Canon IP4000 and Non Standard CDRs

[Kevin Harper]

Looks like it's time for a sharp knife - and the plastic that the insert
is made from
seems to be both thick (circa 1.5mm) and possibly brittle - or any other
suggestions
please?

1. Besides calling canon to see if you and get a replacement tray for
free and sell the old one to a yank on e-bay for £25.00? Seriously...
they might have a rom update or some such that isn't published on the
website.

Good point - I will talk to canon support in the UK...and who knows, you
might see me on ebay yet!

they do have updates for the CD software online... and you
can downloadthe whole thing from the taiwan site
http://cmtw.canon.com.tw/service/driver2.asp?ProductID1=00000014&ProductID3=00000227

http://www.canon.com.hk/myContent/P...eJetPrinter/desktopprinter/iP3000/CDR_ENG.pdf

Thanks for the links. I have checked and I have the latest version of the
software and an actual paper copy of the cdr print guide - it came with the
printer!

I just looked at the manual and it clearly shows that the square hole
on the adapter should show the reflecter under it.

If it helps, looking at it in real life, the hole on my adapter doesn't line
up with the 4th reflector, but is about midway between it and the other 3.
If you look on pages 4 and 6 of the pdf manual, you should be able to see
what I mean.

2. Besides scanning the disc and plopping a template into a graphics
program?

Good point.

I would say that surething might be an option, but the last time I
checked they didn't support canon priting directly.

It still doesn't.

I'm not sure if you have photoshop.. but you can find templates online
I'm thinking that you might be able to blank out the CD sensor
http://www.cds.com/specs/Digitalprint/

take the 80mm template or business card one, plop on top of the 120mm
template, delete, leaving you with a disc with a white spot. In turn
you can take all that and plop into a 120mm which should be very easy
to center, and save in a format that CD-label print can read.

I'm going to give it a try - thanks for that.

Do they make hockey rink / business card to 120mm disc adapters?
Beyond the one canon provides
The last known site now dead was http://microdiscs.de/. Not sure who
would be dealing in such things in your neck of the woods presently.

Again, I will look in to all of this.

Thanks for all of your help and the same to everyone else who has helped out
on this. I really do feel as if I am getting somewhere with it now.

Thanks again

Kevin the Lurker

 

[zakezuke]

I would say that surething might be an option, but the last time I

It still doesn't.

I resorted to talking to tech support (I feel deep shame). Anyhow, you
are correct they them selfs still don't support it. I can understand
as they likely don't even have one to test, otherwise they are pretty
good about supporting losts of cd printers. But support was nice
enough to refer me to 3rd party templates.

Note i've not tried these yet... my demo has expired.

"You can try using one of the Canon templates from here:
http://pete.mvd2.com/custom_templates.htm , otherwise you will have to
customize your own template.

To do this, go to the File menu, click on New and select a [CD Printer]

template that you think most closely matches your own and hit Finish.
Now go
to the File menu and click on Page Setup. You will need to adjust these

fields to your labels/printers specifications. If you are unsure what
one of
the fields correspondes to, just click the Help button.

You can also save as a template by going to the File menu and select
Save
As. Select Template (*.stt) from the Save as type field and check the
Place
layout in category box to save in a category like CD Label. Give the
template a name and Save." ----s. kelly surething support

 

[zakezuke]

update - tested one of their templates and it worked just fine on the
ip3000.

http://pete.mvd2.com/canon_ip4000_v3.std

(saved as \prog files\surething\stcd\user templates, opened, saved as a
template, printed).

Using this template, and after manually setting the printer for tray b,
printable disc, yadda yadda yadda, I was successfully able to print
onto a DVD using surething. It's a full faced design.... but I imagine
one can use one of those nice spiffy templates I sited before and with
some good old fashioned trial and error.

Probally not the answer you wanted, but at the very least another
option.

Some other templates are listed here.
http://sleeperman.topcities.com/canon.htm

 

[Kevin Harper]

1. Besides calling canon to see if you and get a replacement tray for
free and sell the old one to a yank on e-bay for £25.00? Seriously...
they might have a rom update or some such that isn't published on the
website.

Latest update - Canon support (UK) have come back to me today and said that
only 12cm and 8cm cdrs are supported by the printer and business card cdrs
are not. Looks like I will be getting the sharp knife out after all.

Thanks again for all of the help.

Kevin the Lurker

 

[zakezuke]

Latest update - Canon support (UK) have come back to me today and said that

only 12cm and 8cm cdrs are supported by the printer and business card cdrs
are not. Looks like I will be getting the sharp knife out after all.

You might want to check out "Miss Perspicacia Tick's" saga. If you'll
note http://users.cjb.net/pixma-faq/3.html the image I have enclosed
as i'm sure you have on yours it's evident the sled is designed to take
business cards and 80mm. If you're talking about hockey rink (rounded
business cards) well canon could be right, but business card CDrs are
supported.

You might want to e-mail them in a polite way with your contact info
and explain, "Dear canon - I was just told you don't support business
sized CDrs when it's very clear in the manual and the software that
they are".

Or you just might want to continue doing what you're doing. In any
event, do take the time to post your complaint and case number. There
is some guy that "says" he can report to canon... not sure if he's for
real but your complaint is so legit I'll take the time to copy and
paste.

Also, I was impressed by my communicate with "Sure thing". While our
canons are not officaly supported they are half way supported which is
better than you'd expect for a product not sold in their (my) country.
who knows, they might take the time to make a template for you... they
seemed most interested when I told them "i'm buying your product cause
the canon software is inadquate".





Miss Perspicacia Tick's saga.
http://groups-beta.google.com/group...231f9fbedd3?q=&rnum=19&hl=en#eb45a231f9fbedd3
http://groups-beta.google.com/group...e286fef8b01/169c73470c2b1e77#169c73470c2b1e77

 

[Kevin Harper]

You might want to check out "Miss Perspicacia Tick's" saga. If you'll
note http://users.cjb.net/pixma-faq/3.html the image I have enclosed
as i'm sure you have on yours it's evident the sled is designed to take
business cards and 80mm. If you're talking about hockey rink (rounded
business cards) well canon could be right, but business card CDrs are
supported.

I am actually talking about business card and not hockey rink cdrs. I did
make this specific point to the support bod that I spoke to but he was
adamant that it did say in the manual that they were not supported. I did
say that I had checked all through the manual and that there was no mention
of it.

You might want to e-mail them in a polite way with your contact info
and explain, "Dear canon - I was just told you don't support business
sized CDrs when it's very clear in the manual and the software that
they are".

It's worth noting that I emailed support when this all first started and
they said that it was a software problem - their software did not support
business card cdrs. They did say that it should be possible with 3rd party
software. Once I find the email, I might throw it back at them -
unfortunately I think it was on my business email address and not my
personal one so I can't access it at the moment

Or you just might want to continue doing what you're doing. In any
event, do take the time to post your complaint and case number. There
is some guy that "says" he can report to canon... not sure if he's for
real but your complaint is so legit I'll take the time to copy and
paste.

Might be worth a thought.

Also, I was impressed by my communicate with "Sure thing". While our
canons are not officaly supported they are half way supported which is
better than you'd expect for a product not sold in their (my) country.
who knows, they might take the time to make a template for you... they
seemed most interested when I told them "i'm buying your product cause
the canon software is inadquate".

Again, might be worth a thought. The pain of it is - the canon software is
more than adequate for 12 cm cdrs!

Thanks

Kevin the Lurker

 

[zakezuke]

Also, I was impressed by my communicate with "Sure thing". While our

Again, might be worth a thought. The pain of it is - the canon software is
more than adequate for 12 cm cdrs!

I would *somewhat agree* with this last statement. For me it's a case
of the canon software is more than adequete for 120mm cdrs 95% of the
time, but that other 5% of the time the program suffers from what seems
like a memory like the likes of which you'd only experence on a 16bit
applciation. In my case I can't complain because it's painfully clear,
while this is a software problem, I'm not running a printer that
officaly has CD printing. In fact this is the only reason i'm
considering SureThing, because I hate it when I put in a CD and only
the text prints and not the graphic.

I did make this specific point to the support bod that I spoke to but he was
adamant that it did say in the manual that they were not supported. I did
say that I had checked all through the manual and that there was no mention
of it.

I must agree with you, I don't see it at all in my downloaded cd
printing manual.... and I must say i'm shocked. I can't say my epson
supported them as frankly I can't get them printable in the states
except via mail order, actually printables at all are hard to find save
costco. But I doubt it would suffer the same problem as the canon
because it doesn't have disc.

Your manual may say nothing, but the Service Manual for the mp750/mp780
(same printer but the multifuction version). Has this to say
(unforunatly in deutscht)
----
Revision 0 SEC - SM27 - 000 DEZ. 2004
CD-R/DVD Druck Papiergröße
1.1 Spezifikationen
Stapeleinzug: A4, B5, A5, Letter, Legal, Umschläge
(European DL oder Commercial 10), 10 x 15 cm, 13 x 18 cm
und Kreditkartengröße (54 x 86 mm)
Kassette: A4, B5, A5, Letter, Legal, Umschläge (European
DL oder Commercial 10), 10 x 15 cm und 13 x 18 cm
-----
auf english (my translation with my limited understanding of the
language - find your own german )
1.1 Specifications
CD-R/DVD Print As Standard-Feature available
Auto-Sheet feeder: A4, B5, A5, Letter, Legal, Envelopes
(European DL or Commercial 10), 10 x 15 cm, 13 x 18 cm and
Credit-card-size (54 x 86 mm)
Cassette: A4, B5, A5, Letter, Legal, Envelopes (European DL or
Commercial 10), 10 x 15 cm and 13 x 18 cm
-----
Pixma IP4000 service manual section part 2 p1
TECHNICAL REFERENCE
Inkjet SFP Quality Assurance Div.
16-1, Shimonoge 3-chome, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 213-8512, Japan

(1) Multi-paper handling
Paper feeding through the auto sheet feeder and the front cassette,
automatic duplex printing, and CD-R / DVD-R direct printing is
available as a standard feature.
- Auto sheet feeder: Supports credit card size and sticker sheets as
well as conventional paper types and sizes.
- Front cassette: Except credit card size and sticker sheets, supports
the same types and sizes of paper as the auto sheet feeder.
- Automatic duplex printing unit built-in: By using Photo Paper Plus
Double Sided, a photo album can be created automatically.
- CD-R / DVD-R direct printing unit built-in: By incorporating CD-R /
DVD-R tray feeder functionality into the printer, CD-R / DVD-R direct
printing can
be performed without using a CD-R tray feeder.
Front loading and operation without any lever settings offers easy and
quick printing.
----- (I read this as supports credit card sized media or sticker
sheets)

But needless to say, given the simplistic nature of CD-label print...
this is in many ways a hardware problem, that can be resolved in
software. But as you already pointed out may also be able to be
resolved with a knife. But given Kreditkartengröße (credit card
size) is officaly listed as a media type.... canon support is and I
mean this with the greatest respect, smoking sugar free diet frosted
minicrack. Either the software is screwy and they need to fix it, or
the printer is screwy and they need to fix it, either way it's their
problem.

I'd also be interested to see how yours reacts to 80mm discs. I don't
have the real tray so I have to get all my info from people on that
other side of the planet.

Needless to say I find this interesting enough to add to my faq. While
I don't use business card CDs I can see where this would a feature
someone would buy the printer for. Current home is in case you are
curious or need pictures is http://pixma-faq.cjb.net/ .

 

[Andy Graham]

Begs the question why have a template holder that is the size for
business card CD?

To my shame I can confess that I took the advice from a member of PC
World's sales staff regarding this issue before I bought it.
:-(

 

[Kevin Harper]

Begs the question why have a template holder that is the size for
business card CD?

I'm certain that with the right software, or a bit of trail and error, it
can (and will) be done. My big problem at the moment is that the holder is
"slightly" (0.5ish mm top and bottom) too small for the busines card cd-roms
that I have.

To my shame I can confess that I took the advice from a member of PC
World's sales staff regarding this issue before I bought it.
:-(

We all have to learn somewhere. You can get your own back though...(1) a
while ago, I was descended upon by one of their "assistants" as soon as I
started to look at something. He asked me "Can I help you with anything?",
to which I promptly replied, "Yes, can you explain the Theory of Relativity
to me, it's been puzzling me for a long time". The look on his face was
absolutely wonderful...and (2) they have a ruse to get your address and
details into their system so that they can plague you with enormous
quantities of advertising "bumph" by post. Their cashiers are "trained" to
ask "are you buying this for a business?" and when you respond in the
positive to this question, they will then ask "can I have your personal
details so that we can issue you with a VAT receipt"; I purchased something
from them (approx £100 value) and, of course, I was asked this question.
I'm self employed, so I generally do buy for my business, albeit on a
personal credit card. At this point, I told the cashier "I am not prepared
to give my personal information out, having done this a couple of times
previously and I now receive 3 or 4 copies of each mailing your people send
out"; she replied "well, I can't let you have a VAT receipt then" and I then
said "are you prepared for me to contact HM Customs and Excise then and
inform them that PC World and you personally are acting illegally in not
issuing me a VAT receipt for a purchase that is VAT chargeable?"...she
backed down very quickly.

Sorry for the long post. You can tell that I'm really impressed with PC
World - I won't go into the saga of the non working printer that I purchased
from them and the awful time I had getting a refund.

Kevin the Lurker

 

[zakezuke]

I have new theories regarding the issue of business card CDs.

The side to side sweep we've somewhat established as being to sense the
4th hub reflector. Having a non standard tray and isolating issues
with it i've spent far too much time looking at it and keeping my
printer lid open with a 8mm spanner.

Anyways... I had issues with my tray not being sucked into my printer.
I thought at first it was due to my not having a standard tray, but as
it turns out if I back it off a little it sucks it in. Seems those
arrows on the real tray... or my faux arrows are actually somewhat
important... less so on non north american models which well have
rollers. This started to make me wonder whether or not your issue
could be related to the fact that looking for the center hub reflector
isn't dependent on the location of the edge reflectors... in fact there
is no way the printer could know it's location by site... it must suck
the tray in a fixed distance and assume the reflector will be there. I
suspect people, normal people, just shove in the tray as far as it will
goes... see it works under normal condtions, and don't give it a second
thought. Anyways it might be worth exploring in the event you didn't
mod your tray to remove this reflector and try printing making sure the
arrows are actually aligned between tray and printer guide lid.