topic Re: how to fix double printing of letters? in Desktop Inkjet Printers

PIXMA MX922 how to fix double printing of letters?

travisvu — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 13:35:33 GMT

When printing, some lines come written with double letter effect: For example, the word "bad" looks like "bbaadd". The letters are so close that are almost on top of each other. This does not happen to all of the text on the page, but to many lines.

Printer is MX922. Print from Word doc (or any text editor) onto plain paper.

Already did all the steps in the Maintenance window (ie. cleaning, head alignment, nozzle check, etc...). No help.

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

Ramona — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 21:01:39 GMT

Hi travisvu,

Since the alignments and cleanings did not work, you can try cleaning the encoder strip of the printer to see if this will resolve the issue. To do this, please follow the steps located here.

If you still experience difficulty after cleaning the encoder strip, the printer may require servicing; please call or email us at one of the methods on the Contact Us page for further assistance.

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

SCB — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 06:25:13 GMT

I have the exact same issue with a MG7120 and your hyper link to cleaning the encoder strip below does not seem to work. Where can I get the instructions on how to clean the encoder strip for a MG7120?

Many thanks

SCB

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

LAeverman — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 02:26:11 GMT

I'm having same problem as above on MG5500. The link with instructions is not working. Has anyone had success in fixing this? Advice please?

Thanks so much!

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

rdooman — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 15:41:03 GMT

I am having the same issue now for a while. Yesterday I removed the print head cleaned it to get all the old ink out. I wiped the ribbon as suggested. It still prints letters with a shadow.

Has anyone found a solution?

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

ellen2sandy — Sat, 23 Dec 2017 22:47:58 GMT

I am having the same issue with my MG5420.. letters printing ddoouubbllee

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

taybird — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 19:39:19 GMT

Link to support fix does not work.

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

Danny — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 13:38:24 GMT

Hi, taybird!

Thanks for catching that. Since that reply was posted in 2015, we've overhauled our web sites and some of the old links no longer work. We've updated the link above and you can also reach it HERE.

We hope this helps!

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

Alina — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 06:22:57 GMT

It’s anyone’s printer printing ok now after cleaning the encoder strip?

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

saboking — Thu, 24 May 2018 00:35:22 GMT

Hello! I had the same problem on an MG7170. Tried everything in the canon FAQ and nothing worked. I was going to throw the printer away when someone pointed me to "extreme printhead cleaning". I was told it was how the printer repair shops (not canon authorised) do it. With nothing to lose, I tried it and it totally worked! The printer now prints like new with perfect alignment on all colors including PGBK.

Here's the video illustrating the method:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYuBv0wgbPk

Note: Pay attention at around 8:35. You must flush until you get a clean, smooth spray to clear all clogged particles because the clogged particles are what's causing the jets to misalign.

Another example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J61WxOduqQg

If you have a spray steamer (I don't), you can try that too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq6EN5il2AA

Good luck!!

Note1: This problem has nothing to do with the encoder strip otherwise it will misalign on all colors.

Note2: This problem mostly happens on PGBK because pigment ink unlike dye ink dries with a hard residue.

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

Mellanby43 — Sat, 23 Feb 2019 03:59:28 GMT

Cleaning encoder strip on Canon MX 926 made no (zero) difference to double printing of letters every fourth or fifth line!!

I've tried all possible solutions that have been suggested/recommended online. Simply no joy.

Doesn't print double on scanned documents though. Jeez ... waste paper basket for Canon 926 I think

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

EAB — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 01:23:01 GMT

This worked for me! I have a PIXMA MG3620 and was having an awful time with double letters (it looked like I had blurry vision) and smudges. I cleaned that timing encoder strip with a Q-tip and alcohol and printed out some pages and voila it is fixed! Thanks!

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

kaetterhenry — Sat, 23 Nov 2019 17:35:37 GMT

I also am having this problem with my Canon MG5400. Does this unit have an encoder film and if so, where do I find it?

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

nhan7616 — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 14:29:05 GMT

Even after cleaning the encoder strip won't help. I think main problem is printheads. Mostly of this problem come from Ink Tank inkjet printer. Where printheads used many years and some nozzle blocked by dust and dried ink when you not usiing many months or not using genuine ink. I got exactly this, but using E560 printer with CISS (continuous ink supply system) and ONLY when I using duplex printing. That why mostly inkjet cartridge won't get this problem but Ink Tank inkjet printer, where cartridge replace everytime you run out of ink. But my E560 printer use CISS, so it like Ink Tank inkjet printer. After 1 year setup CISS in my printer, shadow text starting getting worse. I tried many solution from google, but not work. So I just brought a new black inkjet cartridge, reinstall CISS and Print Head Alignment. Then it solved. Here is 2 line text before and after (Actually it worse than before but I only have this).

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

Grez1 — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 22:05:04 GMT

Well, I did clean the timing strip per instructions. It did not change performance whatsoever (which is pretty much what I expected, as I did not see any visible grease or dirt on the strip). BTW, if this is a part that is intended to be maintained, why is there not better access to it? There is not space in there for anyone with hands bigger than a six-year-old's (and then you can't see well, because you're blocking the light). But, I digress.

I've had this problem for some time now, and no cleaning/aligning/etc. helps in any way. I'm really at the point where I feel like I should just get a new printer.

One thing that I did notice...I saw that the timing strip instructions did mention not to remove grease from the lower rail. I saw a couple of areas on that rail that, to my eyes at least, seemed to be devoid of grease. Could that be causing this issue as well? If so, what type of grease should be used/how much/how should it be applied?

Re: how to fix double printing of letters?

Grez1 — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 05:12:22 GMT

Still looking to see if a moderator has any other ideas. Thanks.

Re: PIXMA MX922 how to fix double printing of letters?

ahmetsacan — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 15:44:23 GMT

I came to this page having the same problem. Photos printed fine but text did not, so I figured I could print my documents using photo-printing option on plain paper, which worked great. I tried to find the minimal changes that can make the document printing work and it was "Borderless Printing". So, the work-around in my case was to select Borderless Printing in the printer settings and use Plain Paper as the paper source (you'll get a warning that borderless printing is not recommended for plain paper).

In my case, this was clearly a software bug/problem. This has been a very frustrating problem that I suspect started with a software update. A perfectly fine hardware was made useless. I almost thought it was introduced maliciously to force users buy a new printer.