PrinterHelp

Head Cleaning

Head cleaning is performed automatically by a bubble jet printer (and it consumes significant amounts of ink.) It can also be triggered manually from the printer driver software and utilities (typically). If that doesn’t work, you can try removing the print head and standing the nozzles in a puddle of solvent such as isopropyl alcohol or glass-cleaner or foaming cleanser. (or other alcohol-based cleaner).

Please note that, if you use the manufacturer’s own inks and print from the printer several times a month, you should, hopefully, rarely have to initiate the printer’s self-clean, and should not have to resort to solvent cleaning of the heads at all.

Most of the Canon bubblejet printers has two levels of head cleaning available in the printer management software - normal and deep. If you see a problem, try the normal cleaning, and if that doesn’t do much, try the deep clean. If that doesn’t make a rapid improvement, it is better to give up rather than keep trying, as on each attempt you are using up rather a lot of expensive ink. Some blockages are too stubborn to be shifted by the printer’s self-clean and require sterner measures.

Canon printers generally have heads that can be removed by the user without the use of tools. If your printer has a different design and the print head cannot be easily removed, you may have to try wedging a pad soaked in solvent under the head. With the head removed, it’s a simple matter to stand the nozzle surface of the head in a puddle of solvent for an hour or so. Then wipe off the mess, reassemble the head and inks into the printer and run the self-clean.

Do NOT try using an ultrasonic bath to clean a printhead. (We tried this in the workshop, and it wrecked the print nozzles, making the head unusable).

If you have a lot of trouble with blocked printheads, it could be because you are trying to “save money” by using cheaper substitute inks.