Canon printer PIXMA MX300 User Manual

							57
Routine Maintenance
Routine Maintenance
When Printing Becomes Fain t or Colors Are Incorrect
When printing becomes faint or colors are incorre ct, the print head nozzles on FINE Cartridges are 
probably clogged. Print the nozzle check 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.
Note
Before performing maintenance
z Make sure that a FINE Cartridge has not run out of ink. See “Getting the Ink Status Information” on 
page 64.
z Make sure that a FINE Cartridge is installed properly. See “Replacing FINE Cartridges” on page 67.
z Make sure that the orange protective tape is removed from the bottom of a FINE Cartridge.
z If the error message is displayed on the LCD, see “An Error Message Is Displayed on the LCD” on 
page 76.
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 58.
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 60.
If the problem is not resolved after performing 
Print Head Cleaning twice
Step 3
See “Print Head Deep Cleaning” on page 61.
If the problem is not resolved after performing Print 
Head Deep Cleaning twice
Step 4
See “Replacing a FINE Cartridge” on page 64.
Note
If the straight line is misaligned or the Print Head position is misaligned, align the Print Head position.
See “Aligning the Print Head” on page 62. 
						

							58Routine 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 machine is turned on, then load a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized 
plain paper in the Rear Tray.
2Open the Paper Output Tray, then set the Paper Thickness Lever.
(1) Put your finger in the rounded indent beside the Paper Output Tray and open it gently.
(2) Open up and set the Output Tray Extension completely by pressing down the hollow on 
its front side.
(3) Set the Paper Thickness Lever to the left. Fo r details on the Paper Thickness Lever, refer 
to “Inside” in “Main Components” of the  User’s Guide on-screen manual.
3Print the nozzle check pattern.
(1)Press the  Menu button repeatedly until  MAINTENANCE appears.
(2) Press the  [ or  ] button to select  NOZZLE CHECK , then press the OK button.
The machine prints a nozzle check pattern.
4Examine the pattern and take the appropriate action.
See “Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern” on page 59.
4.MAINTENANCE
NOZZLECHECK 
						

							59
Routine Maintenance
Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern
Examine the nozzle check pattern,  and perform cleaning if necessary.
1Check the nozzle check pattern you printed.
(1)If lines of this pattern are missing, the print head nozzles need cleaning.
Example: When lines are missing (Black ink)
(2) If these patterns have white streaks, the print head nozzles need cleaning.
Example: When white streaks appear (Color ink)
2When cleaning is necessary, perform Print Head Cleaning.
See “Print Head Cleaning” on page 60.
Note
The nozzle check pattern will not be printed correctly if there is not enough ink. Replace the FINE 
Cartridge if the remaining amount of ink is insufficient.
See “Replacing a FINE Cartridge” on page 64.
(2)
(1) 
						

							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 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.
1Make sure that the machine is turned on.
2Start Print Head Cleaning.
(1) Press the  Menu button repeatedly until  MAINTENANCE appears.
(2) Press the  [ or  ] button to select  CLEANING, then press the  OK button.
Print Head Cleaning starts.
Do not perform any other operations until Pr int Head Cleaning finishes. This takes about 
50 seconds.
3Confirm the condition of the Print Head.
When Print Head Cleaning finishes, t he LCD returns to the standby mode.
Print the nozzle check pattern  to check the print head condition.
See “Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern” on page 58.
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.
4.MAINTENANCE
CLEANING 
						

							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 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 machine is turned on.
2Start Print Head Deep Cleaning.
(1) Press the  Menu button repeatedly until  MAINTENANCE appears.
(2) Press the  [ or  ] button to select  DEEP CLEANING , then press the OK button.
Print Head Deep Cleaning starts.
Do not perform any other operations until Pr int Head Deep Cleaning finishes. This takes 
about one minute.
3Confirm 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 58.
(2) If the problem is not resolved, perform Print Head Deep Cleaning again.
(3) If this does not solve the problem, a FINE Cart ridge may have run out of ink. Replace it 
with a new one. See “Replacing a FINE Cartridge” on page 64.
4.MAINTENANCE
DEEPCLEANING 
						

							62Routine Maintenance
Aligning the Print Head
If ruled lines are printed misaligned or print results are otherwise unsatisfactory, adjust the print head 
position.
1Make sure that the machine is turned on, then load two sheets of A4 or Letter-sized 
plain paper in the Rear Tray.
2Open the Paper Output Tray, then set the Paper Thickness Lever.
(1)Put your finger in the rounded indent beside the Paper Output Tray and open it gently.
(2)Open up and set the Output Tray Extension completely by pressing down the hollow on 
its front side.
(3)Set the Paper Thickness Lever to the left. For details on the Paper Thickness Lever, refer 
to “Inside” in “Main Components” of the User’s Guide on-screen manual.
3Print the print head alignment pattern.
(1)Press the Menu button repeatedly until MAINTENANCE appears.
(2)Press the [ or ] button to select ALIGN PRINT HEAD, then press the OK button.
The print head alignment pattern is printed.
4Adjust the print head position.
(1)Check the printed patterns and press the [ or 
] button to select the number of the pattern in 
column A that has the least noticeable streaks, 
then press the OK button.
Note
If you select HEAD ALIGN PRINT, the machine exits the process after printing the current 
adjustment values. 
						

							63 Routine Maintenance
(2)Repeat the procedure until you finish inputting the pattern number for column L.
(3)Confirm the displayed message and press the OK button.
The second pattern is printed.
(4)Check the printed patterns and press the [ or 
] button to select the number of the pattern in 
column M that has the least noticeable streaks, 
then press the OK button.
In the same way in step (1), select the number.
(5)Repeat the procedure until you finish inputting 
the pattern number for column R.
Note
If it is difficult to pick the best pattern, pick the setting that produces the least noticeable white 
streaks.
(A) Less noticeable vertical white streaks
(B) More noticeable vertical white streaks
(C) Less noticeable horizontal white streaks
(D) More noticeable horizontal white streaks
(A) (B)
(C) (D) 
						

							64Routine Maintenance
Replacing a FINE Cartridge
This section explains the way to confirm the  ink status and the procedure to replace FINE 
Cartridges.
When ink runs out or other errors occur, an error  message is displayed on the LCD to inform you of 
the error. See “An Error Message Is Displayed on the LCD” on page 76 and confirm how to handle it.
When printing from your computer, error mess ages appear on your computer screen as well.
„Getting the Ink Status Information
You can confirm the status of FINE Cartridges in the following ways:
z“With the LCD of this Machine” on page 64
z “With the Computer Screen” on page 65
z With the LCD of this Machine
You can check the current ink level by pressing the  COPY, SCAN , or FA X  button. The LCD will 
display the ink level for a few seconds.
(A) Indicates the remaining ink volume at four different levels.
Take the appropriate action depending on the  message displayed on the LCD as follows.
Note
zIf there is no improvement with the quality of printing following such maintenance as Print Head 
Cleaning, a FINE Cartridge is probably empty. When ink runs out, replace the FINE Cartridge.
The machine cannot print if the wrong type of FINE Cartridge is used.
z For information on compatible FINE Cartridges, see the back cover of this guide.
Note
The ink level detector is mounted on the machine to detect the remaining ink level. The machine 
considers as ink is full when a new FINE Cartridge is installed, and then starts to detect a 
remaining ink level. If you install a used FINE Cartridge, the indicated ink level of it may not be 
correct. In such case, refer to the ink level information only as a guide.
Ink is low. You can continue printing for a 
while, but we recommend you to have a new 
FINE Cartridge available.
Ink has run out. See “CHECK INK U163” in 
“An Error Message Is Displayed on the LCD” 
on page 76 and take appropriate action.
Ink may have run out. See “CHECK INK 
U162” in “An Error Message Is Displayed on 
the LCD” on page 76 and take appropriate 
action.
Ex:COPYMODE
BLKCOL
(A)
BLACKINKLOW
COLORINKLOW
CHECKINK
U163BLKCOL
CHECKINK
U162BLKCOL 
						

							65
Routine Maintenance
z With the Computer Screen
You can confirm the status of each FINE Cartri dge on the printer status monitor (Windows) and 
Canon IJ Printer Utility (Macintosh).
(A) Confirm whether any sy mbols are displayed here.The function for detecting the remaining ink 
level is disabled.
The statuses of a Color and Black FINE 
Cartridges may not be the same.
This message is displayed on the following 
occasions. We recommend that you replace 
the FINE Cartridge promptly.
zInk is low while printing in fax mode
zInk is low while receiving a fax in fax mode 
(the received fax is stored in memory.)
Note
If you select 
ON for  PRINT WHEN NO INK , you 
can set this message not to be displayed. For 
details, refer to “AUTO PRINT RX” in “FAX 
SETTINGS” of the  User’s Guide on-screen 
manual.
Ink is low. You can continue printing for  a while, but we recommend you to have a 
new FINE Cartridge available.
Ink has run out. See “CHECK INK U163” in “An Error Message Is Displayed on 
the LCD” on page 76 and take appropriate action.
Ink may have run out. See “CHECK INK U 162” in “An Error Message Is Displayed 
on the LCD” on page 76 and take appropriate action.
The function for detecting the re maining ink level is disabled.
BLKINKVOLUNKNOWN
COLINKVOLUNKNOWN
RECOMMENDNEWB-CRT
RECOMMENDNEWC-CRT
(A) 
						

							66Routine Maintenance
Follow the procedure below to open each of the confirmation screens.
1Open the printer properties dialog box.
Refer to “Opening the Printer Properties Dialog Box Directly from Control Panel” in “Opening 
the Printer Properties Dialog Box (Windows)” of the User’s Guide on-screen manual.
2Click View Printer Status on the Maintenance sheet.
To confirm the FINE Cartridge information, click the Ink Details menu.
1Open the Canon IJ Printer Utility.
Refer to “Opening the Canon IJ Printer Utility (Macintosh)” in the User’s Guide on-screen 
manual.
2Select Ink Level Information in the pop-up menu.
To confirm the FINE Cartridge information, click Ink Details.
Note
You can also display the printer status monitor by clicking Canon XXX Printer (where “XXX” is 
your machine’s name) which appears on the taskbar during printing.
Note
If you have pressed the Stop/Reset button for at least 5 seconds when “CHECK INK”, “BLK INK 
VOL UNKNOWN”, or “COL INK VOL UNKNOWN” appears on the LCD, note the following.
zWhen ink runs out, printouts will become faint or blank printouts will be printed.
zWhen receiving faxes, the machine will not store it in its memory even if the ink level becomes low 
or run out.