SOLVED Printer problems

[Caz]

I have a Canon MP600 multi-function printer, which has worked well since I bought it about 5 years ago.

It's still scanning/printing well - provided it's text and on plain paper.

However, I'm experiencing problems printing photos - whether A4 or 6x4, as it appears to be almost cutting a line in the top 10% of the image.

I've run a clean, a deep clean, re-aligned the heads, and also looked at the rollers but can't see anything which might be causing the problem.

Any suggestions would be very welcome - don't want to upgrade unnecessarily as it has always printed beautifully.

Many thanks

Carol

[patmoore]

Re: Printer problems

Hi Carol,

I have a Canon MP150 and it acts up on occasion. Which program are you using for printing? Do you have Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or something comparable? If I have a printing problem I try a different program. It doesn't always solve the problem but once in a while it works.

When you say it's cutting a line in the top 10%, I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Is it possible to scan and post one of the results? Maybe I could figure out if a settings tweak would work. Other than that I'm at a loss.

Pat

[Caz]

Re: Printer problems

Thanks for the reply Pat - it doesn't matter which programme I'm printing from (Windows Photo Gallery, CS5 or even Lightroom once by mistake), the photos are coming out as if they've been scored with a knife.

I've checked the rollers (which are very difficult to find) but can't see anything at all.

A quick scan of what I was trying to print - not done at high res... and hopefully you can see the lines. It's almost as if it's trying to cut the paper - you can feel the indentation, although it's not deep enough to fold along.



I've got another craft fair in about 10 days, so need to get printing...

Thanks for your help

Carol

[Rodbender]

Re: Printer problems

This looks like you have a foreign body somewhere in the paper transport mechanism. Running a roller cleaning sheet through the printer may remove it. Or you could try passing a think sheet of paper though the printer, IE a sheet of photo grade paper but with the wrong side up. The rougher side of the paper may just do the trick.

[Caz]

Re: Printer problems

This looks like you have a foreign body somewhere in the paper transport mechanism. Running a roller cleaning sheet through the printer may remove it. Or you could try passing a think sheet of paper though the printer, IE a sheet of photo grade paper but with the wrong side up. The rougher side of the paper may just do the trick.

Cheers Rod, tried that just now with an old piece of thick card (it almost had to be forced through) and it appears to have done the trick.

Thank you for saving me a fair bit of money - no need to buy that new printer I was looking at after all.

[Rodbender]

Re: Printer problems

I'm so pleased it worked for you. Some printers used to come with a cleaning sheet. It was kind of tacky on one side. All's well that ends well. Happy printing.

[Patrick]

Re: Printer problems

I'm so pleased it worked for you. Some printers used to come with a cleaning sheet. It was kind of tacky on one side. All's well that ends well. Happy printing.

It possible to make your own, using photographic mounting spray.
Simply sray a sheet of stiff paper as if to mount it, then let it dry (very important, we don't want sticky rollers) it remains tacky, run it through the printer, and picks up any dust and such that get into the printer. I usually then run through a couple of time a plain piece of paper to ensure everything is OK.
Dust from paper can build up, particularly when high quality rag art papers are used.

Patrick

[patmoore]

Re: Printer problems

Great solution! Glad it worked out for you. My Canon has been getting persistent false paper jam messages and I've been pushing stiff card stock paper through. It seems to clear up the problem for a while. I primarily print photos on an HP C5180 and now it's getting error messages. Arrghh!

[Caz]

Re: Printer problems

Patrick - thank you for your suggestion, if I can find the old mounting spray can I used to have I'll definitely give it a try.

And Pat - good luck with the paper jams. Luckily, it's not something that happens too often although I suppose that at least 4 years old something will give soon.

Luckily when I do my mobile shoots I've got a little Selphy that I take with me - absolutely love it, but I've only tried it on 6 x 4 so far: a little like an instant picture from a DSLR!

Carol

[Ian]

Re: Printer problems

I'm so pleased it worked for you. Some printers used to come with a cleaning sheet. It was kind of tacky on one side. All's well that ends well. Happy printing.

Well done! That's what this board is all about and it's very satisfying to get a result like this!

Ian

[Caz]

Re: Printer problems

Well done! That's what this board is all about and it's very satisfying to get a result like this!

Ian

Ian - it was brilliant, very impressed by the help and suggestions given.

I don't seem to be able to set this as "solved", or is that down to an admin?

Carol

[Pol]

Re: Printer problems

Ian - it was brilliant, very impressed by the help and suggestions given.

I don't seem to be able to set this as "solved", or is that down to an admin?

Carol

I think Ian is the only person who can set 'solved'.

Superb thread though, very useful.

Pol

[Ian]

Re: Printer problems

I think Ian is the only person who can set 'solved'.

Superb thread though, very useful.

Pol

OK, I will see if we can make that more flexible

Ian