How to Troubleshoot a Canon Photo Inkjet Printer

Posted by Anonymous , 9/4/2007 Tags:TroubleshootCanonPhotoInkjetPrinter
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How to Troubleshoot a Canon Photo Inkjet Printer

Introduction

Canon USA has an excellent technical support page, but before you seek out their help try troubleshooting your Canon Photo Inkjet Printer on your own. There are a few basic steps you can do to troubleshoot a Canon Photo Inkjet Printer.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Steps

1

Step One

Make sure the printer is set up correctly. The printer must be plugged into the wall, powered on and connected to a computer to function properly.
2

Step Two

Check for error messages. Occasionally, a printer will spell out whata??s wrong with it with a pop- up window. Check the status light on the printer too and read the manual to see what it means.
3

Step Three

Check for paper. Make sure the paper is loaded correctly and is not jammed. Look over the manual to see how to clear paper jams without damaging your printer further.
4

Step Four

Run a self-test. Many printers have a self-test feature that will help you pinpoint the problems. Operations will vary, consult the manual.
5

Step Five

Run a driver test. This is done from the printera??s software. Before you print, you have the option to enter "Printer Properties." From there, find a "Maintenance" or "Cleaning" tab. Here, you can run a test page.
6

Step Six

Look over the test page. Bars, uneven patterns and white spots indicate dirty printheads. Faded or missing colors means its time to change a cartridge.
7

Step Seven

Clean and align printheads. This can be done from the same maintenance page from which you ran the test page.
8

Step Eight

Replace cartridges. When ink runs low, its time to replace the cartridge. Take note of the part number written on the cartridge and buy one just like it.
9

Step Nine

Reinstall the drivers. Try uninstalling the drivers and reinstalling from the disc that came with the printer. Or look for patches and updates on the Canon Web site.

Overall Tips & Warnings

  • Canon representatives will respond within 24 hours when you e-mail them with a question.
  • Sometimes a printer is just busy. Double-click the printer icon in the system tray to open up the tasks. Delete stalled tasks to start over.
  • Nozzle cleaning takes a lot of ink. Use sparingly.

Overall Things You'll Need

  • Internet access
  • Canon Photo Inkjet Printer
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