Canon PIXMA MX310 - Manual (Page 76)

72 Routine Maintenance
Keeping the Best Printing Results
To avoid drying of the Print Head and clogging of the nozzles, note the following.
„ When You Turn Off the Machine
Follow the procedure below to turn off the machine.
(1) Press the ON/OFF button to turn off the machine.
(2) Confirm that the Power lamp has gone out.
This takes a few seconds or as long as around 30 seconds.
(3) Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.
If you are using a power outlet strip, you can switch it off instead.
When you press the ON/OFF button to turn off the machine, the machine automatically puts a
protective cap on the Print Head to prevent the ink from drying. If you remove the power cord or
switch off the power outlet strip before the Power lamp goes out, this capping will not be done
properly, causing the Print Head to dry and clog.
„ When You Are Not Using the Machine for a Long Time
When you are not using the machine for a long time, print or copy in both black & white and in
color, or perform Print Head Cleaning, about once a month to prevent degradation of the Print
Head.
Numerous nozzles are installed in the Print Head for high-precision printing. Just as the
uncapped tip of a ballpoint pen or marker becomes dry and unusable if it is not used for a long
period of time, the print head nozzles become blocked by dried ink. Periodically printing or
cleaning the Print Head can prevent this blockage.
Note
z Ink may blur depending on the paper in the following cases:
– Printed area is traced with a highlight pen or paint-stick, or
– Printed area is stained with water or sweat.
z If the print head nozzles get clogged, printouts will become faint or particular colors will not be printed
properly. For details, see “When Printing Becomes Faint or Colors Are Incorrect” on page 59.