What is mean by collecting printer status message?. when I want to print, the message appear and it still like that for many hours.

Follow the below steps on the front panel of the All-in-One printer:
A. - Press and Hold the "Print Photos" & "Red Eye Removal" buttons. Release both buttons.

Display should say "Enter Special Key Combo"
B. - Press and release in sequence "Red Eye Removal", "Print Photos", "Red Eye Removal"
(try both and see which one will get you to system config menu )

display says "enter special key combo"

1. Press and release in sequence "Red Eye Removal", "Print Photos", "Red Eye Removal"
2. Press and release the right arrow button until the display says "System Configuration
Menu".
3. Press and release the "OK" button.
4. Display should say "Hardware failure status". If not there already, Arrow Key over to
"Hardware failure status
5. Press and release the "OK" button
6. Display should say "Hardware failure status: Clear. Press OK to clear".
7. Press and release the "OK" Button. Message changes to "Hardware failure status Cleared.
Press Cancel to continue".
8. Press and release the "CANCEL" button as many times as necessary, so that, either the
"Welcome to Photosmart Express" screen appears, or, the "Ink System Failure" screen appears.
PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO PRINT AT THIS STAGE.
9. Using the Power Button, turn the unit OFF and unplug the power cable from back of the
printer and wall outlet.
it is now powered down and unplugged.
10. Wait 30 seconds for the power to get discharged and then plug the power cable into the
wall outlet first and then into the back of the printer
11. Turn the unit on. The printer may display message "USE POWER BUTTON TO SHUTDOWN THE PRINTER" followed by "PRESS OK TO CONTINUE". Press OK.
12. If the printer has already initialized, then go to the next step. If not, the printer
will start the "ONE TIME INK INITIALIZATION PROCESS". Allow this process to complete and do
not interrupt. Once the initialization process is complete, the printer will print out a Diagnostic Page.
13. To verify printer functionality print a SELF TEST PAGE.

Well every advice is the same except a little altered (use a warm cotton swab to clean inside machine and on print head channels) but then it says if possible replace print head but honestly this has become a primitive Machine for turning humans into corpses - buy a new one.

Hi,

This error message means" ink system failure " and to resolve this issue please follow these troubleshooting steps:

Unplug the printer and wait 30 seconds for power to discharge.
2. Plug in the printer.
3. Hold the CANCEL and OK buttons simultaneously, and keep them depressed while you hit the ON button. This resets the printer.
4. When the printer turns on, if you still get the error message, it's OK. Then perform the steps listed

1?Press and hold the “*” key
2?Press the “#” key and release both keys,Display should say “Enter Special Key Combo”
3?Press and release in sequence the “1”, “2” and “3” buttons
4?Press and release the right arrow button until the display says “System Configuration Menu”.
5?Press and release the “OK” button.
6?Display should say “Hardware failure status”. If not there already, Arrow Key over to “Hardware failure
7?Press and release the “OK” button.
8?Display should say “Hardware failure status: Clear. Press OK to clear”.
9?Press and release the “OK” Button. Message changes to “Hardware failure status Cleared. Press Cancel to continue”.
10?Press and release the “CANCEL” button as many times as necessary, so that, either the “Welcome to Photosmart Express” screen appears, or, the “Ink System Failure” screen appears. PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO PRINT AT THIS STAGE.
11?Using the Power Button, turn the unit OFF and unplug the power cable from back of the printer and wall outlet.
12?Wait 30 seconds for the power to get discharged and then plug the power cable into the wall outlet first and then into the back of the printer
13?Turn the unit on. The printer may display message “USE POWER BUTTON TO SHUTDOWN THE PRINTER” followed by “PRESS OK TO CONTINUE”. Press OK. The Printer will start the “ONE TIME INK INITIALIZATION PROCESS”. Allow this process to complete and do not interrupt. Once the initialization process is complete, the printer will print out a Diagnostic Page.

After you perform the steps listed above, when you are at the step at the end where you are pressing the cancel button until you get to the WELCOME screen, if at some point you see a message, “Inproper shutdown, hit OK”, go ahead and hit OK and the Welcome screen should appear.
One thing that is nice about this method is that it doesn't use up all your ink doing a recalibration.
The error message should not pop up so try to print a self test Press Setup menu on the All-in-One then scroll using the arrow key and select Print Report then select Self Test Report.

all the best

If lights are flashing on the printer, I need to know how many flashes to know what to do. Unless the printer is on and with a ready light, you won't be able to print or collect status.

What the flashing light means
The Power light can flash for several reasons:

• The printer cover is open.
• The printer is out of paper.
• A problem exists with the printer, such as a paper jam or a problem with a print cartridge.

If an error message appears
Read the error message that explains the problem and its solution.

If no error message appears
Check the status of the printer by using the printer tools. To gain access to the tools, open the Printer Properties dialog box, click the Services tab, and then click the Service this device button.

Use the printer tools to perform the following tasks:
• View estimated ink levels.
• Clean the print cartridges.
• Calibrate the printer.
• Print a test page.
• Perform other functions as needed.

This can be a failure of the firmware which means the printer is in hardware failure status but it can sometimes be fixed. Follow these steps EXACTLY as written.

Press and hold the “*” key. Press the “#” key and release both keys.
Display should say “Enter Special Key Combo”
Press and release in sequence the "1”, “2” and “3” buttons.
Display should say “Support” and display the FW rev (something like R0631R)
Mine reads R0631M
. Press and release the right arrow button until the display says “System Configuration Menu”.
Press and release the “OK” button.
Display should say “Hardware failure status”. If not there already, Arrow Key over to “Hardware failure status”,
Press and release the “OK” button.
Display should say “Hardware failure status: Clear. Press OK to clear”.
Press and release the “OK” Button. Message changes to “Hardware failure status Cleared. Press Cancel to continue”.
Press and release the “CANCEL” button as many times as necessary, so that, either the “Welcome to Photosmart Express” screen appears, or, the “Ink System Failure” screen appears. PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO PRINT AT THIS STAGE.
Using the Power Button, turn the unit OFF and unplug the power cable from back of the printer and wall outlet.
Wait 30 seconds for the power to get discharged and then plug the power cable into the wall outlet first and then into the back of the printer.
Turn the unit on. The printer may display message “USE POWER BUTTON TO SHUTDOWN THE PRINTER” followed by “PRESS OK TO CONTINUE”. Press OK. The Printer will start the “ONE TIME INK INITIALIZATION PROCESS”. Allow this process to complete and do not interrupt. Once the initialization process is complete, the printer will print out a Diagnostic Page. Good Luck!

The printer is trying to collect data of it's status. Meaning its trying to get info on the ink andso on. Make sure your ink is installed and everything is hooked up correctly. Wait a few minutes before trying to use it. If it still says collecting printer status wait a few minutes.

Uninstall the Printer Drivers and reinstall it this should work.......And for this problem this is the only resolution...........
Good Luck....

do you have this printer plugged directly into the power in the wall? if not, please do that..printers can overload power strips at times.

What it means is the tank to collect waste ink (from cleaning etc) is full.
Canon suggest you return ther printer for replacement of the absorbant mat, suggest you scour the web for DIY cures.