Canon 8100 printer/scanner: Blue vertical streak on color scanned pages. (No streaks on B&W). Have changed blue ink cartridge, cleaned glass plates. Any ideas?

If you're holding the paper so the narrow side is up, and the blue streak is vertical, then it's not a bad print head. If the stripe is from side to side with the paper held that way, then possible that the head is bad. The 4530 is an office type printer with large carts that connect to the print heads with hoses. It's possible that a hose has come off and is dumping ink that way, or that the hose is leaking...

The issue is from the glass on the copier, it would be better if you clean it very well or possible change.

Lift drum out, look down behind toner and you will see a glass lens.
Clean it with a soft cloth or tissue. Works every time.

There are two possible fixes.

Download the latest firmware update by CLICKING HERE

The following is provided by courtesy of Lexmark:
Problem Vertical lines; Auto document feeder scan anomaly; ADF scanning problem; Scan issue; Scanner issue; Visible line; Streaks show on page; solid line down the page; Top to bottom line; Smudge runs down the page; Opaque line; Broken line; Bar all the way down the page Solution Overview

This article provides the self-diagnostic steps necessary to evaluate top-to-bottom streaks that appear when copying or scanning.

Important! This is seldom a scanner hardware failure.

The main reason for this anomaly is debris or marks on the scanner glass that is used for Auto document feeder (ADF) page scans.

Printed or Scanned Page Illustration

Who should consider this article?

Any user of an MFP or All-In-One printer experiencing the following symptoms:

• -Vertical lines only when using the Autodocument Feeder (ADF).
• -Observed with any type of scan job (e-mail, ftp, solutions, fax).
• -However, normal expected output when the page is scanned from the scanner flatbed.

ADF scan behavior

Think of it this way:

• -The page is pulled from the ADF.
• -The moving page slides across an ADF-designated portion of glass.
• -The image sensor, which is located under the glass, reads and interprets the moving page's contents.
• -Contamination on this ADF glass is seen by the image sensor for the entire length of the page.
• -The image processor interprets the image sensor's repeated capture of this contamination as a vertical solid line.
• -Any ADF scan function now exhibits a vertical line.

Suggested Diagnosis and Fix

Step Action 1 Locate the portion of the glass designated for ADF scans.
HINT: The glass location differs by model. This area is often separate from the scanner flatbed. Please reference User's Guide for more information if you are having a difficult time locating this designated area.
2 Perform a visual inspection for any of the following recurring culprits:

• -Clear adhesive tape
• -Glue
• -Ink pen
• -Paper
• -Marker
• -White out
• -Staples
• -Environmental dust or dirt

HINT: Ink marks can be especially hard to see and almost translucent at first sight. However, the image sensor (CCD) registers them as a mark. 3 Use a clean, soft, moistened cloth to thoroughly clean and remove any marks or debris. 4 Inspect the underbelly or underside of the ADF for any marks or debris. 5 Perform another scan to see if cleaning the glass alleviated the issue. 6 Repeat the procedure if a vertical line still appears.
Remember! Printing and scanning from the scanner flatbed work fine.
7 This time, place an intentional mark on a blank sheet of paper and take note of its location. Now place that sheet of paper in the ADF and make a copy.
8 Evaluate the distance of the vertical line to the your mark. 9 Inspect that area of the glass for further debris or marks and clean as necessary.

Other Possibilities


If... Then... Vertical lines appear only when printing... Consider other printer-related topics such as toner cartridge, charge roll, photoconductor, transfer roll, or fuser. Contact Lexmark Technical Support. Vertical lines appear when you lay the page on the flatbed... Consider other printer-related topics such as toner cartridge, charge roll, photoconductor, transfer roll, or fuser. Contact Lexmark Technical Support. Vertical lines appear on ADF-fed printed copies, but they do not appear on scan-to-network [e-mail, FTP, folder (PC), solutions]... Consider other printer-related topics such as toner cartridge, charge roll, photoconductor, transfer roll, or fuser. Contact Lexmark Technical Support.

The line is probably not from the ink cartridges or nozzles (assuming regular printing doesn't streak). Streaks on copies and transmitted faxes are usually due to dirt or problems on the scanner unit. First clean the flat bed of the scanne. If you have an automatic document feeder, clean that.

Clean with a lint free cloth moistened with a little water or glass cleaner. Make sure no foreign objects are in the ADF path or on the glass. For pictures see the Lexmark support site: http://support.lexmark.com/index?page=product&linkSelected=node0&locale=EN&userlocale=EN_US#1. Then enter "streak on copy" - the solution comes up in a pop up.

If the streak is shrinking, then copy a blank white piece of paper to identify where to clean further. Try scanning another page with a small mark on it. (These are particularly helpful for cleaning the ADF.)

If the mark occurs when you print, then check if you have a damaged cartridge or other ink that has spilled inside the printer.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

There are several possibilities that you can check. First, what is the ink level for all colors? You need enough ink in all of the cartridges, black and the three color tanks in the color cartridge. A low ink in any one cartridge could do this.

Second, make sure you are printing on clean white letter or A4 paper (no additional print on the page). Is the paper feeding correctly from the paper tray? Did the alignment page print and arrive in the output tray? Check for a paper mismatch warning or if 4x6 paper selector lever is pushed forward on the output tray. Make sure the selector is pushed all the way towards the printer. Did the alignment page look like the previous alignment pages or the ones shown here: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=buu00657&tmp_task=solveCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=60259#Alignment_Pages .

If any color is missing, look for a problem with the cartridges. Try running a cleaning cycle: press Menu (or Setup, depending on the printer) on the printer. Press the right arrow until you see Maintenance or Tools. Press OK and then OK again if Clean Print Cartridges is highlighted. (Otherwise, highlight the Clean Print Cartridge by pressing the arrow keys and then press OK.) If the output is missing, faded, or streaked. Note: a low ink issue will be made worse with a cleaning. It is a cartridge issue. This could be a symptom of clogged nozzles on the cartridge, the protective tape still on the cartridge, or poor contact between the cartridge electrical contacts and the matching ones on the print head. Remanufactured and refilled cartridges are at higher risk of failing. However, the chip on the cartridge can also fail; in this case, if you have a genuine HP cartridge, contact HP. Replace the cartridges. You may want to clean the cartridges and the print head. Use distilled or bottled water and lint free paper or swabs. (coffee filters can be used.) Wipe away from the nozzles (the contacts, edges and ramps of the cartridge) of the cartridge and the contacts inside the printer. Wipe in one direction only even on the contacts inside the printer.

Reset the printer by unplugging the power cord for at least 5 seconds before plugging it back in. Print a new alignment page. Does the printer give one or two pages? If you only get one page, the alignment is automatic and you should see a blue light at times as the printer feeds and prints the page. If no light shows up, the printer needs service.

If you get two pages, check the scanner glass and white scan backing. Clean the surfaces with a soft cloth dampened with clean water, if they need cleaning. Check if the bulb assembly is lighting up when the unit is on. If that scanner light doesn't come on, the all-in-one needs service. Make sure to put the alignment page face down on the glass or face up in the ADF. Copy the alignment page. If the copy has vertical streaks, clean the scanner assembly. (If this cleaning doesn't help, again the unit needs service.)

You can bypass the required alignment. Press and hold the Enter button and then press the Setup button. The unit should print but the print quality will be poorer. If any colors are missing, check the ink level and for clogged nozzles.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

There is something on your scanner glass. Clean the glass with glass cleaner. If this happens when using the automatic document feeder, open the top side cover where the paper feeds into. There is a narrow glass strip there. Clean that as well.

If this fails, the scanner head has a bad sector on the CCD and will need to be replaced. You will probably find that it will be cheaper to replace the printer entirely if that is the case.

Issue: Banded or streaked prints
Solution: Change the Print Quality Settings (Windows)

Change the Print Quality Settings (Windows) The Quality setting controls how finely ink droplets are placed on the printed page. Depending on the type of paper being used a higher Print Quality setting does not always insure a better print. Print speed will decrease as the Print Quality setting is increased. Follow the instructions below to change the print quality settings in the Canon printer driver for the Windows operating system through a printing application.

1. Click 'Properties' in the Print dialog box.
   
   Note: Depending on the Application software, 'Properties' may be displayed as 'Preferences'.
   
   
2. Set the desired print quality in the 'Print Quality' section.
   
   
3. Select 'High', 'Standard', or 'Draft / Fast'.
   

To set more detailed print quality settings, follow this procedure:

1. Select 'Custom' and click 'Set'.
   
   
   
   
2. In the Set Print Quality dialog drag the slide bar from 'Fast' to 'Fine' to select the print quality.
   
   
   
   Note: There are five options in 'Quality'. However, selectable options are limited depending on the media type.
   
   
3. Select 'Auto', 'Dither', or 'Diffusion' from the 'Halftoning' section.

when scanning photos and especially magazines, don't go to low on the dpi (at least 300) and select DESCREEN as well as grain correction: HIGH

It's possible that the heads need to be replaced. That's one disadvantage to the printers that don't have the heads contained within the cartridge.