Cleaning a Canon printhead manually

This is a comprehensive guide to how we, at OctoInkjet, clean our Canon inkjet printheads when we've found that the Canon "Printhead clean" functionality has not successfully cleared it. Usually this is when a printer has been sat unused for 6 months or more.
This guide is intended for end-users who have tried the normal printhead cleaning function and let the printer sit for at least 24 hours before trying anything else. Using this guide does have potential risk for damaging the printhead and as a result your printer so it is something you should only do if you are willing to accept the risk and responsibility for your choice to continue.
It works for us, using our cleaning solution and tools but we have learned the hard way, numerous times by doing a lot of things wrong.
If you wish to purchase any of the tools and solutions used in this video then you can find those here:
www.octoink.co.uk/canonclean

[@letter2steve]

Hi Martin. Thanks for making such a great video. I actually used to work for a common printer manufacturer. It made me sick the number of times I had to suggest replacing a print head. I've recently taken a Canon MP 620 out of storage and was not surprised that it's heads were clogged. I honestly almost gave it the boot to the e-waste curb. I've been watching video's all day on how to resurrect the print head and your video is by far the best. Thanks for helping the community in keeping stuff out of the landfill.

[@octoinkjet]

Good to hear it’s helping keep a few more devices out of landfill a bit longer..

[@TannahMaeMoody]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I have had a Canon MP640R sitting up in storage with all of their old ink cartridges sitting in there. After seeing the PGBK wasn't working, I went down a rabbit hole and I found out way too much about printers than I ever wanted to. With ink all over my sore fingers from deep cleaning the printer heads by hand, I'm thankful. It still isn't working but I haven't given up. I'm going to try with an actual cleaning kit. A Windex soak wasn't enough. It did help the other colors though - they looked great. If all else fails - This particular printer head piece is available on Amazon for $36. But now... this is a battle I want to win and I think that's just for the error code that can show up with bad printer heads. My point is, your video made me feel less alone. Plus all the comments listed as well. I'm grateful to you.

[@user-ff6ou3jp4v]

You saved my printhead. The 3 days of patient soaking on paper towel worked. My neglected pixma pro 10 thanks you.

[@octoinkjet]

That’s great to hear. Glad it helped.

[@tibidonjacques]

The most complete video on this matter i've seen. Thank you.

[@octoinkjet]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jerzyamsterdamski9284]

great tutorial! Thank you! Worked 100%

[@jaxjaguarz]

This works. The only thing I would suggest is after saturating the paper towel with cleaning solution, to heat it in the microwave for 15 seconds or so to get it hot. This will help break down any clogs quicker. Reheat as necessary to keep the cleaning solution warm/hot.

[@octoinkjet]

Interesting idea.. Word of caution though.. make sure working in a well ventilated area in case there’s any fumes from the cleaning solution, particularly ammonia, etc…

[@roxeslinn5491]

Tkx it's was very illuminating - I'm going to give go Rox

[@BG-xh5rb]

Great video. I've always used canon printers. When my print head requires cleaning, I used Windex, hot water, and slight compressed air. Has always worked.

[@octoinkjet]

Thanks... the key with that compressed air is always the "slight" part though right? Heard too many horror stories of people going all out and wondering why things didn't work... 😕

[@doreenpalmer4225]

Thank you, easy to follow and problem sorted!!!

[@octoinkjet]

Glad it helped!

[@aotang777]

ありがとう、完璧な説明ビデオです😊

[@octoinkjet]

お役に立てて光栄です。 ご意見ありがとうございます。 Glad we could help. Thank-you for your feedback.

[@tamsynsimmonds6027]

thank you so much for your clear concise how to, I've now managed to save my printer! Any plans for a video for replacing the waste ink pads in a Canon MG5750?

[@octoinkjet]

No plans specifically as Canon printers are life limited by the availability (or rather lack thereof!) of printheads. But if we can clear the backlog of printers we still have pending we’ll certainly consider it.

[@martincregg]

Very thorough. What would happen if I don’t dry fully before putting back in the printer?

[@octoinkjet]

The key areas to dry are the circuit board in the rear and other electronics. Rinsing with deionised or distilled water should remove any conductive materials but better to rinse and dry as much as possible to avoid shorting out the electronics and potentially bricking your printer.

[@KenZaner]

Hi - Really liked your video. I would appreciate if you could please tell me what is in the solution that you use? Thanks very much!

[@octoinkjet]

We don’t have access to the recipe but a good recipe that is publicly available can be found if you web search : printer knowledge recipe cleaning pharmacist.

[@timd9430]

I have 3 MX922's. Used the hell out of them for years. 1 of them all of a sudden Cyan no longer prints. Did a deep clean, now the Magenta Yellow and dye black no longer work at all in head test print. Pigment blacK works only. I have a brand new genuine Canon printhead. Changed it out, same thing. No CMY and dye black. Just pigment blacK works. Almost seems electrical maybe? I made sure good connections. Wonder what is causing none of the colors and dye black no longer firing at all? I am going to put the head in another printer to see if the same problem persists.

[@octoinkjet]

I'd be guessing as to cause but the things I'd definitely be looking at are: - Whether the cartridges themselves are feeding properly - Is ink age a factor - Does a set of new OEM cartridges work (not refilled, genuine ink carts) - Is the cleaning system still intact and functioning (has the tube or other parts perished/disconnected from the capping station or has the capping station itself got a leaky gasket/skirt. Of course the other thing to be doing is testing across all three printers. You can't magically have the same issue hit all three printers unless the factor is common which is why I'd be leaning towards the cartridges and ink as the most likely culprits. Using OEM inks removes the variables hence that suggestion. Let us know how you get on.

[@timd9430]

@@octoinkjet swapped the heads with another printer. Prints correctly now. Apparently something went wrong with the printer, not the head.

[@octoinkjet]

Good to hear you've found a fix. At least you have plenty of other printers to be able to figure it all out.

[@knifefan87]

A very good tutorial. However iti would be infinitely more helpful if you showed us how the Canon prinhead is removed in the first place, and reinstalled.

[@octoinkjet]

It certainly would be useful but with a variety of different printer carriage designs and because I lack enough examples to demonstrate the process I’ll have to leave that for a different video. Worth noting that the printhead removal process is covered in the Canon user manual for each model (barring some higher end units like the Pro-1) but if you’ve got any you’ve struggled to find guides for please comment below and I’ll add it/them to my to-do list.

[@kenz9668]

Hi - It was a great video! I was wondering if you could tell me in rough terms what is in the cleaning liquid you use and if you know who sells it in the USA. Thanks very much! Ken

[@octoinkjet]

For the US look up InkOwl. Not sure if it’s the same solution but they’ll have something similar.

[@Sumiyya85]

Hi, are syringe adapters available for the PGI-72 printhead? (Canon Pro 10S) I am unsure if these would work as the shape is more oval. Have done a manual cleaning multiple times with hot water which did improve things but not perfectly, so then used a rubbing alcohol solution (40% alcohol, 60% water) which made the nozzle check print worse! The printer’s only a couple of years old and hardly been used so don’t understand why it’s so difficult to clean.

[@octoinkjet]

We do have adapters that work with the Pro-10/9500 and 300 printheads but they aren't yet listed along with the cleaning kit (will update when I get that done). In terms of cleaning solution, I generally recommend against using Isopropyl or any other alcohol on its own (even with water) as it has a nasty tendency to cement clogs in situ rather than breaking them down. A tried and tested cleaning solution for printheads is preferable as a result.

[@Sumiyya85]

@@octoinkjet hi thanks for your reply, it really helps as I had no idea alcohol could have a cementing effect if diluted - I feel like that’s exactly what has happened to the magenta nozzle as it didn’t print a single bit of colour after the first time using the alcohol solution whereas before that the magenta had no issue whatsoever. It’s really stressing me out now to think I have made it worse! What would you advise I do now? Will a printhead cleaning solution unclog the damage? I have been using your technique in this video of pressing the printhead on a wet paper towel and can see water wicks up through all of the nozzles to the mesh except magenta, not even the tiniest drop of liquid appears there. I have tried using a tube to blow through it but as mentioned, due to the ink port’s oval shape it’s really hard to get a good fit. After watching more troubleshooting videos I have even tried Windex on a paper towel hoping that will break down the stubborn clog but so far nothing.

[@octoinkjet]

If you have access to Windex then check it has ammonia in its ingredients. The EU/UK version is not allowed to use ammonia so it's not nearly as effective. If not, the cleaning solution is probably worth a try but I would probably look at buying a new printhead and accepting it as a sort of teaching fee for the lessons learned. The main lesson to learn though is to regularly use the printer so it doesn't have the chance to clog up so readily...

[@Sumiyya85]

@@octoinkjet I live in the UAE and it’s proving really difficult to get a new part (been quoted over 250 GBP + a 30 day wait!), so until that’s a success I can only keep trying to repair. The windex doesn’t state ammonia in its ingredients but neither does the label specify it’s “ammonia-free” so a cleaning solution is my next attempt however without the appropriate adapters for the ink port I can’t ensure I carry out the procedure correctly. I have tried unscrewing the screws on either side of the white plastic underneath (as per a video on repairing the QY6-0086 printhead) but can’t flip it open to manually unclog anything because it’s attached to the long metal plate - Any tips on how to carefully open this part? It is loose since removing screws but feels like some kind of latch is preventing it from fully opening and I don’t want to force it without some technique advice.

[@octoinkjet]

Sorry, completely missed this reply. I'd recommend visiting printerknowledge.com and searching on there for posts with keywords "canon disassembly printhead" as that should turn up some useful resources. There shouldn't be a latch on the head (assuming I'm interpreting your problem correctly) but the ribbon cable on the back is delicate so you will need to be careful.

[@mopac001]

In the US and tried going to the Inkowl site you mentioned below for US. Their cleaning solution mentions loads of Canon printers as compatible but specifically calls out that it is NOT compatible with Canon Maxify printers. Which, as it happens, is exactly what I have. (Maxify GX4020) I know its inks are pigment inks. A call to Inkowl indicated they had no other solutions available. And idea why the GX4020 can't use a regular cleaning solution". Any other options for cleaning solutions in US you can recommend for this Canon Maxify printer?

[@octoinkjet]

Best guess is that the printhead manifold is very different compared to other pigment ink printers like the Pro10… Might be worth dropping them a line to ask why though.

[@thefaceexchange]

Thanks for this video... Once the print head is cleaned what to do with the ink cartidges that have been sitting in the printer unused for the past two years. Will they still work with a clean head; can I clean out the opening or are they toast? Thanks,

[@octoinkjet]

Glad it helped. As for the old carts. Best to toss them and start fresh. 2 years for the dye inks (the CLI type) will likely have encouraged biological growth inside while the pigment PGI ink will likely have clumped. Best to move on..

[@thefaceexchange]

Thank you for your quick reply. I suspected the old carts might be done for...glad I asked. How do you feel about refilling OEM carts with ink from Precision Colors? I saw this on another vid. Thanks again.

[@octoinkjet]

They're marketed as a similar ink quality to our own, as are InkOwl so those are options if you're based in North America.

[@ritagarza3412]

How do you prevent the cartridges from drying out during this process?

[@octoinkjet]

We always cap the cartridges with the orange covers/caps that come with the cartridges when you get them. Just rubber band them in place if need be. Failing that, use some cling film (Saran wrap?).

[@orfeous]

I have the Pro-10. Not used it for some years and both the inks and head are dried. What cleaning solution is it? IPA?

[@octoinkjet]

We use a cleaning solution formulated for bubblejet printhead so basically HP and Canon printers. We don’t have the specific recipe as our supplier doesn’t share that information but hope that helps identify suitable options.

[@domzgrowtopia414]

what is the name of the cleaning solution

[@octoinkjet]

It's our Canon/HP cleaning solution here: www.octoink.co.uk/pid/402

[@andre2028]

Hello, what alternative Cleaning Solution can i use? Ich live in germany, but your shop is in UK. ;-) Thanks Andre

[@octoinkjet]

Well, we do ship to Germany but you can always try Octopus office.

[@ricosuave855]

You are a great guy. One very fundamental and very silly mistake or oversight. You cant demonstrate the result of your effort . Just like washing and shining a car but I cant take for a drive etc Otherwise a great tips and I will be buying your inks 😆🙃😉

[@octoinkjet]

Have to admit, that thought did occur to me but I was more interested in demonstrating the technique rather than making a sale. Doubtless I’ll do a follow up to show it working on a live printhead at some point but for now glad it’s still useful.

[@user-vw8vg1rs7d]

oil??

[@octoinkjet]

A bit more context to that question would be useful.