How to print without a color cartridge- Canon Pixma?

[dordee]

I have a Canon Pixma MP210. So, I always print in black & white b/c I just print out documents. I've had an old, empty color ink cartridge sitting in there, though. Today I took the empty black cartridge out to recycle at Staples, as I was going to buy a new one. I got the bright idea to also take out the empty color cartridge, so that I could get that recycling credit, too. Well, now it will not print without a color cartridge, even an empty one, installed. It says: "The following ink cartridge cannot be recognized. Printing cannot be executed b/c the ink cartridge may not be propertly installed, blah blah blah." Is there any way to bypass this??? I don't want to have to buy a new color cartridge, as I won't even use it! Help, please. 

[Broni]

Some printers will refuse to print without all cartridges in place. You can't force the printer to re-recognize color cartridge by inserting an empty one.

[truenorth]

Having just experienced this same problem with another model (Pixma all in one) from Canon and talking with their tech support i can contribute the following;
 When ANY cartride becomes either defective or empty you CANNOT use any of the other components of the device ( and that includes the printer/scanner/copier/fax). Therefore i can most positively confirm that you CANNOT use the printer with ANY cartridge removed or indicating empty  (removed or not). You will therefore have a useless dust collector until you replace/repair the cartridge issue.Canon has chosen to design some of it's printer devices that way( and by the way nowhere in their manual do they tell you that). I leave it to your imagination as to why they have done it that way. My personal decision based on the facts i just stated was to NEVER purchase a Canon product of any kind from now on and to council against anyone else doing so either. I am sorry that as with myself this does not solve your printing desires.truenorth

[quaxo]

I wonder if this is just an MP series issue. I have 4 Canon IP series printers of various models in my office and all will print without all of the cartridges, or even with empty ones. I know one of them only has the black and cyan cartridges. The magenta and yellow ones were removed a month ago and it still works fines (it prints my black and white receipts).

[rthompson80819]

I guess it's really on a case by case basis.

Currently, I've got an Epson that won't print if any of the ink levels are almost out.  But in the past I had a HP that would print black and white with the black cartridge removed and it used the color cartridge to print black.

Unfortunately, this is usually something you find out the hard way.

[Salmon Trout]

I guess it's really on a case by case basis.

My IP4200 (printer cost: 59 UK pounds, ink cost: 45 UK pounds) would not print unless all cartridges had above minimum ink levels. It used ink to clean the nozzles every time it was switched on and after every so many pages. Yes I know about refills. That is why I junked it after only 18 months and bought a laser printer (Canon LBP2900, cost 45 UK pounds, supplied with full capacity 2500 page toner cartridge, cost 35 UK pounds which is still going strong after 2 years.) If I want colour I take a pen drive to one of many photo shops in my city. Or I can get upload prints and get them sent by mail.

[Accessless]

Whatever happened to the old printers that just used a different colour if they ran out of one particular one. For example, you would be printing a page of red text, the printer would run out of red and print in yellow instead... Halfway through the page.

[Salmon Trout]

bought a laser printer (Canon LBP2900, cost 45 UK pounds, supplied with full capacity 2500 page toner cartridge, cost 35 UK pounds

That looks a bit unclear. What I meant was that a replacement cartridge will cost me 35 UKP when I eventually need one.

[Mad Canon User]

I am fed up with having to buy a color cartridge that runs $26.00 for the original even though I don't use the darn thing.
It is obvious that the color depletes itself even if you don't print in color on this ip1800 Canon printer. It's all a inside job to use the color slightly and to a point that is not noticeable.
I have even tried printing in grayscale to make sure it doesn't use this cartridge at all. Today I needed important document to be printed in (B/W), then realize my black ink cartridge is empty. I have an original in the cabinet, replace it and print 2 documents, then the error message to replace the empty color cartridge to continue printing error messages pops up. Take out the color cartridge and it is empty. How is this possible?
This is it! This ip1800 is going going to be sold in a garage sale or trashed. Have someone else figure out what a horrible product Canon makes. 
Canon thinks they will continue to take my hard earned $$'s? Think again! Goodbye Canon forever!!

Buying a Monochrome printer. Taking the local copy center for color when needed (which is rare!)!!

[lectrocrew]

I got the bright idea to also take out the empty color cartridge, so that I could get that recycling credit, too. Well, now it will not print without a color cartridge, even an empty one, installed. It says: "The following ink cartridge cannot be recognized. Printing cannot be executed b/c the ink cartridge may not be propertly installed,

Just curious... If you turned in the old color cartridge for recycle credit , then what empty cartridge did you re-install in the machine?
 

even an empty one, installed

Are you sure it's the correct cartridge for that machine?
If it is a correct empty from a previous replacement (And your machine was indeed previously operating with an empty cartridge), you may try cleaning the contacts on the cartridge with rubbing alcohol to see if the machine will recognize it.

______________________________

Whatever happened to the old printers that just used a different colour if they ran out of one particular one. For example, you would be printing a page of red text, the printer would run out of red and print in yellow instead... Halfway through the page.

I have one, (HP Deskjet 648c) that I bought in 2002. I still use it daily as my primary printer for b&w documents. The color cartridge did start printing yellow last year. Haven't tried it this year. (don't want to for fear of damaging the components)  But it still prints b&w just fine maybe because it's older technology.
My HP Photosmart C4480 printer/scanner/copier will also operate with an empty color cartridge, but I keep functional cartridges in it just because...
________________________________

It's all a inside job to use the color slightly and to a point that is not noticeable

Maybe not. It's likely due to periodic purge of both cartridges in order to keep the ink in the machine (post cartridge) from drying up, therefore damaging the print head components.

Canon thinks they will continue to take my hard earned $$'s? Think again! Goodbye Canon forever!!

You go!!! But Cannon is not the only one. Most every printer manufacturer has this feature nowadays, and for good reason. Printers have gotten cheaper over the years and for much improved technology for the $. But these machines use very tiny high speed components that perform well, but can be easily damaged by a 'dry ink' condition, or a cavitation (air instead of ink) of fluid , the ink which in most cases actually serves as a lubricant/coolant for these parts.

I've seen some information for a work-around to this issue on different sites but I would not recommend doing so.

So, my advice would be to save up for a new color cartridge, install it, and set your printer to print black ink. Better than a dead printer to have to replace. A full color cartridge should last for a couple of years or more if it's only used by the hardware for maintenance purging.

JMO

 

[truenorth]

Just to add to the discussion re printer utilization. Some time back (quite a while ago) i remember reading an article on printers (inkjets) and it stated emphatically that in order to prolong the life of an inkjet printer (i believe it was directly concerned with print heads) that the printer should always be turned off when NOT in use. Apparently leaving it on accelerates the ink in the nozzles drying out. I think a lot of users have a tendency to leave the printer on for extended periods when not using it.truenorth

[soybean]

Just to add to the discussion re printer utilization. Some time back (quite a while ago) i remember reading an article on printers (inkjets) and it stated emphatically that in order to prolong the life of an inkjet printer (i believe it was directly concerned with print heads) that the printer should always be turned off when NOT in use. Apparently leaving it on accelerates the ink in the nozzles drying out. I think a lot of users have a tendency to leave the printer on for extended periods when not using it.truenorth

truenorth, I have not diligently searched for articles on this subject but I'm skeptical of the notion that the printer should always be turned off when NOT in use.  I'll state the opposing notion which is that inkjet printers do not fare well when left off and not used for lengthy periods.  In that situation, the inkjet nozzles are more likely to get dry due to non-use.  My Brother MFC-790CW (about 2 1/2 yrs old, as I recall) has an automatic cleaning cycle, which runs about once a week if I'm not using the printer much.  I'm pretty sure I'm better off leaving the printer on so that it runs these self-cleaning cycles than to leave it off.  There may be times when I don't do any printing for several weeks and leaving the printer off all that time could cause problems with dried inkjet nozzles. 

Now, if you were to propose leaving the printer off when not in use but remember to start it at least one a week and at least print some small document to keep it's juices flowing, then I'd probably agree with that approach.  The key here would be for the user to be sure not to forget to do this. 

[truenorth]

soybean, Your comments re whether it is an advantage (or not ) to turn off the inkjet printer when not being used (of course i meant like for an hour or more as opposed to minute by minute) brought back more of the recollections of the information i had read. It came to me that a prime reason was where the print head gets "parked" when it is in the off position as opposed to where it is when on but not used. This does have a significant effect on the printer's proper functioning and life. To ensure that i was presenting as much of the reasons for turning it off as  i could i just did a bit of research on the subject. Suffice to say that it demonstrates for MORE than just the one reason i just stated there are others as well. The expressed opinions in all the cases i read indicate turning it off when not being used is the best way to ensure long and proper use of the printer. I did not in the limited number of references i just read read anything about your suggestion that it would be advisable to periodically turn the printer on. However given one of the additional reasons for turning it off i conclude that makes very good sense to periodically turn it on if it is not used for a long time. Hopefully others reading this and wondering will do some research on their own and thus become better informed. Here are a few of the sites i just reviewed.
truenorth



http://www.inkcloners.com/articles/Epson_Ink_Toner.php
http://www.cartridgesupport.com/printeronoff.pdf
http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/The-Inkjet-Printing-Blog/Should-You-Turn-Your-Printer-Off-when-You-aren-t-Using-It/ba-p/32062

[connieb]

Hi Everyone.I know this is not the subject that yall are on.Please Forgive me for butting in. the subject that has me baffled.I can not seem to get drivers to load on my old computer WinMe,for my new Canon PIXMA MP280 All-in-one-Photo-copy-scan.They have drivers for XP and Vista.But alas I am only running Win.Me Help PLeeeeze.   Thankz. Connieb

[truenorth]

connieb, Welcome to the CH forums. I hope that you will enjoy your stay with us. I must advise you to post your problem with your printer on the "hardware" forum as a new post. Members will respond to you there. It is NOT considered good forum etiquette to "piggyback on someone else's post to seek help for your problem.truenorth

[connieb]

Thank You and sorry about hitching a ride.

[sinharvestxx]

I have a Pixma Canon MG7120 and I am out of all other ink besides black. I have all of the cartridges still in even though they are empty. A prompt comes up asking if i want to cancel print or shop for more ink, but in the instructions of the prompt it says "If you would like to print in just black ink, then hold the STOP button for 5 seconds." I do so and it just continues to print the black and white print.