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Cleaning the Print Heads

The print head cleaning function allows you to clear up clogged print head nozzle. Perform print head cleaning if printing is faint or a specific color fails to print, even though there is enough ink.

The procedure for cleaning the print head is as follows:

Cleaning

  1. Select Cleaning from the pop-up menu on the Canon IJ Printer Utility

  2. Click the Cleaning icon

    When the dialog opens, select the ink group for which cleaning is to be performed.
    Before running the cleaning, check the following items:

    On some printer models, pressing the tank cover open button on the printer opens the tank cover.
    Check the following items for each ink. Then, if necessary, perform Cleaning.

    • Is there ink remaining in the tank?
    • Did you push in the ink tank completely until you heard a clicking sound?
    • If the orange tape is there, has it been peeled off completely?
      Any remaining tape will hinder ink output.
    • Did you install the ink tanks in their correct positions?

  3. Execute cleaning

    Make sure that the printer is on and then click OK.

    Print head cleaning starts.

    Important

    • Do not close the paper output tray until the cleaning is complete.

  4. Complete cleaning

    Next, the message for nozzle check pattern printing is displayed.

  5. Check the results

    To check whether the print quality has improved, click Print Check Pattern. To cancel the check process, click Cancel.

    If cleaning the head once does not resolve the print head problem, clean it once more.

Important

  • Cleaning consumes a small amount of ink.
    Cleaning the print head frequently will rapidly deplete your printer's ink supply. Consequently, perform cleaning only when necessary.

Deep Cleaning

Deep Cleaning is more thorough than cleaning. Perform deep cleaning when two Cleaning attempts do not resolve the print head problem.

  1. Select Cleaning from the pop-up menu on the Canon IJ Printer Utility

  2. Click the Deep Cleaning icon

    When the dialog opens, select the ink group for which deep cleaning is to be performed.
    Before running the deep cleaning, check the following items:

    On some printer models, pressing the tank cover open button on the printer opens the tank cover.
    Check the following items for each ink. Then, if necessary, perform Deep Cleaning.

    • Is there ink remaining in the tank?
    • Did you push in the ink tank completely until you heard a clicking sound?
    • If the orange tape is there, has it been peeled off completely?
      Any remaining tape will hinder ink output.
    • Did you install the ink tanks in their correct positions?

  3. Execute deep cleaning

    Make sure that the printer is on and then click OK.
    Click OK when the confirmation message appears.

    Print head deep cleaning starts.

    Important

    • Do not close the paper output tray until the deep cleaning is complete.

  4. Complete deep cleaning

    The Nozzle Check dialog opens after the confirmation message.

  5. Check the results

    To check whether the print quality has improved, click Print Check Pattern. To cancel the check process, click Cancel.

Important

  • Deep Cleaning consumes a larger amount of ink than Cleaning.
    Cleaning the print head frequently will rapidly deplete your printer's ink supply. Consequently, perform cleaning only when necessary.

Note

  • If there is no sign of improvement after Deep Cleaning, turn off the printer, wait 24 hours, and then perform Deep Cleaning again. If there is still no sign of improvement, the ink may have run out or the print head may be worn. For details on the remedial action to be taken, see "No Ink Comes Out."