Canon i9900 problems...

I use my printer few times a week since I got it 5 years ago. I always used Canon genuine inks in it. This past weekend as I was printing large 13x19 prints I noticed that when the background is a solid or almost a solid color, there are lines across the page. I think its called banding? Also on ocasion, and not every print, the last one inch of the paper is lacking color... there is print there but it seems that not all the colors were engaged.
I tried the deep cleaning cycles few times but nothing seems to help. If the printer is dying it would suck since I just got 2 sets of new inks not too long ago.
Should I try different cleaning if this actually means that there is a clog? Where would I turn to look for a head replacement, again if that is the issue here.
Thank you guys for your help.

I use the i9900 for quick proofs and office graphics.  You can find OEM heads on Ebay or a quick Google search, about $120 for them. 

Or, if you're feeling brave, yank the catridges, take the head and rinse under warm water to flush out as much ink as you can, then soak a paper towel in Windex, set the head with the jets down on the soaked towel, then pour some Windex on in the head itself (where the cartridge sit, especially the white sponge).  Let it sit for an hour or so then rinse dry.  Pour 99% alcohol through the sponges to dry them properly.  After a good wait to ensure it's dry (I do it overnight) then I re-install.

The head is amazingly robust and seems to take the cleaning OK.

S.

If I can sell the ink I just bought, then Epson 3880 is in my future, and if not I will first try the cleaning excercise and then go for a new head hoping it will last another 5 years hehe.

The lines on the page may be coming from head misalignment, rather than from clogged nozzles. I haven't run an i9900 for a long, long time but I do seem to recall there is a head alignment procedure in the driver. Check that before disassembling the head for heavy cleaning procedures and/or replacement.

As for the last inch or so not having all colors present, that sounds to me like the printer is kicking the page out prematurely, perhaps because the print is too close to the unprintable margin of the paper. Ink is laid down in multiple passes with various colors firing, all of this happens as the paper is advanced fractionally along the feed path. If your image dimensions actually spill over into the border region of the page, and you don't have a borderless print mode engaged, then it's possible the printer feed ejects the page before all the image gets laid down.

Royce,
I have tried cleaning cycles, deep cleaning cycles, head alignment etc. Every print just gets worse. Also now I am getting 0.5" on top and 1" on the bottom of the page that does not have all the color printed, the image shows but some colors are missing. So now I am not sure, new head at $200 and hope this will solve the problem or new printer and "eat" the cost of ink I just bought.

Tom, if you really want to consider keeping that printer in operation, I wouldn't buy a head & hope it works. I'd take it to a Canon service center and get a repair estimate, though this model is very long in the tooth now and repair may be troublesome. To me it sounds like at least two separate problems are going on -- the regular lines or banding could be caused by deeply clogged nozzles, or serious alignment problems, or an issue with the feed mechanism not stepping the paper properly. Replacing the head wouldn't correct the latter 2 issues.

Losing a bunch of the inks on the first & last parts of the print also doesn't sound like a straight head problem. It might be that an ink flow issue could drop a few inks on the first bit of the page as the printer gets going. But once ink is flowing there's no good reason for it to predictably drop out again on the last inch of the print but not anywhere in between. I think this is being caused by something else.

If there are multiple problems with the printer, including a potential head replacement looming, sadly I'd say the economics are not in favor of repairing it. Buying a new head and still having issues risks just throwing good money after bad, so unless you can get a repair estimate from a service outlet you're going to have to go with your gut.

Subtracting the ink costs and looking at the costs of a new printer that would be under warranty and offer improved print quality, if I were in your shoes (and I was, with my i9900 some years ago) I'd switch to a new printer. Though it depends a bit on why you print, and how much volume you print. An Epson 3880, for example, likely would be more economical to run due to the cost-per-volume of its larger ink cartridges...

I think a new printer would be best for me in my situation. I was actually looking at the Epson 3880 but the start up costs... ouch. I only print for myself and friends. I typically print everything that I classify as "good" shot on 8.5x11 and then 13x19 for prints hanging at home etc. A year I would maybe print 100 x 8x11 and maybe 20 of the larger prints (usually when I want to change whats hanging on the wall). I think if I were to print this in my local photolab I would break even on the printer costs after a year or so of printing.... not an easy decision.