How to properly clean a Canon printer to eliminate printing defects

Users usually begin to wonder how to clean a Canon printer when continuous stripes appear along the sheets or text and images are printed poorly. Most often, the reason for this is contamination or malfunction of the printing elements (cartridges, print heads). In some cases, you can cope with the problem yourself, in others you need the help of specialists. Canon printers are divided into two types according to the printing method: inkjet and laser. They are different in design and, accordingly, their cleaning is also different.

How to clean a printing device using hardware

Inkjet printers use special ink as the printing medium. Poor print quality is most often caused by a clogged or faulty print head. Modern inkjet printers have software tools that allow you to clean the nozzles without removing the head. Before performing this procedure, make sure there is clean paper in the tray.

Most often, the menu provides two types of cleaning – standard and deep. To enter the menu in Windows OS, the easiest way is to go to the control panel, find “devices and printers” (other ways to enter the “Printing devices” menu are possible). Having opened this panel element, you need to find the desired printer and right-click on it. In the context menu that opens, select “Properties”.In the window that appears, activate the “Maintenance” tab and select the type of cleaning. Before starting, the program prompts you to determine whether to clean all cartridges or just the black one.

This process forces ink into the nozzles under increased pressure and flushes contaminants out of the print head. Therefore, ink costs are significantly higher than with conventional printing.

Cleaning the print head

If, after performing hardware cleaning, the device still prints poorly, you can take it to a workshop or try to clean the Canon printer yourself. This procedure is lengthy and requires certain knowledge. To clean the print head at home you will need the following:

1. Wide, shallow container with a flat bottom (tray, saucer, plastic jar lid)
2. Bandage or napkins.
3. Medical syringe (20-50 ml).
4. Flushing fluid.
5. Tubes from a dropper or cambrics of a suitable size.
6. It is advisable to use medical gloves.

It is best to use “Mr. Muscle” as a washing liquid, which is used for washing glass (with ammonia); other types cannot be used. You can use “Master Glitter” for glass.

Do not wash the print head with solutions containing ethyl alcohol and acids. Even if you manage to clean the nozzles, the device will not work for a long time after such a procedure - you will have to buy a new one.

When everything is ready, you can proceed directly to the washing process:

• Place a bandage (or a piece of cloth) folded in 2-3 layers at the bottom of the prepared container and pour a thin layer of washing liquid.
• Remove the print head and place the bottom pad in a container on a bandage.
• Place tubes of a suitable size, 4-5 cm long, onto the receiving fittings, having first removed the rubber gaskets (they should also be rinsed well).
• Pour washing liquid into the tubes and leave for 2-3 hours, adding solution to the tubes if necessary.
• If the liquid level in the tube does not decrease, it means that it is not passing through the nozzles due to severe contamination. In this case, you can try to force the solution through. To do this, insert the tip of the syringe into the tube and slowly pull out the piston. It is not advisable to press the piston, creating excess pressure, as you can easily break the head.
• Drain the dirty liquid from the container, replace the bandage and repeat the procedure until the liquid passing through the head stops being colored.
• Carefully blot the bottom of the printing device, put gaskets on the fittings and install it in the printer. Insert cartridges and check printing. Let it sit for a few hours and print again.

If the printed sheet is of good quality, then the print head has been completely cleaned of dirt. If the printing is bad, you can try cleaning the device again. In order to properly rinse this part, it is necessary to “soak” it for a long time - from several hours to several days, depending on the degree of contamination.

If, after repeated washing, the Canon printer does not print, or the print quality is poor, then most likely the print head has failed and needs to be replaced. Before this, you need to check the quality of the ink (install original cartridges); perhaps the reason for poor printing is due to their low quality.

After washing, there is no need to dry the print head before installation.

You should not try to disassemble it yourself; this will most likely lead to breakage of the part.

Laser printer

The Canon laser printer is a reliable, economical and durable device. Deterioration in print quality is most often explained by problems with the cartridge. Dots and stripes on paper usually appear when the photosensitive drum (photocoil) is damaged. They can be caused by foreign objects (paper clips, staples) getting in with the paper or wear of the photo roller. Typically this cartridge part can withstand 3 to 5 refills. If any damage occurs, the photosensitive drum must be replaced.

Another very common reason for damage to the photo roller is the habit of users to shake the cartridge after it runs out of toner. This allows you to print a couple dozen more pages. But this should not be done, since this “saving” will result in sensitive expenses.

During printing, the light-sensitive surface of the roller is completely covered with a thin layer of toner. The part that is used to draw letters and images remains on the paper, the rest is cleaned off with a special plate (squeegee) and poured into a container for waste powder.

It cannot be reused, since during printing the grains are exposed to high temperatures and sintered into larger fractions. When the cartridge is shaken, some of the waste toner falls into the main compartment and is used for printing. Moreover, large fractions act on the thin surface of the drum like an abrasive, quickly disabling it.

About the same thing happens when refilling cartridges is of poor quality, when a “specialist” fills in toner without cleaning the container with the waste powder.After some time, the container will overflow and the waste will not only “sharpen” the photo roller, but will also fall inside the Canon printer, contaminating and damaging moving parts.

It makes no sense to disassemble, refill and clean cartridges for several reasons:

1. Refilling and servicing cartridges in service settings is inexpensive and is carried out using special equipment. One refill is enough to print 1500 – 2000 pages.
2. Toner is a very fine powder that easily enters the respiratory tract. It is very harmful as it has carcinogenic properties.
3. Disassembling and assembling a cartridge is a complex process that requires certain knowledge and skills. Small parts can easily be broken or lost, without which the device will not work.

The Canon laser printer itself, subject to careful handling and care, can operate without breakdowns for several years.