Canon 250, 270,280,281，251,271,250XL,251XL,550, 551, 550XL, 551XL – Low Ink Warnings & Reset Procedure
To use a refilled Canon 250, 251, 250XL, 251XL, 270,271,280,281，550, 551, 550XL, or 551XL ink cartridge you will need to first reset the printer – see instructions below.
NOTE 1: “Low Ink” and other ink cartridge nuisance messages are COMPLETELY NORMAL for all Canon 250, 250XL, 251, 251XL, 270,271,280,281,550, 551, 550XL & 551XL ink cartridges (tanks) which have been refilled and installed into the printer! While at first this may be considered an unusual workflow, it does allow print operations to proceed. ‘Grayed-out’ ink tanks will be displayed on the LCD screen or Windows pop-up screens when ink levels are checked – this is NORMAL.
ACTIVATING REFILLED INK CARTRIDGES:
To activate refilled Canon ink cartridges (and resume printing), simply press the “Stop/Resume” button (down arrow/triangle-circle) on your printer, for 5-8 seconds, until the low ink indicator goes out, the power light stops blinking and the printer resumes printing. ‘Red X‘ cartridge empty indications should then disappear from Windows prompts/messages. Repeat procedure when each refilled cartridge is installed into the printer.
For printers that feature an LCD/Touchscreen (i.e. Canon MG6320 printer, etc.), then select the ‘Touchscreen Printer Reset Procedure’ button below to enable the refilled ink cartridges:
Additionally, your printer or computer may display ink alert messages, such as “remaining ink cannot be correctly detected” or “printing under the current condition may damage the printer”. Press “OK”, “Yes” or “Close” to dismiss alert prompts, or press “OK” on the printer so that the printer resumes its normal operation. These types of annoyance messages will randomly appear and should be expected when using refilled ink cartridges. Refer to the video below for more information.
NOTE 2: If the printer is allowing copies to be made, it should mean that the tanks are not at the “ink out” level that requires the clearing of the ink level indicator by holding down the Stop/Resume button.
NOTE 3: Received faxes that are stored to memory will not be printed – though you can manually print out any fax contained within memory. You can change this setting to forcibly print all incoming faxes.
Canon Printhead Flush Procedure
If, after activating the ‘Cleaning’ or ‘Deep Cleaning’ maintenance routine 2 times in a row, along with the manufacturer’s suggested printer cleaning procedures, blank pages are observed or output print quality is extremely poor (for example, you observe several missing colors in the Nozzle Check Pattern Report where otherwise all colors should normally be present with no visible streaking), then the printhead may have partially dried out and a hot water flush of the PRINTHEAD may be necessary to help recover the ink system.
NOTE 1: This procedure should be considered “a last-ditch effort” just prior to printhead replacement and assumes that there is an adequate amount of ink available for the ink system recovery. For example, at least 30% of ink is available within each ink cartridge. This procedure should only be attempted after all other recovery suggestions, from Canon, have been exhausted.
NOTE 2: The PRINTHEAD cleaning procedure is applicable to all Canon MP, MG, MX & IP printer models which feature a removable PRINTHEAD assembly.
STEPS:
1. To begin, remove all ink cartridges from the printer.
2. Remove the printhead. Raise the carriage assembly lever to unlock the printhead. Lift printhead straight up to remove.
3. Over a sink, run warm tap water directly into the 5 or 6 ink ports for approximately 2 minutes — this will effectively saturate the foam ports and blow ink out & thru the printhead nozzle plate bottom.
4. Using a lint-free towel, remove water from rear/bottom electrical contacts. Ensure printhead electrical contacts and exposed surfaces are fully dry.
5. Install the printhead into the printer. Lower carriage lever to lock printhead into place. NOTE: On select Canon printer models, after the print head is seated in the printhead holder, push the Head Set Lever towards the back of the machine to lock the printhead in place.
6. Install ink cartridges and close the top cover.
7. Re-seating or insertion of the printhead into the printer will consume approximately 8-10% of the ink and effectively re-prime all colors in the ink system.
8. At the printer’s maintenance menu, activate the ‘Nozzle Check Pattern’. Verify all colors are printing properly. No visible streaking or fade should be present in the printed pattern.
If you have reached this point of the troubleshooting and poor printing performance is still observed or a “replace printhead” printer error message is displayed, then the printhead may be electrically damaged or at end of life* and may need to be replaced.
NOTE 3: Typically the average printhead should not reach its end-of-life* until after a minimum of 8 or more complete sets of cartridges have been used in the printer. Printing frequently, perhaps once or twice a week, is one of the best ways to maintain your printer’s overall PRINTHEAD health.
It is suggested you refill your cartridge as soon as you see the print quality begin to fade — don’t wait until the last color runs dry! Continuing to print with a cartridge that is running dry can result in air bubbles being ingested into the printhead and will ultimately lead to poor image quality.
