Photo Printing When I print photos on my Canon Pixma MP500, they come out with horizontal lines across them and the colors aren't quit the same as what you see in the picture. For instance, if someone is wearing white shorts they will print out as a blueish color. I've checked all of the printer cartridges and none of them are low or empty. I have not cleaned the printer heads as I'm not sure how to do that and I can't find my manual at the moment. I have tried 2 different types of photo paper: Kodak and HP. Both have a glossy finish, both are specifically for inkjet printers, and both say they will work in any inkjet printer. Can anyone give me a direction to go in? I have replaced the coloured inks with new ones. Previously I had re-inked the cartridges. Photos which I am trying to print are coming out with horizontal pink lines across them. Any ideas on what to do would be greatly appreciated. I have also done the maintenace program set on the printer. PIXMA MP 500 Ann Pengilly

Your problem could be a simple as a blot or spot stuck on the scanner, carefully clean the scanner glass and particularly the small bar itself with a disposable alcohol swab, you may be surprised what kind of gunk you remove and it may well solve your problem.

Try a deep head clean, from your software on your computer.

try to change the color ink. horizontal banding (the pink or other color lines appearing means horizontal banding) when there is a problem on one of the heating element of the printer head. since almost all canon printers have head built in the inks, replacing the faulty ink will solve the problem. if not then the controller of printhead on the carriage and mainboard needs to be checked.

from cnet review of the product

• Unfortunately, as with the Z1420, fast print speeds come at the cost of print quality with the Z1300. Black text prints, though nicely dark, were beset by obvious jaggedness. The color graphics print had a slightly faded look to it and color blocks showed graininess and faint horizontal striations. Barcode-style patterns were muddled, too. For our tests, we printed color 4x6 photos with the standard black and tricolor cartridges, as Lexmark did not include photo ink tanks with the test unit. The colors were dull, details were hazy, and again, the entire print was marred by graininess and faint horizontal lines. That said, nobody buys a $25 printer to print photos for framing or to create displays for a classroom science project. A $25 printer is a convenience item for occasional reference prints, and as such, the Z1300 does its job.

Inkjet printer quality
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Photo Graphics Text Canon Pixma iP1800
Good Good Good Lexmark Z1300
Fair Fair Fair Lexmark Z1420
Fair Fair Fair

you shoud test printhead,if they are ok, you choose "best photo" in printer property.

Hi,

Although refill inks can be quite good, it is likely the cause. Several companies do make good refill inks for canon but they are specific to model lines and you have to be sure you get the right ones for photo colour.

The inks you're using are likely "universal" inkjet inks and are fine for everyday printing but are rarely ever colour corrected properly for photo.

My recomendation to all of my customers is always to keep a new cartridge handy for photos but to use the refilled ones whenever they are printing anything else as it will give you the best balance between print cost and print quality.

Chris

Canon has a special ink for printing on glossy papers.

I had a problem similar to this where it would print 7/16" horizontal band blank and then a 7/16" horizontal band correctly. This problem occured systematically when printing text.
Called Canon support after a great deal of searching around on the web and they shipped me a new printhead. Problem solved.
If your printer is anywhere near a year or less old call them up and explain the problem. They were very helpful.

It sounds like the black tank/printhead is leaking. If it is, it'll be empty soon. New tank will solve that problem.

Hi, Most Inkjets have maintenance software installed in the computer itself where the printer is attached. If you would like to try, please click on Start/Printers and Faxes/ A new window will pop up where your Canon Pixma MP500 will be shown. Right click on the Canon icon and left click on the Properties. A new window will pop up. See if there is any Utilities or Maintenance Tab. If none, try clicking on Printing Preferences. Another window will pop up. Normally this is where your Maintenance Option is displayed. Clicking on the Maintenance (sometimes they use Utilities) Tab, a list of maintenance options will be displayed. Pls follow the on screen instructions. They icons represent the action you would want done like head cleaning, alignment, roller cleaning etc. Clicking on the icon initiate the action. Should you still need a copy of the User's Manual, it may be downloaded from www.usa.canon.com Hope this be of some help to you. Pls post again how things turn up. Good luck and kind regards.