Colorado M3W Ink levels not reducing/reporting correctly

[TSC1985]

Does anyone with a Colorado M3 or M5 been having issues with the ink levels not reporting correctly? Our M3 had the cyan and white levels not drop below 46% for a month and would not let us replace the cartridge. Had a local Canon Tech out who replaced the entire ink reservoir on both but still the Cyan will not below 46% (TBD on the white as we filled it above 46 and not gotten that low yet). Tech made it seems like we are OK to keep printing until machine forces it to auto eject at either 15 or 7% capacity.

 

[MarkSnelling]

This happens from time to time when there is a faulty sensor or a bad RFID chip on the bottle. When you get down to the critical point, in our experience with a few customers, and replace the bottle it should reset

 

[TSC1985]

This happens from time to time when there is a faulty sensor or a bad RFID chip on the bottle. When you get down to the critical point, in our experience with a few customers, and replace the bottle it should reset

So I had my local Canon technician in multiple times to try and fix. First was a complete replacement of both the C and W ink reservoir systems and sensors then when putting (2) bottles of each color in the C never adjusted beyond 46 and the white adjusted initially now stuck again at 46 after use. Then they came back and replaced just the C ink sensor with no adjustment. Further the C ink expiration date keeps reverting to 1/1/2000 no matter which bottle we use.

Biggest concern is if we do not know the level being displayed will the system auto force us to replace the bottle at a certain level? Right now it WILL NOT let us replace the inks registered at 46%.

 

[MarkSnelling]

So I had my local Canon technician in multiple times to try and fix. First was a complete replacement of both the C and W ink reservoir systems and sensors then when putting (2) bottles of each color in the C never adjusted beyond 46 and the white adjusted initially now stuck again at 46 after use. Then they came back and replaced just the C ink sensor with no adjustment. Further the C ink expiration date keeps reverting to 1/1/2000 no matter which bottle we use.

Biggest concern is if we do not know the level being displayed will the system auto force us to replace the bottle at a certain level? Right now it WILL NOT let us replace the inks registered at 46%.

Not knowing your exact circumstance, it should force a bottle change at 9% or something like that. Did you buy the unit from Canon directly or from a reseller?

 

[TSC1985]

Ordered machine direct from Canon and for all consumables including ink

 

[River Wilde]

We have a 1650 printer and are experiencing similar issues with it, including the ink being reported as expired and not registering the proper ink levels. I knew the ink was good according to the bottle. After printing five rolls of 150' vinyl, the ink levels started dropping and then quickly fell from there. The ink for the machine had an expiration of 8/4/25 and gave a warning of expired ink, while the bottle had an expiration of 10/14/25.

 

[TSC1985]

We have a 1650 printer and are experiencing similar issues with it, including the ink being reported as expired and not registering the proper ink levels. I knew the ink was good according to the bottle. After printing five rolls of 150' vinyl, the ink levels started dropping and then quickly fell from there. The ink for the machine had an expiration of 8/4/25 and gave a warning of expired ink, while the bottle had an expiration of 10/14/25.

MarkSnelling
I just got this message from my local support branch manager:

• Installing the affected bottles with the incorrectly programmed RFID chips will not affect the printing or performance of the printer.
• The effects these ink bottles can have on the printers are the ink expiry date not updating, incorrect percentage of ink on the User Interface (U.I.), and not updating the addition of ink when adding a bottle on the U.I. and on PRISMAservice.
• For a C1640, installing a patch (R1.4.5.2- Mod 51) will help minimize the effects of this. The software will need to be at R1.4.5.0 to install this patch (posted on the CPP website and on Core FTP under C1640 software).
• For a C1650, installing software R2.4.2.0 or higher will help minimize the effects.
• For an M-Series or C1630, regardless of which software version installed on the printer, the impact is limited.
• If a customer is concerned about losing their ‘printhead warranty’ because the expiry date did not update due to the RFID chip, please create a Trace File, take a picture of the expiry date on the ink bottle, and escalate to engineering.

I hope this helps reassure you that despite this one batch of toner with specific expiration dates causing the issues outlined above, it should not impact printing.

My most recent bottle inserted that is still having issues has an expiration of 2/17/26 so it may be an issue for awhile. The W ink also .....had... issues tho seems to be maybe reporting correctly.
The real biggest headache I see coming from this is that upon initial support request the tech came out and replaced multiple ink reservoirs and sensors, to the tune of $3000 and has never worked correctly so I am going to have to fight Canon that the work was not diagnosed correctly and the replacement was not needed.

 

[MarkSnelling]

MarkSnelling
I just got this message from my local support branch manager:

• Installing the affected bottles with the incorrectly programmed RFID chips will not affect the printing or performance of the printer.
• The effects these ink bottles can have on the printers are the ink expiry date not updating, incorrect percentage of ink on the User Interface (U.I.), and not updating the addition of ink when adding a bottle on the U.I. and on PRISMAservice.
• For a C1640, installing a patch (R1.4.5.2- Mod 51) will help minimize the effects of this. The software will need to be at R1.4.5.0 to install this patch (posted on the CPP website and on Core FTP under C1640 software).
• For a C1650, installing software R2.4.2.0 or higher will help minimize the effects.
• For an M-Series or C1630, regardless of which software version installed on the printer, the impact is limited.
• If a customer is concerned about losing their ‘printhead warranty’ because the expiry date did not update due to the RFID chip, please create a Trace File, take a picture of the expiry date on the ink bottle, and escalate to engineering.

I hope this helps reassure you that despite this one batch of toner with specific expiration dates causing the issues outlined above, it should not impact printing.

My most recent bottle inserted that is still having issues has an expiration of 2/17/26 so it may be an issue for awhile. The W ink also .....had... issues tho seems to be maybe reporting correctly.
The real biggest headache I see coming from this is that upon initial support request the tech came out and replaced multiple ink reservoirs and sensors, to the tune of $3000 and has never worked correctly so I am going to have to fight Canon that the work was not diagnosed correctly and the replacement was not needed.

It is going to be a tough argument. Hold your ground. The service team has their own budget and they are really stubborn when it comes to giving credits back due to "hindsight". This is my real beef with the direct tech service group...instead of troubleshooting they tend to throw parts at problems.