Advanced Guide Troubleshooting

Contents > Routine Maintenance > When Printing Becomes Faint or Colors Are Incorrect > Cleaning the Print Head

### Cleaning the Print Head

Clean the Print Head if lines are missing or if there are white streaks in the printed nozzle check pattern. Cleaning unclogs the nozzles and restores the print head condition. Cleaning the Print Head consumes ink, so clean the Print Head only when necessary.

You need to prepare: a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain paper

If you click Cleaning on the Pattern Check dialog box that appears after printing the nozzle check pattern, the printer starts cleaning the Print Head. Make sure that a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain paper are loaded in the Rear Tray, then go to the procedure of (3) in step 3.

1. Make sure that the power is turned on and a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized paper are loaded in the Rear Tray.

Set the Paper Thickness Lever to the left. See Front View.

1. Open the printer properties dialog box.

See Opening the Printer Properties Dialog Box (Windows).

1. Clean the Print Head.

(1) Click the Maintenance tab.

(2) Click Cleaning.

The printer starts cleaning the Print Head when the Power lamp starts flashing green.

Do not perform any other operations until the printer completes the cleaning of the Print Head. This takes about 1 minute.

(3) Confirm the displayed message and click Print Check Pattern.

The nozzle check pattern will be printed.

Do not perform any other operations until the printer completes the printing of the nozzle check pattern.

1. Check the printed nozzle check pattern.

See Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern.

Note If the problem is not resolved after cleaning the Print Head twice, clean the Print Head deeply. See Cleaning the Print Head Deeply.

If you click Cleaning on the Pattern Check dialog box that appears after printing the nozzle check pattern, the printer starts cleaning the Print Head. Make sure that a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain paper are loaded in the Rear Tray, then go to the procedure of (3) in step 3.

1. Make sure that the power is turned on and a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized paper are loaded in the Rear Tray.

Set the Paper Thickness Lever to the left. See Front View.

1. Open the Canon IJ Printer Utility dialog box.

See Opening the Canon IJ Printer Utility (Macintosh).

1. Clean the Print Head.

(1) Make sure that Cleaning is selected in the pop-up menu.

(2) Click Cleaning.

(3) Confirm the displayed message and click OK.

The printer starts cleaning the Print Head when the Power lamp starts flashing green.

Do not perform any other operations until the printer completes the cleaning of the Print Head. This takes about 1 minute.

Note Clicking Initial Check Items displays the items to be checked before cleaning.

(4) Confirm the displayed message and click Print Check Pattern.

The nozzle check pattern is printed.

Do not perform any other operations until the printer completes the printing of the nozzle check pattern.

1. Check the printed nozzle check pattern.

See Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern.

Note If the problem is not resolved after cleaning the Print Head twice, clean the Print Head deeply. See Cleaning the Print Head Deeply.

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