How do I clean the print head nozzles of my canon pixima 260

Inkjet printers need to be used frequently to prevent inkdrying out in the print head nozzles.
If the print head cleaning maintenance routine does not clear the blockages,then print head needs replacing, but it may be expensive.
It may be more cost effective to buy a later model and better printer thanreplace the print head.

Hi, Try first with cleaning tests on maintenance mode.Make sure all cartridges are not empty.If not help try manually cleaning.Open the cover and first remove the ink cartridges.Then open the holder and remove the print head.Run hot tap water and put the print head with the nozzles up to stream water.Hold that 5 mins then turn the print head around with the nozzles down.Hold that for every color of 5 mins.Then put the print head in hot water with the nozzles down.Left it water about 15 mins and then you must very nice to dry.When the print head dry put it in printer and start cleaning.If this not help you need to replace the print head. Thank you for your time and best wishes for your effort.

f print quality does not improve by the standard cleaning of the Print Head, clean the Print Head deeply. Cleaning the Print Head deeply consumes more ink than the standard cleaning of the Print Head, so clean the Print Head deeply only when necessary.
1. Make sure that the power is turned on.

2. Clean the Print Head deeply. (1) Press the (Maintenance) button repeatedly until y appears.
(2) Press the Black or Color button.
The machine starts cleaning the Print Head deeply. Do not perform any other operations until the machine completes the deep cleaning of the Print Head. This takes about 2 minutes.

3. Check the print head condition.

When the deep cleaning is completed, the LED returns to the copy standby mode. To check the print head condition, print the nozzle check pattern.

See " Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern".

If the problem is not resolved, turn off the power and clean the Print Head deeply again after 24 hours.
If the problem is still not resolved, replace the FINE Cartridge with a new one.

See " Replacing FINE Cartridges".
If the problem is still not resolved after replacing the FINE Cartridge, contact the service center.

Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern
Print the nozzle check pattern to determine whether the ink ejects properly from the print head nozzles.

NOTE If the remaining ink level is low, the nozzle check pattern will not be printed correctly. Replace the FINE Cartridge whose ink is low.
See " Replacing FINE Cartridges".



You need to prepare: a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain paper

1. Make sure that the power is turned on.

2. Load a sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain paper in the Rear Tray.

3. Open the Paper Output Tray gently, and open the Output Tray Extension.

4. Print the nozzle check pattern.

(1) Press the (Maintenance) button repeatedly until A appears.
(2) Press the Black or Color button.

The nozzle check pattern will be printed.

5. Examine the nozzle check pattern.
See Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern.

Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern

Examine the nozzle check pattern, and clean the Print Head if necessary.

1. Check if there are missing lines in the pattern (1) or horizontal white streaks in the pattern (2). (1) Check if lines are missing in this pattern. If yes, the cleaning is required.
See " Cleaning the Print Head".


(A) Good
(B) Bad (lines are missing)

(2) Check if horizontal white streaks are present in this pattern. If yes, the cleaning is required.
See " Cleaning the Print Head".

(A) Good
(B) Bad (horizontal white streaks are present)
Post back!

Did you purchase genuine canon paper or canon compatible paper by canon.
If not that is why, must be canon / canon compatible paper.
If you did use that paper then perform "print head clean" in printer sofware.

Hi there,
When printing becomes faint or colors are incorrect, even if ink remains in the ink tanks, the print head nozzles are probably clogged. Follow the procedures below to clean the nozzles.

Step 1 : Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern.
If white stripes are noticeable
Step 2 : "Aligning the Print Head"
If print quality is poor
Step 2 : "Print Head Cleaning"
if the problem remains
Step 3 : Print Head Deep Cleaning"
if the problem still remains
Step 4 : Replacing Ink Tanks.

Note : * If the ink tank replacement does not resolve the problem, contact the Customer Care Center.
* You will be alerted if low ink warning is enabled.
* When the Maintenace button on the operation panel is pressed, the maintenance mode is shown. Numbers and functions that can be selected on the maintenance mode as follows :
01 : Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern
02 : Print Head Cleaning
03 : Print Head Deep Cleaning
04 : Aligning the Print Head
05 : Reset the ink counter.
06 : "Display" or "Not Display" remaining ink volume.
07 : Date and order setting.

Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern : Print the nozzle check patterb to determine whether the ink ejects properly from the print head nozzles and to verify print head alignment. Use this function when printed results are blurred or the color is incorrect,
1) With the printer on, load a sheet of Letter paper in the printer.
2) Print the Nozzle Check Pattern.
a) Press the Maintenance button,
b) The Maintenance icon and 01 appear on the LCD.
c) Press the OK button. The nozzle check pattern is printed.
3) Examine the nozzle check pattern output by the printer.
a) Lines missing in this pattern indicate that the print head of black ink requires cleaning. Perform the Print Head Cleaning.
b) White stripes in this pattern indicate that the print head of color ink requires cleaning. Perform the Print Head Cleaning.
c) Uneven patterns indicate that the print head requires alignment.
Perform Aligning of Print Head.
d) Noticeable white stripes in this pattern indicate that the print head require alignment.
Perform Aligning of Print Head.

Print Head Cleaning : Clean the print head if you suspect that the nozles might be clogged. Cleaning the print head consumes ink, so perform print head cleaning only when necessary.
1) Ensure that the printer is on.
2) Start print head cleaning.
a) Press Maintenance button.
b) Press right arrow once to display 02 on the LCD.
c) Press the OK button.
Important : Do not perform any other operations until the print head cleaning finishes. This takes about 50 seconds.
Note : After the print head cleaning finishes, print the nozzle check pattern to verify that the print head nozzles are clean.
If the problem persists, perform printhead deep cleaning.

Print Head Deep Cleaning : If print quality does not improve by standard print head cleaning, try print head deep cleaning, which is more powerful process. Print head deep cleaning consumes ink, so perforn this procedure only when necessary.
1) Ensure that the printer is on.
2) Start Print Head Deep cleaning.
a) Press Maintenance button.
b) Press right arrow twice to display 03 on the LCD.
c) Press the OK button.
Important : This process takes one or two minutes to complete so simply wait until the Power lamp stops flashing.
Note : After printhead deep cleaning finishes, print the nozzle check pattern to verify that the printhead nozzles are clean.
If the printhead is still not clean after the second deep cleaning, replace the ink tank.
If ink tank replacement does not resolve the problem, the print head may be worn out. Contact the Customer Care Center.

Hope this helps.
Please rate my response.
Thanks.

Have a good day.

Hi there,
When Printing Becomes Faint or Color are Incorrect, the Print Head Nozzles are probably clogged.
Follow the procedure below to clean the nozzles.
Step 1 : Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern.
Print the Nozzle Check pattern to determine whether the ink ejects properly from the Print Head Nozzles.
a) Using RESUME/CANCEL button.
I) Ensure that the printer is turned on, and then load a sheet of Letter Paper.
ii) Hold down the RESUME/CANCEL button until the POWER lamp flashes twice, and then release it immediately.

b) Windows
i) With the printer on, load a sheet of Letter-sized plain paper in the printer.
ii) Open the Printer Properties.
iii) Print the Nozzle Check Pattern.
Click the Maintenance Option from the Menu.Then click Nozzle Check from the pop-up menu. Then click Print Check Pattern.
iv) When the confirmation message is displayed, click OK.
v) Confirm the nozzle check pattern.

Examine the Print Nozzle.

Step 2 : Cleaning the Print Head.
a) Cleaning the Print head using RESUME/CANCEL button.
i) Ensure that the printer is on.
ii) Hold down the RESUME/CANCEL button until the POWER lamop flashes once, and then release it.
b) If you pressed the Cleaning button on the Examining the Nozzle.
Check Pattern screen displayed after the nozzle check patter was printed, start the Print Head cleaning procedure.
i) Ensure tha that the printer is on.
ii) Open the Printer Properties dialog box.
3) Start Print Head Cleaning,
- Click the Maintenance tab.
- Click Cleaning.
- Select the Print Head to be cleaned, and then click Execute.
iv) When the confirmation message is displayed, click OK.
Print Head cleaning starts when the POWER lamp starts blinking,
Important : Do not start any other operations until the Print Head Cleaning finishes. This takes about 60 seconds.
4) Check the Print Head condition.
i) Click the Print Check Pattern in the nozzle Check dialog appeared after cleaning are done. When the confirmation message is displayed, click OK. A nozzle pattern will be printed. Do not perform any operation until printing is completed.
ii) Observe the printed nozzle check pattern to check the Print Head condition.
iii) If the problem persists after you perforned Print Head normal cleaning 3 times, execute Print Head deep cleaning.

Step 4 : Print Head Deep Cleaning.
If print quality does not improve by standard Print Head cleaning, try Print Head deep cleaning, which is a more powerful process and comsumes more ink.

1) Ensure that the printer is turned on.
2) Open the Printer properties dialog box.
3) Start Print Head Deep Cleaning.
i) Click the Maintenance tab.
ii) Click Deep Cleaning.
iii) Select the Print Head to be cleaned, and then click Execute.
iv) When confirmation message is displayed, click OK. Print Head deep cleaning starts when the POWER lamp starts blinking,
Important : Do not perform any other operations until the Print Head deep cleaning is completed ( about 2-3 minutes).
4) Check the Print Head condition
i) Print a nozzle check pattern to check the Print Head condition.
ii) If the problem persists, perform step 3 again.
iii) If the problem persists, the printer may have run out of ink.
Replace the ink tank.
iv) If the problem persists, the Printer Head may be damaged. Contact your dealer or Canon Customer Care Center.

Hope this helps.
Have a good day.

Clean the print head nozzles (Mac OS X) MP210 Clean the print head nozzles (Windows) MP210 Clean the print head nozzles - MP210 Perform Print Head Alignment (Mac OS X) MP210 Perform Print Head Alignment (Windows) MP210 Replace ink cartridge(s) MP210 Reseat ink cartridge MP210

Visit

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=SupportDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=238&modelid=15402

Cleaning your head might resolve your problem. Perform the below steps to clean the head:

Print Head Cleaning / Head Refreshing If the printed nozzle check pattern is broken, missing, or a specific color is not printed, clean the print head (Cleaning) or print head deep cleaning (Deep Cleaning). Note:

1. Cleaning the print head consumes a small amount of ink. Cleaning too often reduces the amount of ink in the ink tanks.
   
   
2. Print head cleaning is performed when you connect the power cord. Your machine may perform print head cleaning periodically to avoid clogging.
   

Overview:
Step1:
Print the Nozzle Check Pattern.
To check whether the print head nozzles are clogged, print the Nozzle Check Pattern.
If the print quality is poor, perform print head cleaning.
Step 2:
Perform print head cleaning.
This unclogs the print head nozzles
Print the Nozzle Check Pattern again.
To check whether the print head nozzles are clogged, print the Nozzle Check Pattern.
If the print quality is still poor, perform two print head cleanings.
Print the Nozzle Check Pattern again.
Step 3:
Perform deep print head cleaning.
This is a more powerful cleaning.

Displaying the Maintenance screen

1. Ensure that the printer is powered on.
   
   
2. Press the <Menu> button.
   
   
3. Press the left or right cursor to select [Maintenance/settings], then press <OK>.
   
   
4. Press the left or right cursor to select [Maintenance], then press <OK>.
   

Print Nozzle Check Pattern

1. Press the Open button to open the output tray.
   
   
   
   
2. Load letter-sized plain paper in the auto sheet feeder (ASF) or the cassette.
   
   
3. Display the Maintenance screen on the printer.
   
   
4. Press the up or down cursor to select [Nozzle check], then press the <OK>.
   
   
   
   
5. Press the up or down cursor to select [Yes], then press <OK>. (The nozzle check pattern is printed.)
   
   
6. Confirm the nozzle check pattern.
   

< 1 > The normal nozzle check pattern
< 2 > The abnormal nozzle check pattern
< 3 > Some black ink lines are broken.
< 4 > White lines are present in the color ink pattern.
< 5 > Both black and color inks are not present.

Note:

1. When all patterns are printed normally, press the up / down cursor button to select "All A" and press the OK button.
   
   
2. When any patterns are printed abnormally, press the up / down cursor button to select "Also B" and press the OK button.
   

Print Head Cleaning:

1. Display the Maintenance screen on the printer.
   
   
2. Press the up or down cursor to select [Cleaning], then press <OK>.
   
   
   
   
3. Press the up or down cursor to select [Yes], then press <OK> to start print head cleaning.
   
   Note:
   Do not do any other operations until print head cleaning is completed.
   
   
   
4. Print the nozzle check pattern and check the print head status.
   

Deep (Print Head) cleaning:

1. Display the Maintenance screen.
   
   
2. Press the up or down cursor to select [Deep cleaning], then press <OK>.
   
   
   
   
3. Press the up or down cursor to select [Yes], then press <OK> to start print head deep cleaning.
   
   Note:
   Do not do any other operations until print head deep cleaning is completed.
   
   
   
4. Print the nozzle check pattern and check the print head status.
   
   Note:
   If the printed result does not improve even after doing print head deep cleaning, turn off the printer. Then, after 24 hours or later, do print head deep cleaning again. (After a given time interval, ink could dissolve itself, resulting in ink unclogging.)
   

I hope this information allows you to resolve this issue. If you need further assistance, please post back with a comment to this thread.
If I've managed to answer your question or solve a problem, please take just a moment to rate this post....thanks!

rncoral,

go into the preferences of the printer, under the maintenance tab you will see head clean. clean the head and do a nozzle check. If you get nothing after two or three head claens, then the head is failing and will require replacing.

Gremlin11

Print Head Cleaning / Head Refreshing If the printed nozzle check pattern is broken, missing, or a specific color is not printed, clean the print head. NOTE:
a. Cleaning the print head consumes a small amount of ink. Cleaning too often reduces the amount of ink in the ink tanks.
b. Print head cleaning is performed when you connect the power cord. Your machine may perform print head cleaning periodically to avoid clogging.

1. Press <COPY> or <PHOTO>.
   
   
2. Press <Menu> repeatedly until <USER DATA> appears.
   
   
3. Press < (left arrow) or > (right arrow) to select [MAINTENANCE].
   
   
   
   
4. Press <OK>.
   
   
5. Use < or > to select [CLEANING] or [HEAD REFRESHIN] as necessary.
   
   
   
   [CLEANING]: Performs normal print head cleaning.
   [HEAD REFRESHIN]: Performs deep print head cleaning.
   
   
6. Press <OK>.
   
   
   
   
7. Print a Nozzle Check Pattern to see if print quality improved.
   
1. Press <COPY> or <PHOTO>.
   
2. Press <Menu> repeatedly until <USER DATA> appears.
   
3. Press < (left arrow) or > (right arrow) to select [MAINTENANCE].
   
   
   
4. Press <OK>.
   
   
   
5. Press <OK> again.
   The machine prints a nozzle check pattern (A).
   
   
   
   
8. If broken or white lines appear in the pattern, perform two Head Refreshings (from steps 1 through 6) then print another Nozzle Check Pattern.
   
   
9. If print quality does not improve after two Head Refreshings, replace the appropriate ink tank.

Confirming The Nozzle Check Pattern
Broken lines
White lines
Click here to return to step x to perform Head Refreshings