Printer tray for Canon Pixma

[Yenny]

I'm looking to buy a printer tray for a Canon Pixma mp780(not installed on US models) for cd and dvd printing and am wondering if I need the roller assembly too, or just the tray. Thanks for any input.

[sambat]

AFAIK, there is no need to buy the roller assembly.
I made my own tray for an ip-3000 printer (that model uses the 'B' tray, which is thicker than the current 'F' tray.the B tray is simple to construct - the newer F model is much harder).
I never purchased the rollers and it worked fine.
The Canadian version of these printers now come with the CD tray included and functional.

http://damnprinter.com/165/canon-mp750-and-mp780-cd-printing-instructions.html

http://i38.tinypic.com/2r4ty1e.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/nosv92.jpg

[on30trainman]

I firmware modified my ip4000 several years ago to print CD/DVDs and did not have the roller assembly. It worked with both homemade trays (initially used) and the Canon Type B trays I bought. Once in a while the tray didn't seem to be feeding - a light push on the back of the tray got it to feed. Since the reflectors on the tray set it's position, the slight delay in feeding has no consequence.
I just modified an ip4200 and it has the roller assembly.

[Yenny]

Thanks for the help and info. Maybe I'll try to make my own.

[Yenny]

What kind of media do you use for printing directly onto the disk?

[aedipuss]

i use taiyo yuden injet hub printable or watershield.

[jman98]

I bought a tray for my Pixma ip4500 on Ebay. "Making your own" sounds like it would be well beyond the capability of most people. I did not buy any roller assembly.

TY's Watershield discs are great and they're now all I buy for my printing needs.

[Yenny]

Thanks for the help. Unfortunately now I'm having a problem(either no text or faded text) with one of the print heads(3ebk). I tried cleaning it with alcohol(didn't work) and then warm water (didn't work either) I have to decide if I should buy a new print head. I did a search around the net with many people having a similar problem and some worked with the alcohol cleaning, but a few said after cleaning not working, they changed the print head and it still didn't work, so after they got it serviced they found it was a saturated purge unit. Hope that's not it.

[on30trainman]

You can kind of test the purge unit of the printer if you can get access to the two sponge pads the printhead parks on when idle. Squirt some Windex onto the pads with a syringe or eye dropper, run a head cleaning and then check to see if the Windex is gone. With the stand alone Canon printers it is easy to see the pads. Just open the top door on the printer and the printhead will move to the middle. The sponges are on the right side where the printhead usually parks. Don't know anything about the Canon AIOs and whether access is as easy.

My ip4000 had a print problem with several colors. No amount of cleaning of the printhead either in or out of the printer would clear the clog. Actually got it to the point where nothing would print. A new printhead fixed the problem. But if you have a purge unit clog, a new printhead won't help anything.

BTW have you checked out the Inkjet Stuff Forum: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/
Lots of similar problems have been posted there and things to try.

[Yenny]

I think I see the 2 pads on the side. I'll give it a shot and check that link as well. Thanks.
Also, when I print something using the "photo paper" option in the "properties" menu, is the black text that's being printed a mixture of cyan, yellow, and magenta, or the photo black(bci-6bk small black cartridge)?
The reason I ask is that the other black cartridge(bci-6bk) seems to be working(when I do a test print), and both black cartridges use the same output print head and purge unit pad. So it would seem to me that both black inks would not work if the purge unit was bad. I'm not positive of course.

[on30trainman]

Yenny,
I just reread your post about the BCI-3eBk problem. It is possibly not a clog or purge unit problem, but a feed problem with the cartridge.
Question: are you using OEM cartridges or refilling? I am refilling (using Hobbicolor inks) and have had a feed problem sometimes with my BCI-3eBk cartridges. Sometimes when I refill the ink doesn't seem to saturate the sponge. Then when I print the printhead starves for ink and causes problems similar to what you are seeing. Try removing your BCI-3 cartridge. Hold it over some paper towels and squeeze the sides of the cartridge hard. See if you can get drops of ink from the outlet hole. If not or very little, the cartridge may be the problem, not the printhead or purge unit. Have you tried another cartridge?
Try it and let me know what happens.

[Yenny]

I buy remanufactured ink and took your suggestion and it seemed to go great, but now I seem to have another problem which I'll get to in a sec. First, after I did what you suggested with the ink and paper towel, I noticed that the label on top of the cartridge was coming off exposing a little hole, so maybe that was part the problem(drying the ink?), even though I just put the cartridge in less than 2 weeks ago(though i do a lot of printing). Not sure if this has anything to do with current problem.
Anyway, I bought and replaced the cartridge and printed 2 copies and they came out GREAT!, but I wanted to print a few more because the previous cartridge at first would print a few good copies and then the print would start to fade. Now, I'm trying to print more, but an error message keeps coming up on the printer "Wrong Cartridge", which was happening(2 or 3 times) on the last cartridge, only it would go away when I restart the printer, but now it comes on every time before I try to print. Plus, whenever I try to do a Print Head Alignment, I get a failed error message.

[on30trainman]

Yenny,
How are you getting the "Wrong Cartridge" message? The BCI-3 cartridge is not chipped. I have both the ip4000 and ip6000D printers are can't find anything in the Quick Start manual (or a quick scan of the Service Manual) about a Wrong Cartridge message. I have never gotten that message with either printer. My latest buy, ip4200 that had never been used, uses the chipped cartridges and I can see how that error message could be generated.
As I said I have had problems with refilled pigment ink cartridges. My only suggestion now would be to buy a Canon OEM BCI-3eBK cartridge and test with that. When I refill I only use empty Canon cartridges - they have worked the best for me, but I do have problems with the pigment ink refills even with those.

[Yenny]

I don't know either. I did a Google search and it seemed to have happened to others. I unplugged it last night for a couple of hours and when I turned it back on it wasn't there, but after I printed a few pages it's there again. I'll try an OEM and see what happens.

[on30trainman]

I just did the Google search also. It looks like the only proposed solution is to replace the printhead. Wow - that could be a crap shoot. The ip4000 I have did need to have the printhead replaced, but I never got any "Wrong Cartridge" error messages. Maybe only the AIOs have that message pop up. But it does look like replacing the printhead has fixed the "Wrong Cartridge" error for some. The MP780 uses the same printhead as my ip4000. Looks like about $55 or so plus shipping. Think I saw them somewhere for about $45 but don't remember where. Maybe a call to Canon USA and ask for a price.

[Yenny]

I'll call Canon to check the price. If not I found one on Ebay and some other sites for around $50 or so. Hope that's the problem though.

[dejayajay]

My printer is a Canon MP700, so I don't know if this relates fully, however ... I too have started getting the "Wrong Cartridge" message, and yet I am using original Canon cartridges at present. I suspect that the problem is related to either the felt pads (deep inside the chassis of the printer) being fully saturated, or perhaps the purge unit is blocked /clogged /not working properly.

I have purchased and downloaded a workshop manual from eBay, and and in the process of dismantling the machine. So far I have cleaned the felt pads (5), and am about to embark on pulling out the purge unit. I have found a posting on dismantlling the purge unit - looks very helpful.