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Cleaning the Print Heads

The print head Cleaning and Deep Cleaning functions allow you to clear up clogged print head nozzles. Perform print head Cleaning if printing results are not satisfactory or if a specific color fails to print, even though there is enough ink.
If you perform Deep Cleaning and the condition still does not improve, perform ink flush.

Cleaning

  1. Open Canon IJ Printer Assistant Tool

  2. Click Cleaning

    When the Print Head Cleaning dialog box opens, select the ink group for which Cleaning is to be performed.
    Click Initial Check Items to display the items you need to check before performing Cleaning.

  3. Perform Cleaning

    Check that the printer is on and then click Start.

    Print Head Cleaning starts.

  4. Complete Cleaning

    Click OK when the confirmation message is displayed.
    The Nozzle Check dialog box will open.

  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. 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. Open Canon IJ Printer Assistant Tool

  2. Click Deep Cleaning

    When the Deep Cleaning dialog box opens, select the ink group for which Deep Cleaning is to be performed.
    Click Initial Check Items to display the items you need to check before performing Deep Cleaning.

  3. Perform Deep Cleaning

    Check that the printer is on and then click Start.
    Click OK when the confirmation message appears.

    Print head Deep Cleaning starts.

  4. Complete Deep Cleaning

    Click OK when the confirmation message is displayed.
    The Nozzle Check dialog box will open.

  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. Perform Deep Cleaning only when necessary.
  • If print results do not improve even after performing Deep Cleaning, turn off the power, wait 24 hours without pulling out the power plug, and then perform Deep Cleaning again. If print results still do not improve, perform Ink Flush.
    Ink Flush uses a large volume of ink.

Ink Flush

Perform Ink Flush if the print results do not improve even after Deep Cleaning is performed.

  1. Open Canon IJ Printer Assistant Tool

  2. Click Ink Flush

    When the Ink Flush dialog box opens, select the ink group for which ink flush is to be performed.
    Click Initial Check Items to display the items you need to check before performing Ink Flush.
    Be sure to check the remaining ink level before running Ink Flush.

  3. Perform Ink Flush

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

    Ink Flush starts.

  4. Complete Ink Flush

    Click OK when the confirmation message is displayed.
    The Nozzle Check dialog box will be displayed.

  5. Check the results

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

Important

  • Ink Flush consumes an extremely large amount of ink.
    Performing Ink Flush frequently will rapidly deplete your printer's ink supply. Therefore, perform Ink Flush only when necessary.
  • If Ink Flush is run when the remaining ink level is insufficient, it may cause a failure.

Note

  • If there is no sign of improvement after performing Ink Flush, the ink may have run out or the print head may be worn. For details on possible solutions, see "Ink Does Not Come Out."