Canon PIXMA MG5420 Print Head Cleaning

This video goes through the steps to remove, clean and replace the print head for the Canon PIXMA MG5420 printer.
Printing something out at least once a week that uses all colors will help to keep the printer heads from clogging.
Another way to improve print quality is to set the Printer Properties for High Resolution Paper even if you're using lower quality paper. This will allow the printing to take place slower and be more clear.
The Canon help site for this is:
support.usa.canon.com/kb/inde...
The Canon help number is:
1-800-652-2666
(1-800-OK-CANON)
I tried to be as detailed as possible regarding removing the print head since it's a little tricky with the print head tabs having to be guided into the slots on the side of the ink cartridge assembly in order to remove the print head.
FYI: The B200 print head error can usually be avoided if you keep ink in the print cartridges and not letting them run dry. This error either means a faulty print head or one of the print cartridges has run dry causing the head to overheat. It's a good idea to manually check the cartridge ink level rather than relying on the ink level display on the printer or the computer. Those displays can be misleading and not show the correct ink level.

[@ginaroman5579]

This was THE video that helped me fix my printer! Thank you Terry! It is a little difficult to remove the print head for the MX922, but keep at it, it really did work and helped me save money (and the environment). Thank you again!

[@viceadmiralyuen]

Thank you Terry - your video and simple step-by-step instructions are the BOMB! Saved me a lot of money instead of having to purchase a new printer. It now works like a charm and I'm a happy camper.

[@davinp]

you can also just replace the print head

[@sueharrison8934]

Watched this video yesterday and it worked like a charm. I did have to ask my engineer husband to help me get the printer head out. But this was so helpful I just wanted to thank you for saving me the money for a new one.

[@TerryB751]

Glad it worked so well for you !

[@WolfgangHorn]

Thankyou Terry - this video & a few others have helped me fix my B200 error problem and I gained confidence to remove the printhead and wash it until no more ink came out. Then the reset procedure, that is a bit harder but after a few attempts once the printhead was clean, it worked. Then I scanned a document & it printed. Then I printed 8 pages in colour. All good, so happy. I want to use up the expensive ink in this workhorse printer and then I will buy another Canon multi function printer. It will be my third. I love Canon printers. I wrote them an email 4 days ago. They replied today. I replied to them and suggested they fit a dedicated reset button somewhere accessible but out of obvious sight to make the hard reset procedure easier and more reliable. Thanks again & to all others that made tutorial videos about B200 error etc :-) I have the MG 5460 model Canon multi function printer.

[@Butt3451y]

Thanks, Terry, Your directions were helpful--especially getting the printhead back in using the slots. Had to soak it overnight to get it to work, but this morning it prints!

[@TerryB751]

Good to hear. That printhead can be difficult to clean and sometimes needs to soak for awhile.

[@stevem9773]

Thank you for taking the time to post this and in the process hopefully add a few years to all of our printers versus filling up the landfill with the purchase of a new one!

[@adarondax]

Thank you so much! My PGBK print head was encrusted with black ink. No amount of print head cleaning made a difference. Pages and pages of Canon message board posts were of no help. Your video is excellent! Almost all of the black residue came off in the first change of water. I used distilled water just because I had some around.

[@TerryB751]

You're welcome. It seems that PGBK is always a problem with these printers.

[@dfong5348]

Thanks so much for the clear and concise video for print head cleaning for my MG5420. PGPK has been clogged for a year and now I have my printer back! On top of the clogged PGPK I had a b200 error code that put the printer at risk for being tossed out with the recycle. You saved me a bundle. Thanks for your generosity and sharing with the rest of us.

[@TerryB751]

You're welcome. That PGBK black ink always seems to be a problem for everybody.

[@momwitattitude]

Thanks very much the other videos did not show the techniques as you did..I learned how to clean my canon for the 1st time in 6 years! I did not want another printer its been good to me! thanks again!

[@jfkleeb]

Great video! Saved a printer and my project! I never thought I could do it myself but I did thanks to you! Thank you!

[@gorgeousgussie8296]

Thank you I was stuck not remembering how took printhead out trying to get it back in !

[@normandgirouard4112]

Thanks Terry; very useful and this cleaning fixed my problems...

[@garylister3324]

THANK YOU. I have searched high and low for information on how to do this cleaning for THIS particular Canon printer model. I believe the PGBK print head is clogged. Everything prints fine except for this printhead which looks way out of alignment or something when I print the test pages. When I print the Manual Printhead Alignment, columns C & D of the 1st page do not print at all. The numbers and letters beside the columns are wavy as well.

[@TerryB751]

It seems that the PGBK is always the color that gets clogged since everybody uses that color the most. I hope this video was clear in removing the print head since it really is tricky to remove.

[@piniped]

I realized today I was having issues with the printhead B200 error code. I forgot how to do this and this was a perfect tutorial. I actually have a syringe I used to flush each of the ink saturation points. For curiosity I called a local repair center and they told me it's a minimum $60 charge. And parts would be extra. I have had trouble with my Pixma MX922 stopped working - I used the same process as above. I love it when it works; especially the CD/DVD printable quality is very professional looking.

[@TerryB751]

Glad the video helped. It can always be frustrating when the print head gets clogged.

[@lindabradford9591]

Me too. When it works it's great. At least fix is pretty easy.

[@st.brendancatholicchurchel9868]

Thank you. Great video. I've always used just water to do this but the last time I did it, I used isopropyl alcohol instead and it worked great. Never would have thought to use ammonia. Plus the alcohol evaporates so no fan necessary when drying the print head out.

[@TerryB751]

So glad it worked for you. 😁

[@birdbohannon1591]

Hey, man, thanks a lot for the great video. I found tutorials on the b200 error code for Canon printers in general, and a few suggested cleaning the print head if their method didn't work. Interestingly, there was barely any errant ink on the area where you had so much ink, and yet that seemed to be the problem. Thanks again!

[@TerryB751]

Glad my video was helpful. Take care.

[@Brosted]

Hi Terry. Oh YES, this was THE do-it-yourself video. It worked for me without the ammonia, just plain water. Hopefully, this does not mean that the tap water here in Denmark is full of chemicals useful when cleaning printer heads. The tap water here is supposed to be some of the cleanest in the world :-0 Jokes aside: It worked using tap water only. Cheers!

[@markwilliams110]

Great video, worked a treat. Printer now working properly again. Thank you

[@TerryB751]

You're welcome.

[@richardbehr314]

Just did this on my printer and cleared the code. Thanks for the tips!

[@echospirit]

GREAT . . . very helpful and succeed thanks to your video. Much appreciated.

[@TerryB751]

Glad it helped out.

[@lindabradford9591]

Yahoo. All fixed again. Thank you so much.

[@mpaj1900]

Clear concise explanation. Saved me from buying a new printer.

[@davidkafka2452]

Very good, I wasn't able to figure out how to remove the print head by myself and most other videos show an older PIXMA printer that has a lift bar. Looks like my printer will live to print another day, thank you.

[@TerryB751]

I decided to put more information how to remove the print head since other videos didn't go into a lot of detail in removing it. It's a little tricky to remove.

[@Metalsoldier1]

Perfect tutorial . Thanks a lot Terry !

[@TerryB751]

You're welcome. Hope it worked out for you.

[@Metalsoldier1]

@@TerryB751 the cleaning worked out fine. Just having trouble with the alignement of black. I could manually line out all colors except black.

[@TerryB751]

Sometimes you can make black be more legible by choosing High Resolution in the print popup, even if you're not using High Resolution paper. The printer will print slowly and with more detail if you choose that setting. I don't know if this is applicable in your case, but if you're using Windows under the print popup, you choose under "Printer Properties" --> Media Type --> Other Papers --> High Resolution Paper.

[@galedar1537]

Great help! Many thanks!

[@EHSmith64]

This worked! Thank you!

[@sirgib9]

Great video, thanks

[@terria1254]

Thank-you, great video! My PIXMA MG 5420 is 7 yrs old and not used regularly enough. I was able to get the print head out and soaked, my sol'n was MUCH darker than yours LOL! Challenging to get it back together. Mine does not seem to snap out and in as easily as yours does. Not giving up!

[@TerryB751]

It can be tricky to get that print head out and back in again. I had to pull it with force to get it out.

[@terria1254]

@@TerryB751 Thanks for your reply! It was so tough to pull out, I ended up taking it out with its bracket/tray and getting that bracket/tray back in is the challenge!

[@lisaeickholt4840]

Mine didn't either. :)

[@rapidswgoh3632]

Hi Terry. Great video man, thanks for taking the time to do it. Is this likely to fix a printer that continually seems to dry up? I can't figure out whether it's the printer or the ink causing the issue. Also, are there alternatives other than ammonia (household like) that can be used instead? Thanks.

[@TerryB751]

If you print out something that uses all the ink cartridges at least once a week, the printer stands a better chance of not drying out. Another person said they were using vinegar (white distilled vinegar I assume) but don't know how well that works. Incidentally, I usually get the ink from Amazon instead of buying it from the stores and buying Canon-made specifically. This reduces the cost.

[@bmccarty2012]

01:22 - you can hold the "Stop" button down for two seconds with the printer power on, and the printer will move the print-head carriage into the proper position for removing the print head. You probably should not move the tray into position manually.

[@BlancaMedia22]

As Emily Lietella used to say on Saturday Night Live after her miscue was corrected, "Never mind." I figured it out. Thanks!

[@HollaHolla92]

brilliant so simple -

[@pablogutierrez1009]

Thank you for such an educational review. Can I use alcohol instead of ammonia?

[@TerryB751]

You can use a few drops of denatured isopropyl alcohol on the spongy receptacle area on the inside of the printhead shown at 4:50 in the video. The ammonia and distilled water combination cleans better on the outside of the printhead as this video shows.

[@BlancaMedia22]

I know I'm late to the game here but I have the same model as shown in your video but the inside of it looks different than yours I'm befuddled. I have the ink tray halfway out but it won't budge. I'm afraid that if I pull on it it may break,

[@lisaeickholt4840]

Hi Terry, I did what you suggested in the best video on this topic. However, I'm still getting error 1403. You responded to another poster that she should clean the part with alcohol. Does that mean the part I just cleaned as per your video? Sorry, if this is a stupid question.

[@TerryB751]

This KZbin link addresses error 1403 specifically. You could try the process described here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXPapKmGlsR-j68

[@SgtDreTecKeGamer]

as I did some research on Printer replacement and or just to have one as a stand by, I found your video, quick and easy and helpful, does it have to be ammonia ? can Alcohol be used with distilled water? My printer is a Pixma MG7700 series. I have searched printer repair / service and found Zero, called canon and they directed me to a web page that had me cleaning the Timing strip and they told me that they no longer have Authorized repair / service shops.

[@TerryB751]

No, alcohol can be used and other people have said that warm distilled water works. It's just that a little ammonia works quicker with distilled water I believe.

[@SgtDreTecKeGamer]

@@TerryB751 I appreciate the quick reply, and will give your tip a try and see where I end up. Honestly this is very annoying that canon has not tried to makes changes in how these printers are designed / made / serviced.

[@lisaeickholt4840]

@@TerryB751 -Hi Terry, I found your video to be much more precise and detailed than other videos. Thank you! I'm waiting on the results. Do you think this will solve error code 1403?

[@humbertoguerreroexebio8101]

Amigo muchas gracias, intentare remojar con agua. aqui en Perú por un cabezal te cobran casi lo que cuesta una impresora nueva. gracias.

[@TerryB751]

Luckily Google translator comes to the rescue. Yes, they charge as much for a new print head as for a new printer here in the U.S. also. I don't know if water alone will clean the print head, but if that's what you have, it's worth a try.

[@paul-jb3dw]

thank you

[@lindy121690]

I get no error messages but I still get blank pages printed. Cartridges are new. Will cleaning the printer head help with this issue or is the problem something else?

[@TerryB751]

The print head may need to be cleaned manually like my video indicates rather than just the print head cleaning that can be selected by the printer maintenance popups. If you do the manual cleaning and the printing is not as expected, there's a couple things to do. When selecting to print a file, there is a "Printer Preferences" option somewhere on your print popup, if you go down to "Media Type -> Other Papers -> High Resolution Paper" you can use this setting even if you're not using High Resolution Paper and the printer will print slower to make the letters darker. If this doesn't work, you may need to order a new print head which may be half the price of a new printer. You may want to consider buying a new printer.

[@gs11372g]

Thanks!

[@TerryB751]

You're welcome. Hope it worked out for you.

[@grimey201]

What if I dont have distilled water, is normal faucet water good?

[@TerryB751]

I would think so.

[@Latinaxglam]

Hello, My printer is having a problem ! It is having a 1403 Error for the head and I removed the head and cleaned it but it is still showing up the error. Please help

[@TerryB751]

I haven't had that error but all the info on the web that I've been able to find states you should do what you've probably done. Carefully clean the print head electronics with a mixture of alcohol and water with a cotton swab and allow it to completely dry. Also make sure that the electrical contact on the bottom of each ink cartridge is clean as well as where the cartridge sits in its slot. If you take a flashlight and shine it in the empty slot after you've take out the ink, you'll see 5 little pins that connect to the bottom of each cartridge. These should all be clean. If you still get the error, you'll have to take the printer to be serviced. There are a lot of areas that have electrical contacts like the individual ink cartridges that could be the problem. Wish you luck.

[@TheSido26]

i have the same error 1403 ,any good news ?

[@ChiliSpice610]

Do you know if this is a fax machine too?

[@TerryB751]

It's not a fax machine too. It is a printer, copier and scanner.

[@chukwudi0512]

I tried to all your steps and it prints blank pages

[@michaeldixon7961]

The materials used in this print head are unknown to me. But ammonia is very destructive to copper and brass. Unless suggested by the manufacturer, use of ammonia is risky.

[@Jmurph621]

I used vinegar since I didn’t have any ammonia avail. Seemed to work. We’ll see if It catches on fire tonight

[@TerryB751]

Make sure you keep your camera ready for the explosive video.

[@chukwudi0512]

I have tried everything but it prints blanks

[@TerryB751]

You may have to replace the print head. The Canon MG5420 site is here for reference: www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/details/printers/inkjet-multifunction/mg-series-inkjet/mg5420/pixma-mg5420 If you have an Amazon account, they have foreign made print heads that sometimes work well, sometimes not. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019R87Y1I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@joelguyon16]

Traduction en français

[@TerryB751]

Dieu merci pour les traductions de Google. Vous pouvez le faire vous-même. Cliquez sur l'icône des paramètres (engrenage) sélectionner les sous-titres (CC). Puis sélectionnez Traduction automatique. Vous obtiendrez une longue liste de langues à traduire.

[@rocheuro]

hi, I tried everything solution found on the internet. and still B200 error on my Pixma ix6850 persists.. shame because I know my print head is 100% unclogged and working.. but still the error appeares. I think cannon is messing with software/firmware so it knows that once this particular print -head was damaged and even if now it's fine it doesnt allow it to run.. shame Canon! I really like your products but your customer policy and politics is total crap. I am searching for other printers with the same printer--head so I can buy it cheaper than new print head which is similar price to the whole printer!!!... try MX725, MX922, MX721 and also mx925... they all share same print-head QY-00086

[@parr369]

I do appreciate your instructions and very informative video, but didn't help me really at all with the issue and I wasted probably a good hour. I am still getting smudged lines when using cardstock, AND my print head did NOT lift out as easily as everyone else's seems to have. After giving up twice, I was completely baffled as to why my print head seemed to be attached to the back, I combed through the comments to see if anyone had issues and was greatly helped to see one comment with my same model say it was possible to remove the print head if you fight past the obstruction. I was able to proceed then as planned with using long nose pliers to grab the center tab. So after all that, cleaning it, putting it back together, I then had to deal with the printer refusing to print with insisting the cover was open when it was not in any way, shape, or form, and also it not recognizing one of the ink cartridges that has been in use for years. More fiddling around, turning it off and on multiple times, closing out Word and reopening, something did the trick. I don't know what, and don't care at this point. Got it to print and still smudging!!! I've about had it with this ridiculous printer. I shouldn't have to feel so grateful when I hit print and it actually works, which is about how it's gone over the past I don't know how many years.

[@TerryB751]

Sorry you had such difficulty. I've since replaced my print head on the Canon printer with a new print head. If you're an Amazon member, this link I've included shows the brand I used to replace it. I realize all these items are made in China and the quality is "hit or miss" a lot of times, but this one had good quality for me. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019R87Y1I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@lindabradford9591]

Well, it's fixed again for the 4th time! Ugh.

[@TerryB751]

Yep, I found that the best way to keep the print head working is to manually check the ink cartridges to see if they have ink and not trust the graphic display for ink levels. The graphic displays can be deceiving.

[@desormeaufrantzcesse8470]

BONSOIR OU BONJOUR ,SI MON IMPRIMANTE APPARAIT CE MESSAGE QU'EST CE QUE JE DOIS FAIRE J'AI UNE URGENCE SVP: CODE 5400 ERREUR DE L'IMPRIMANTE

[@TerryB751]

C'est tout ce que j'ai trouvé. Vous devrez le traduire en français si nécessaire. medium.com/@techservices/how-to-deal-with-canon-printer-error-5400-or-e26-50f6beb6370a