When Printing Becomes Faint or Colors Are Incorrect

When printing becomes faint or colors are incorrect even if ink remains in the ink tanks, the print head nozzles are probably clogged. Print the nozzle check pattern to confirm the condition of the nozzles and then perform Print Head Cleaning.

If the ruled lines are shifted after running print head maintenance, align the Print Head.

Note

Before performing maintenance

zOpen the Scanning Unit (Printer Cover) and make sure that all lamps for the ink tanks are lit red. If not, see “Getting the Ink Status Information” on page 80 and take the appropriate action.

zIncrease the Print Quality setting in the printer driver settings. This may improve the print results. Refer to the PC Printing Guide on-screen manual.

See “Print Results Not Satisfactory” on page 107.

Step 1

See “Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern” on page 87.

If lines are missing or if white streaks appearAfter cleaning the Print Head, print and examine the

nozzle check

pattern.

Step 2

See “Print Head Cleaning” on page 89.

If the problem is not resolved after performing

Print Head Cleaning twice

Step 3

See “Print Head Deep Cleaning” on page 90.

Note

If Print Head Deep Cleaning does not resolve the problem, the Print Head may be damaged. Contact your Canon service representative.

zIf the Ruled Lines Are Shifted

See “Aligning the Print Head” on page 91.

Note

You can also perform the maintenance operation from your computer. For details, refer to the PC Printing Guide on-screen manual.

86Routine Maintenance