Canon Pro-100 Sat Unused

My Canon Pro-100 ran a couple of ink cartridges dry just before I had to move for a job change, and unfortunately it wound up sitting unused for a couple of years.

Before I spend money on a new set of ink cartridges I wonder if anyone can give me good news about the chances it will ever work properly again. My gut tells me I'm screwed, but maybe someone here can convince me otherwise.

Thanks.

The printhead is likely clogged but there are products on the market that you can try to clean things out. I am currently looking at a product for my Pro-10 for maintenance called printhead hospital. I'm not sure what is in it, but it is relatively inexpensive and comes with enough solution to inject like they show as well as soak the base of the printhead if desired. Even without the cartridges running dry, the head would have clogged if you didn't use it for that long.

Anyway, in the reviews there are a few from people with Canon photo printers, and they claim good things so it is worth a try.

Mine sat for over a year (maybe even 2 years) before I decided to try to print something again. When I did try to print again, I was worried the ink would be dried up or some other horror would befall it, but did a test print first, that was fine, then printed something, that was fine. By test print, I mean the actual option in one of the menus for a test print. All it did was print some text on an 8 1/2 by 11 size sheet of photo paper. Not sure that was needed, but you could start that way. I've made about 3 prints since then, all fine.

I read the comments at the Online Photographer place a few weeks ago on one of his printing posts and the people with a Canon printer said about the same thing - they don't get printhead clogs, while the Epson people did get them every now and then.

The Canon printheads operate by heating the ink to be applied to paper,
so one of the things you can do is to enable the 'Quiet Print' mode
in the driver options to prolong printhead life. This is simply a tip
for longevity.

The PRO-100 uses dye inks, which contain no pigment solids.
This is a big reason these printers hold up so well after lengthy
periods of disuse. I simply keep mine covered with a pillowcase
to keep dust from settling into it, and I use mine sparingly.

Windex original glass cleaner with 'Ammonia-D' is a proven
cleaner/flusher for printheads and cartridges
which is non-caustic to the parts.
I've successfully flushed and cleaned carts and printheads
for my own Canon PRO-100 and MG5320 printers, with both
printers still functioning perfectly.

Check out the Printer Knowledge Forum under the Canon Inkjet Printers section
for a lot of details about how their dye-ink printers can last almost forever,
and to learn about ways to maintain and prolong the life of your printer.

mikeinctown wrote in post #19059286
...I am currently looking at a product for my Pro-10 for maintenance called printhead hospital...

I wouldn't bother with it; it's likely to be a waste of money & time.
Very wide-ranging ratings are given on the product, and common household cleaners
cost far less than the Printhead Hospital stuff.

Note my mention of Windex above, and search the forums I lnked to.
Some reading and preparedness will go a long way, inexpensively, if the printhead is still viable.

groundloop wrote in post #19059167
My Canon Pro-100 ran a couple of ink cartridges dry just before I had to move for a job change, and unfortunately it wound up sitting unused for a couple of years.

Before I spend money on a new set of ink cartridges I wonder if anyone can give me good news about the chances it will ever work properly again. My gut tells me I'm screwed, but maybe someone here can convince me otherwise.

Thanks.

Loop.
Turn it on, do a nozzle check (test) and let us know your findings.
My PRO-10 Printer (Pigment) sat for almost a year due to construction. Turned it on, nozzle check fine. Print was fine.

2 or 3 of the ink cartridges are out and the others are running low, so I'll need to purchase new ink cartridges before I can do any testing. The fact that a set of cartridges is around $100 is why I was concerned whether this printer might be able to be resuscitated or not.

In any case, thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge.

groundloop wrote in post #19064406
2 or 3 of the ink cartridges are out and the others are running low, so I'll need to purchase new ink cartridges before I can do any testing. The fact that a set of cartridges is around $100 is why I was concerned whether this printer might be able to be resuscitated or not.

In any case, thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge.

After my first batch of cartridges ran out of ink, I decided it was going to be too expensive if I used Canon ink, so I tried third party and they seem to work fine and are much cheaper. so that is an option if you want to continue printing and save a few bucks.