Canon Pixma Mp970 Quick Start Guide

							57 Routine Maintenance
Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern
Print the nozzle check pattern to determine whether the ink ejects properly from the print head 
nozzles.
1Make sure that the machine is turned on, and then load a sheet of A4 or Letter-
sized plain paper in the Rear Tray or Cassette.
2Open the Paper Output Tray, and then open the Output Tray Extension.
(1)Put your finger in the center of the top of the Paper Output Tray and open it gently.
(2)Open the Output Tray Extension.
3Press the Paper Feed Switch to select the paper source where you have loaded 
paper.
4Print the nozzle check pattern.
(1)Press the HOME button.
The HOME screen is displayed.
(2)Select Settings, then press the OK button.
The Settings screen is displayed.
(3)Select Maintenance, then press the OK button.
The Maintenance screen is displayed.
(4)Select Nozzle check pattern and then press 
the OK button.
The pattern print confirmation screen is 
displayed.
(5)Select Ye s and then press the OK button.
The nozzle check pattern is printed, and the 
pattern confirmation screens are displayed 
alternately.
5Examine the pattern and take the appropriate action.
See “Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern” on page 58.
Note
Make sure that the Inner Cover is closed.
 
						

							58Routine Maintenance
Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern
Examine the nozzle check pattern, and perform cleaning if necessary.
1Check the nozzle check pattern you printed.
(1)Check if lines in this pattern are missing.
(A) Good
(B) Lines are missing
(2)Check if there are white streaks in this pattern.
(C) Good
(D) White streaks present
Note
If the ink level is low, the nozzle check pattern is not printed correctly. Replace the relevant ink tank.
See “Replacing an Ink Tank” on page 50.
(1)
(2)
(A) (B)
(C) (D)
 
						

							59 Routine Maintenance
2The confirmation screens for white streaks and missing lines are displayed 
alternately. Select the pattern that is closer to the nozzle check pattern that you 
printed.
zIf There Are No Missing Lines and No White Streaks
(1)Select All A and press the OK button.
The LCD returns to the Maintenance screen.
zIf Lines Are Missing or White Streaks Are Present
(1)Select Also B and press the OK button.
The cleaning confirmation screen is displayed.
(2)Select Ye s and press the OK button to start Print Head Cleaning.
See “Print Head Cleaning” on page 60.
 
						

							60Routine Maintenance
Print Head Cleaning
Clean the Print Head if lines are missing or if white streaks appear in the printed nozzle check 
pattern. Cleaning unclogs the nozzles and restores the print head condition. Note that cleaning the 
Print Head causes used ink to be absorbed in the ink absorber. Cleaning the Print Head consumes 
ink, so perform Print Head Cleaning only when necessary.
1Make sure that the machine is turned on, and then load a sheet of A4 or Letter-
sized plain paper in the Rear Tray or Cassette.
2Open the Paper Output Tray, and then open the Output Tray Extension.
(1)Put your finger in the center of the top of the Paper Output Tray and open it gently.
(2)Open the Output Tray Extension.
3Press the Paper Feed Switch to select the paper source where you have loaded 
paper.
4Start Print Head Cleaning.
(1)Press the HOME button.
The HOME screen is displayed.
(2)Select Settings, then press the OK button.
The Settings screen is displayed.
(3)Select Maintenance, then press the OK button.
The Maintenance screen is displayed.
(4)Select Cleaning, then press the OK button.
The confirmation screen is displayed.
(5)Select Ye s, then press the OK button.
Print Head Cleaning starts.
Do not perform any other operations until Print 
Head Cleaning finishes. This takes about 1 
minute.
The pattern print confirmation screen is 
displayed.
(6)Select Ye s, then press the OK button.
The nozzle check pattern is printed.
5Check the print head condition with the printed nozzle check pattern, and take 
appropriate action.
See “Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern” on page 58.
Note
Make sure that the Inner Cover is closed.
Note
If the problem is not resolved after performing Print Head Cleaning twice, try Print Head Deep 
Cleaning. See “Print Head Deep Cleaning” on page 61.
 
						

							61 Routine Maintenance
Print Head Deep Cleaning
If print quality does not improve by standard Print Head Cleaning, try Print Head Deep Cleaning, 
which is a more powerful process. Note that cleaning the Print Head causes used ink to be absorbed 
in the ink absorber. Print Head Deep Cleaning consumes more ink than standard Print Head 
Cleaning, so perform this procedure only when necessary.
1Make sure that the machine is turned on, and then load a sheet of A4 or Letter-
sized plain paper in the Rear Tray or Cassette.
2Open the Paper Output Tray, and then open the Output Tray Extension.
(1)Put your finger in the center of the top of the Paper Output Tray and open it gently.
(2)Open the Output Tray Extension.
3Press the Paper Feed Switch to select the paper source where you have loaded 
paper.
4Start Print Head Deep Cleaning.
(1)Press the HOME button.
The HOME screen is displayed.
(2)Select Settings, then press the OK button.
The Settings screen is displayed.
(3)Select Maintenance, then press the OK button.
The Maintenance screen is displayed.
(4)Select Deep cleaning, then press the OK 
button.
The confirmation screen is displayed.
(5)Select Ye s, then press the OK button.
Print Head Deep Cleaning starts.
Do not perform any other operations until Print 
Head Deep Cleaning finishes. This takes about 
2 minutes.
5Check the condition of the Print Head.
(1)Print the nozzle check pattern to check the print head condition.
See “Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern” on page 57.
If a particular color is not printed properly, replace the ink tank of that color.
See “Replacing an Ink Tank” on page 50.
(2)If the problem is not resolved, turn off the machine and perform another Print Head Deep 
Cleaning after 24 hours.
(3)If this does not solve the problem, the Print Head may be damaged. Contact your Canon 
service representative.
Note
Make sure that the Inner Cover is closed.
 
						

							62Routine Maintenance
Aligning the Print Head
If ruled lines are printed with misaligned or print results are otherwise unsatisfactory, adjust the print 
head position.
„Automatic Print Head Alignment
1Make sure that the machine is turned on, and then load a sheet of A4 or Letter-
sized plain paper in the Rear Tray.
2Open the Paper Output Tray, and then open the Output Tray Extension.
(1)Put your finger in the center of the top of the Paper Output Tray and open it gently.
(2)Open the Output Tray Extension.
3Adjust the print head position.
(1)Press the HOME button.
The HOME screen is displayed.
(2)Select Settings, then press the OK button.
The Settings screen is displayed.
(3)Select Maintenance, then press the OK button.
The Maintenance screen is displayed.
(4)Select Auto head align, then press the OK 
button.
The confirmation screen is displayed.
(5)Select Ye s, then press the OK button.
The print head is aligned automatically, and the print head pattern after the adjustment is 
printed out. This takes about 4 minutes.
Note
Make sure that the Inner Cover is closed.
Important
You cannot feed paper from the Cassette when performing Automatic Print Head Alignment. 
Always load paper in the Rear Tray.
Note
If you select Head alignment print, the machine 
exits the process after printing the current head 
position adjustment values.
NotezThe print head alignment pattern is printed in black and blue.
zIf adjustment was not done successfully, the “Auto head align has failed.” error message is 
displayed on the LCD. For details, see “An Error Message Is Displayed on the LCD” on 
page 74.
zIf results of Automatic Print Head Alignment are not satisfactory, perform Manual Print Head 
Alignment. For details, see “Manual Print Head Alignment” on page 63.
 
						

							63 Routine Maintenance
„Manual Print Head Alignment
If the results of Automatic Print Head Alignment are not satisfactory, follow the procedure below 
to perform Manual Print Head Alignment.
For details on performing Automatic Print Head Alignment, see “Automatic Print Head 
Alignment” on page 62.
1Make sure that the machine is turned on, and then load three sheets of A4 or 
Letter-sized plain paper in the Rear Tray or Cassette.
2Open the Paper Output Tray, and then open the Output Tray Extension.
(1)Put your finger in the center of the top of the Paper Output Tray and open it gently.
(2)Open the Output Tray Extension.
3Press the Paper Feed Switch to select the paper source where you have loaded 
paper.
4Print the print head alignment pattern.
(1)Press the HOME button.
The HOME screen is displayed.
(2)Select Settings, then press the OK button.
The Settings screen is displayed.
(3)Select Maintenance, then press the OK button.
The Maintenance screen is displayed.
(4)Select Manual head align, then press the OK button.
The confirmation screen is displayed.
(5)Select Ye s, then press the OK button.
The print head alignment pattern is printed.
(6)When “Did the patterns print correctly?” is 
displayed, confirm that the pattern is printed 
correctly, select Ye s, then press the OK button.
The input screen for the head position 
adjustment values is displayed.
Note
If you select Head alignment print, the machine exits the process after printing the current
head position adjustment values.
 
						

							64Routine Maintenance
5Look at the first printout, and then adjust the 
print head position.
(1)Check the printed patterns, and use the [ or 
] button to input the number of the pattern in 
column A that has the least noticeable vertical 
streaks.
(2)Repeat the same procedure until you finish inputting the pattern number for columns B to 
F, then press the OK button.
(3)Confirm the displayed message and press the OK button.
The second pattern is printed.
Note
If it is difficult to pick the best pattern, pick the setting that produces the least noticeable 
vertical white streaks.
(A) Less noticeable vertical white streaks
(B) More noticeable vertical white streaks
(A) (B)
 
						

							65 Routine Maintenance
6Look at the second printout, and then adjust the print head position.
(1)Check the printed patterns, and use the [ or 
] button to input the number of the pattern in 
column G that has the least noticeable vertical 
streaks.
(2)Repeat the same procedure until you finish 
inputting the pattern number for columns H to 
K, then press the OK button.
For column K, the best pattern will be smooth 
and have no streaks in the border indicated by 
the arrow.
(3)Confirm the displayed message and press the OK button.
The third pattern is printed.
Note
If it is difficult to pick the best pattern, pick the setting that produces the least noticeable 
horizontal white streaks.
(C) Less noticeable horizontal white streaks
(D) More noticeable horizontal white streaks
(C) (D)
 
						

							66Routine Maintenance
7Look at the third printout, and then adjust the print head position.
(1)Check the printed patterns, and use the [ or 
] button to input the number of the pattern in 
columns L and M that has the least noticeable 
horizontal streaks, then press the OK button.
Note
If it is difficult to pick the best pattern, pick the setting that produces the least noticeable 
horizontal white streaks.
(E) Less noticeable horizontal white streaks
(F) More noticeable horizontal white streaks
(E) (F)