hmmmm i have a humidifier too ... maybe ill try that sometime this week and see if it works for me. thanks for the great idea!

It's official, I'm entirely pissed off and the canon ip3500 does not work for EIs. I bought it in September and now I'm low on ink because of all the nozzle check, deep cleaning and such. I have printed only 6 pages out of my stack. The first two times I was able to steam clean them with my humidifier. The third time I used hot water and didn't work at all. Now I want to print a picture of my son's soccer team for their last game and I've been soaking in hot water and have done many deep cleanings that now I'm low on ink and am entirely pissed off after only a month and a half. I've been watching the prices on epson printers but I think I'm not going to wait for sales and just go buy one. You've all had good epsons so that's what I"m buying.
Barb

bsalto,

I completely understand as my $250 Canon, inks, and frosting sheets are just sitting collecting dust, cause I can't get it to accept the magenta ink cartridge! I don;t use EI's enough to warrant spending $500 on a Quik Scan system! It's so frustrating!

bsalto.. Just yesterday my Office depot had a epson clearance, If you have that store near you you might want to check them out !
One they had for sure was the 8400. I have that model and use it with no problems at all.

Thanks fiddlesticks, I'll go check our office depot out tonight. CX8400 or 7450 but I'm buying one of them!!!! I figured no picture?? Ok I'll make cupcakes with MMF orange t-shirts (their color) but because of halloween I can't find any orange coloring. Well it might storm this Sat and buy me another week.

I have a Canon Pixma IP6000d...when I first got it I had nothing but trouble with the Magenta cartridge too...I wonder if it has something to do with the color not the cartridges. My Mag. cartridge wouldn't even send ink when it printed...I wasted almost an entire supply of every color trying to get it to work.
Finally I got some assistance from a supplier - "Bang the cartridge on the table (ink outlet down onto a towel) - HARD - until you see ink coming out onto your towel. Once I did that a couple of times the ink flowed better.....unfortunately I don't use my system near enough so everything dries up between uses and I have to "Bang" before each use.

One tip I received was to take the cartridges out of the printer after each use and put them in a ziplock type bag until the next use. Also, I have refilled my cartridges with the refill kit and I think it is printing better than it ever did ....I think the key is to just not let anything dry out.

HTH