Printed Surface Is Scratched/Paper Is Smudged
10-May-2008
8200152600
Issue
Cause and Solution
Clean the paper feed rollers. Cleaning the paper feed roller of the Rear Tray will wear the roller, so perform this procedure only when necessary.
For details on cleaning, see "Cleaning the Paper Feed Roller (Roller Cleaning)".
When performing duplex printing, if the specified page size does not match the actual size of paper loaded in the paper source, the inside will become stained with ink, causing printed paper to become smudged.
Perform the Bottom Plate Cleaning to clean the inside of the machine.
For details on cleaning, see "Cleaning the Inside of the Machine (Bottom Plate Cleaning)".
When printing documents such as photos, which takes longer to dry, the next sheet may be fed before the previous one has dried.
Either remove each printed sheet from the Paper Output Tray as soon as it is printed, or specify the Ink Drying Wait Time so that the machine will pause after each sheet has printed.
(1) Make sure that the machine is turned on.
(2) Open the printer properties dialog box.
(3) Click the Maintenance tab and then Custom Settings.
(4) Drag the Ink Drying Wait Time slide bar to set the wait time, and then click Send.
(5) Confirm the message and click OK.
(1) Make sure that the machine is turned on.
(2) Open the Canon IJ Printer Utility.
(3) Select Custom Settings in the pop-up menu.
(4) Drag the Ink Drying Wait Time slide bar to set the wait time, and then click Send.
(5) Confirm the message and click OK.
- Check to see if the paper you are printing on is not too thick or curled. See "Compatible Media Types".
- When performing Borderless Printing, print quality may be reduced at the top and bottom edges of the paper. Make sure that the paper you are using is suitable for Borderless Printing. For details, see "Printing Area".
For Plain Paper
Turn the paper over and reload it to print on the other side.
Leaving the paper loaded in the Rear Tray for a long time may cause the paper to curl. If this happens, load the paper with the other side facing up. It may resolve the problem.
We recommend putting unused paper back into the package and keep them on a level surface.
For Other Paper
If you are using paper with either any of the corners or the whole printing surface curled, the paper may become dirty, not feed properly, or both. Use such paper after correcting paper curl as follows.
(1) With the printing side (A) facing up, cover the paper with a fresh sheet of plain paper to avoid staining or scratching the surface.
(2) Roll up the paper in a direction opposite to paper curl as seen below.
(3) Check to see that the paper curl is within approximately 0.08 to 0.2 inches / 2 to 5 mm
(B) in height.
We recommend printing curl-corrected paper one sheet at a time.
NOTE
Depending on the media type, the paper may be smudged or may not be fed properly even if it is not curled.
In such case, follow the procedure described above in "For Other Paper" to curl the paper before printing.
This may improve the print result.
Selecting the Prevent paper abrasion setting will widen the clearance between the Print Head and the loaded paper. If you notice abrasion even with the media type set correctly to match the loaded paper, set the machine to prevent paper abrasion by using the Operation Panel on the machine or the printer driver.
* Deactivate the Prevent paper abrasion setting once printing is complete. If not, this setting remains enabled for all subsequent print jobs.
- Setting with the Operation Panel on the machine Press the Menu button, select Maintenance/settings, Device settings, Print settings, and set Prevent paper abrasion to ON.
- Setting with the printer driver
Open the printer properties dialog box, and in Custom Settings in the Maintenance sheet, select the Prevent paper abrasion check box, and then click Send.
In the Canon IJ Printer Utility, select Custom Settings in the pop-up menu, select the Prevent paper abrasion check box, and then click Send.
Especially if you are using plain paper to print images with high intensity, the paper may absorb too much ink and become wavy, causing paper abrasion.
- When printing from your computer
Reduce the Intensity setting in the printer driver and try printing again.
(1) Open the printer properties dialog box.
(2) On the Main sheet, select Manual for Color/Intensity, and then click Set.
(3) Drag the Intensity slide bar to adjust the intensity.
(1) Open the Print dialog box.
(2) Select Color Options in the pop-up menu.
(3) Drag the Intensity slide bar to set the intensity.
- When copying
See "Copying" and reduce the intensity setting. Then try printing again.
If you are printing beyond the recommended printing area of your printing paper, the lower edge of the paper may become stained with ink.
Resize your original document in your application software.
For details on recommended printing area, see "Printing Area".