Canon printer PIXMA iP3500 User Manual

							27
Routine Maintenance
5Install the ink tank.
(1) Insert the front end of the ink tank into the Print 
Head.
Make sure the position of the tank matches the 
label (A).
(2) Press on the   mark on the ink tank until 
the ink tank snaps firmly into place.
(3) Make sure that the ink lamp lights up red.
6Close the Top Cover.
Important
The printer cannot be used unless all the ink tanks are 
installed.
Note
zIf the  ALARM  lamp still flashes orange after the Top Cover is closed, see “ALARM Lamp 
Flashes Orange” on page 64.
z When you start printing after replacing the ink tank, Print Head Cleaning is performed 
automatically. Do not perform any other operations until Print Head Cleaning finishes. The 
POWER  lamp flashes green during cleaning.
(2)
(3)
(A)
(1) 
						

							28Routine Maintenance
Keeping the Best Printing Results
To avoid drying of the Print Head and cl ogging of the nozzles, note the following.
„When You Turn Off the Printer
Follow the procedure below to turn off the printer.
(1) Press the  POWER button to turn off the printer.
(2) Confirm that the  POWER lamp has gone out.
This takes a few seconds or  as long as around 30 seconds. 
(3) Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.
If you are using a power outlet strip, you can switch it off instead.
When you press the  POWER button to turn off the printer, the printer automatically puts a 
protective cap on the Print Head to prevent the ink from drying. If you remove the power cord or 
switch off the power outlet strip before the  POWER lamp goes out, this capping will not be done 
properly, causing the Print Head to dry and clog.
„ When You Are Not Using the Printer for a Long Time
When you are not using the printer for a long time , print in both black & white and in color, or 
perform Print Head Cleaning, about once a month to prevent degradation of the Print Head.
Numerous nozzles are installed in the Print  Head for high-precision printing. Just as the 
uncapped tip of a ballpoint pen or marker becomes  dry and unusable if it is not used for a long 
period of time, the print head nozzles become bl ocked by dried ink. Periodically printing or 
cleaning the Print Head can prevent this blockage.
Note
z Ink may blur depending on the paper in the following cases;
– Printed area is traced with a highlight pen or paint-stick, or
– Printed area is traced stained with water or sweat
z If the print head nozzles get clogged, printouts will become faint or particular colors will not be printed 
properly. For details, “When Printing Becomes Faint or Colors Are Incorrect” on page 29. 
						

							29
Routine Maintenance
When Printing Becomes Fain t 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 c heck pattern to confirm the condition of the 
nozzles and then perform Print Head Cleaning.
If print results are not satisfactory, performing Print Head Alignment may improve print quality.
z If the Ruled Lines Are Shifted
Note
Before performing maintenance
zOpen the Top Cover and make sure that all lamps for the ink tanks are lit red.
If not, see “Getting the Ink Status Information” on page 23 and take the appropriate action.
z Make sure that the ink tank is set properly. See “Replacing Ink Tanks” on page 25.
z Make sure that all the orange tapes have been peeled off. 
z If the ALARM lamp flashes orange, see “ALARM Lamp Flashes Orange” on page 64.
z Increase the  Print Quality  setting in the printer driver settings.
Refer to the  PC Printing Guide  on-screen manual.
Step 1
See “Printing the Nozzle  Check Pattern” on page 30.
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 33.
If the problem is not resolved after performing 
Print Head Cleaning twice
Step 3
See “Print Head Deep Cleaning” on page 36.
Note
If Print Head Deep Cleaning does not resolve the problem, the Print Head may be damaged. Contact your 
Canon Service representative.
See “Aligning the Print Head” on page 38. 
						

							30Routine Maintenance
Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern
Print the nozzle check pattern to determine whet her the ink ejects properly from the print head 
nozzles. 
1Make sure that the printer is on and then load a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain 
paper in the Rear Tray.
2Open the Front Tray and extend  the Output Tray Extension.
Set the Paper Thickness Lever to the left. 
For details on the Paper Thickness Lever, refer to “Front View” in “Main Components” of the 
User’s Guide on-screen manual.
3Open the printer properties dialog box.
4Print the Nozzle Check Pattern.
(1)Click the  Maintenance  tab.
(2) Click  Nozzle Check .
(3) Confirm the displayed message and click  Print 
Check Pattern .
The nozzle check pattern is printed. Do not 
open the Top Cover while printing.
5Examine the pattern and take the appropriate action.
See “Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern” on page 32.
Note
z You cannot feed paper from the Front Tray to print Nozzle Check Pattern. Always load paper in the 
Rear Tray.
Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern Without a Computer
z Nozzle check pattern printing can be performed also from the printer itself using the  RESUME/CANCEL 
button.
1. With the printer on, load a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain paper in the Rear Tray.
2. Set the Paper Thickness Lever to the left.
3. Open the Front Tray and extend the Output Tray Extension.
4. Hold down the  RESUME/CANCEL  button until the POWER lamp flashes green twice, and 
then release it immediately.
The nozzle check pattern is printed. Do not open the Top Cover while printing.
Examine the pattern and take the appropriate action. See “Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern” on 
page 32.
Note
Clicking  Initial Check Items  displays the items to 
be checked before printing the pattern. 
						

							31
Routine Maintenance
1Make sure that the printer is on and then load a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain 
paper in the Rear Tray.
2Open the Front Tray and extend  the Output Tray Extension.
Set the Paper Thickness Lever to the left. 
For details on the Paper Thickness Lever, refer to “Front View” in “Main Components” of the 
User’s Guide on-screen manual.
3Open the Canon IJ Printer Utility  dialog box.
4Print the Nozzle Check Pattern.
(1)Select  Test Print  in the pop-up menu.
(2) Click  Nozzle Check .
(3) Confirm the displayed message and click  Print 
Check Pattern .
The nozzle check pattern is printed. Do not open 
the Top Cover while printing.
5Examine the pattern and take the appropriate action.
See “Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern” on page 32.
Note
Clicking  Initial Check Items  displays the items to 
be checked before printing the pattern. 
						

							32Routine Maintenance
Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern
Examine the nozzle check pattern output by the  printer, and clean the Print Head if necessary.
1Confirm the printed nozzle check pattern.
(1)If lines of this pattern are missing, the  Black print head nozzle needs cleaning.
Example: When lines are missing
(2) If these patterns have white streaks, the  Color print head nozzle needs cleaning.
Example: When white streaks appear
2When cleaning is necessary, click  Cleaning on the Pattern Check  dialog box.
To proceed to cleaning of the Print Head, go to step 4-(3) of the Windows or Macintosh Print 
Head Cleaning procedure, depending on your  platform. See “Print Head Cleaning” on 
page 33.
If no lines of the group (1) pattern are missing and the group (2) patterns have no white 
streaks, click  Exit or Quit  to exit nozzle chec k pattern examination.
Note
The nozzle check pattern will not be printed correctly if there is not enough ink. Replace the ink tank if the 
remaining amount of ink is insufficient.
See “Replacing an Ink Tank” on page 23.
(2)
(1) 
						

							33
Routine 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 nozzle s and restores the print head condition. Note that cleaning the 
Print Head causes used ink to be absorbed in t he ink absorber. Cleaning the Print Head consumes 
ink, so perform Print Head Cleaning only when necessary.
If you click  Cleaning on the Pattern Check  dialog box that is displayed after printing the nozzle 
check pattern, the  Print Head Cleaning  dialog box shown in of step 4-(3) in the following procedure 
will appear.
1Make sure that the printer is on.
2Open the Front Tray and extend  the Output Tray Extension.
3Open the printer properties dialog box.
4Start Print Head Cleaning .
(1)Click the  Maintenance  tab.
(2) Click  Cleaning .
(3) Select the ink group to be cleaned.
(4) Click  Execute .
Print Head Cleaning starts when the  POWER 
lamp starts flashing green.
Do not perform any other operations until Print 
Head Cleaning finishes. This takes about 50 
seconds.
(5) Load a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain paper in the Rear Tray and set the Paper 
Thickness Lever to the left.
For details on the Paper Thickness Lever, refer to “Front View” in “Main Components” of 
the User’s Guide  on-screen manual.
Note
Cleaning the Print Head Without a Computer
The Print Head can also be cleaned from the printer itself, using the  RESUME/CANCEL button. 
1. Make sure that the printer is on.
2. Hold down the RESUME/CANCEL  button until the POWER lamp flashes green once, and 
then release it immediately.
Note
Clicking  Initial Check Items  displays the items to 
be checked before cleaning.
(3)
(4) 
						

							34Routine Maintenance
(6)Confirm the displayed message and click  Print Check Pattern.
The nozzle check pattern is printed.
Do not perform any other operations until t he nozzle check pattern finishes printing. 
5Check the print head condition with the printed nozzle check pattern, and take 
appropriate action.
See “Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern” on page 32.
If you click Cleaning on the Pattern Check  dialog box that is displayed after printing the nozzle 
check pattern, the  Print Head Cleaning  dialog box shown in of step 4-(3) in the following procedure 
will appear.
1Make sure that the printer is on.
2Open the Front Tray and extend  the Output Tray Extension.
3Open the Canon IJ Printer Utility  dialog box.
4Start Print Head Cleaning .
(1)Make sure that  Cleaning is selected in the pop-up menu. 
(2) Click  Cleaning .
(3) Select the ink group to be cleaned.
(4) Click  OK.
Print Head Cleaning starts when the  POWER 
lamp starts flashing green.
Do not perform any other operations until Print 
Head Cleaning finishes. This takes about 50 
seconds.
(5) Load a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain paper in the Rear Tray and set the Paper 
Thickness Lever to the left.
For details on the Paper Thickness Lever, refer to “Front View” in “Main Components” of 
the User’s Guide  on-screen manual.
Note
The nozzle check pattern will not be printed correctly if there is not enough ink. Replace the ink 
tank if the remaining amount of ink is insufficient. See “Replacing an Ink Tank” on page 23.
Note
If the problem is not resolved after performing steps 4 and 5 twice, try  Print Head Deep Cleaning. 
See “Print Head Deep Cleaning” on page 36.
Note
Clicking  Initial Check Items  displays the items to 
be checked before cleaning.
(3)
(4) 
						

							35
Routine Maintenance
(6) Confirm the displayed message and click  Print Check Pattern.
The nozzle check pattern is printed.
Do not perform any other operations until  the nozzle check pattern finishes printing.
5Check the print head condition with the printed nozzle check pattern, and take 
appropriate action.
See “Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern” on page 32.
Note
The nozzle check pattern will not be printed correctly if there is not enough ink. Replace the ink 
tank if the remaining amount of ink is insufficient.
See “Replacing an Ink Tank” on page 23.
Note
If the problem is not resolved after performing steps 4 and 5 twice, try  Print Head Deep Cleaning. 
See “Print Head Deep Cleaning” on page 36. 
						

							36Routine 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 cl eaning 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 printer is on.
2Open the Front Tray and extend  the Output Tray Extension.
3Open the printer properties dialog box.
4Start Print Head Deep Cleaning .
(1)Click the  Maintenance  tab.
(2) Click  Deep Cleaning .
(3) Select the ink group to be deeply cleaned.
(4) Click  Execute .
(5) Confirm the displayed message and click  OK. 
Print Head Deep Cleaning starts when the  POWER lamp starts flashing green.
Do not perform any other operations until Pr int Head Deep Cleaning finishes. This takes 
about 100 seconds.
5Check the condition of the Print Head.
(1) Load a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain paper in the Rear Tray and set the Paper 
Thickness Lever to the left.
For details on the Paper Thickness Lever, refer to “Front View” in “Main Components” of 
the User’s Guide  on-screen manual.
(2) Print the nozzle check pattern to check the print head condition.
See “Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern” on page 30.
If a particular color is not printed properly, replace the ink tank of that color.
See “Replacing an Ink Tank” on page 23.
(3) If the print head nozzles are still not clean, turn off the printer and perform another Print 
Head Deep Cleaning after 24 hours.
(4) If this does not solve the problem, the Print Head may be damaged. Contact your Canon 
Service representative.
Note
Clicking  Initial Check Items  displays the items to be checked before deep cleaning.
(3)
(4)