How Do I Clean My Parking Station?

Are you curious as to why your prints have white, horizontal lines running through them?

This is a symptom of dried nozzles on your printhead. Oftentimes, your printhead problems are due to dried nozzles more than they are to circuitry failure. Try printing a nozzle check from your printer software, which usually shows a pattern of lines. If a nozzle is dried, the page will be blank where the lines should have been.

Dried nozzles can be caused by several things, including a poorly sealed ink cartridge, or lack of use (letting the printer sit for a few weeks without using).

It is possible to try to revive the dried nozzles yourself.

1. First, start by running several cleaning cycles using your printer's software.
2. If that doesn't work, try removing the printhead and carefully cleaning the bottom of it with water.
3. DO NOT let the water touch the greenish-gold electric square or it will ruin the entire head.(Some of our customers have reported they've been able to get their print head unclogged by soaking the nozzles in Windex.)

Here is a link to an amazing YouTube video that describes exactly how to remove and clean your printhead:

If neither of these work, the problem could caused by a gunky parking station. The parking station is the place where the print head “rests” when it is not printing. Usually it’s on the right side of the printer (looking at the printer from the front). The parking station has rubber seals that are supposed to surround the printhead when it’s parked. These seals have two purposes:

• to keep the printhead from drying out when it is not printing
• to provide a tight seal for strong suction when the printer is self-cleaning the head

Some printers also have rubber wiper blades that move across the bottom of the printhead to remove accumulated ink. All these rubber pieces get “gunked” up over time with condensed ink. This prevents a tight seal, allowing the head to dry out. The good news: the rubber can be cleaned!

1. Open the cover of the printer so that the print head carriage comes to the middle (as if to replace an ink cartridge).
2. Unplug the power cord from the printer.
3. Use your hand to gently slide the printhead carriage over to the left, so that you can access the parking station (at right) more easily.
4. Best tool to clean the parking station with is a Q-tip dipped in water. You’ll need several Q-tips
5. When you are finishing cleaning, close the printer, plug power back in, and turn it on. The printhead will automatically return to the parking station

(Note: we will not be responsible for any damage to property or persons which result from these instructions.)

Print heads are not returnable.

There is a 90 day warranty on Canon printheads.