topic Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly? in Desktop Inkjet Printers

Why does my ink run out so quickly?

AndymAndym — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 16:15:12 GMT

I have a Pixma MP620. I bought all new cartriges for it a couple of months ago, have printed only B&W word documents, and far fewer than 100 documents, yet my black is empty, and the magenta and cyan are dangerously low. The yellow is at half. I figure I've paid almost $1.00 per B&W page.

WTF?

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

Ramona — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 12:30:28 GMT

Hi AndymAndym,

The amount of ink that the printer will use varies based on what is being printed, what print quality is selected, and what paper type is being used.

As a suggestion, you can do these things to conserve the amount of ink that is used by the printer:

1. Ensure that the paper type that you have the printer set to print to is set to PLAIN PAPER instead of a photo or other paper type. Using another paper type distributes the ink on the page differently, and in some cases uses more ink.

2. Ensure that the print quality is set to FAST or STANDARD. The higher the print quality setting, the more ink the printer will use.

3. If you find that you print more black and white documents than color documents, selecting the GRAYSCALE PRINTING option in the printer driver will use only the larger black ink tank in the unit to print, as long as PLAIN PAPER is sleected as the paper type, and single-sided printing is being performed. When duplex (double-sided) printing is performed, or if another paper type than plain paper is selected, a combination of the color inks will be used to create the black text on the page, even if the grayscale option is selected.

4. Keep the printer out of direct sun light and away from heating vents, as this can dry out the ink tanks.

Hope this helps!

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Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

jkheydt — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 10:57:08 GMT

On day the yellow is full. I don't print any yellow. The next day it is almost empty. This is a typical example. Happens with all colors.

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

cjss — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 03:28:17 GMT

I'd like to know how it's possible that my printer ink has, apparently, gone from 3/4 full to empty in six moths even though I haven't used my printer more than one or two times. Are the cartriges on timers?

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

BillS — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 21:05:24 GMT

Hi cjss,

The ink cartridges are not on timers, but the printer is. It is programmed to perform periodic cleanings or "purges" to prevent clogs from forming in the nozzles. These purges do use a small amount of ink, and enough of them will eventually empty the cartridge.

To prevent this, turn the printer off during long periods of disuse (more than a week or two.) A purge will only be performed when the printer is powered on.

Also, only turn the printer off using the power button. If you turn the printer by disconnecting the power, either from a wall switch or power strip, a purge will occur every time you turn it on.

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Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

Layla97 — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 15:21:14 GMT

I have the same problem with my MX870 - as I just spent a lot of money to replace with Canon ink cartridges more often than I should. I previously purchased a store brand (probably $10 or so cheaper than your brand) and it ran out quickly. So, I thought that problem would be solved if I used Canon brand ink - but it runs out just as quickly. I recently bought ink last week more when I saw my blue was almost on empty. And I don't print very often either. Also... I don't leave the printer on when I'm not using it - and always turn the power off on the machine. I'm not near a heating vent or direct sunlight, either. Which leads me to believe the problem is with either:

1. The printer or

2. The ink

Price for the printer aside, I think it's a shame that the high price cartridges don't last more than a dozen sheets for printing.

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

kausD — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 16:27:57 GMT

I have the MB2320

It HAS to be the printer not reading the ink sensors properly or something.

The specs said this machine would print 5,000 color pages.

I printed 300 and my Cyan was showing empty and prevented me from printing anything else.

I literally just installed they Cyan less than 30 days ago and did one sizable print run and its out.

CANON -- Is it possible the machine is not reading the ink levels properly??? No way any of the people in this thread burned through their ink from sunlight or from a timer on the machine. Please come back with a more reasonable response to this issue with a possible fix. Thanks!

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

kausD — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 17:32:40 GMT

I want to add that after installing a NEW Cyan catridge the ink level still shows 50%.

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly? Canon MX922

steveski — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 04:35:36 GMT

I started printing some of my Christmas Cards tonight.

I bought refills of all my colors.

When I put them in they registered about 50%.

I bought them at Walmart tonight.

After printing about an hour. I am already out of color ink.

This has bever happened to me before with this printer.

I usually get much more copied then this. I use my machine a lot.

Help.

Steve ski

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly? Canon MX922

joervel — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 00:17:23 GMT

I purchased a Canon MG6620 and I'm sorry I did. This printer runs out of ink so quickly and the ink levels go down even when I'm not using it. I print very few doucuments and I already purchased 2 sets of inks ( now going on my third ). This is very frustrating and costly. Soon I will have already paid more for the ink than I did the printer!!!! First and last I'll buy any Cannon printers.

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

gjthecow — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 02:22:44 GMT

I also run out of the colors far too frequently for the amount of color printing that I do. I have changed the paper setting to plan and the defaults to gray scale and draft. I also chose text in the print processor section instead of RAW. Will that make a difference?

The printer makes a lot of back and forth noise every time I print, as if it is cleaning or resetting the heads every time. Is there a setting to control this? What is it doing when it makes that noise?

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

James_C — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 14:01:57 GMT

Hi, First, please make sure that the ink tanks are installed in the printer correctly and are in the correct order. The order from left to right is as follows:

CLI-221BK
CLI-221M
CLI-221Y
PGI-220PGBK
CLI-221C

Next, a test of the printer should be performed. This will tell us if the printer is working correctly. To do this, please load letter-sized paper in the PIXMA MP620 and follow these steps:

1. Press <HOME>.

2. Rotate the menu to Settings and press <OK>.

3. Press <OK> on Maintenance.

4. Press <OK> on Nozzle Check Pattern.

5. Press <OK> on Yes.

The Nozzle Check will print. If the Nozzle check isn't correct, please perform a few printhead cleanings.

To perform cleanings, please follow these steps:

1. Press <HOME>.

2. Rotate the menu to Settings and press <OK>.

3. Press <OK> on Maintenance.

4. Press <OK> on Cleaning.

5. Press <OK> on Yes.

After a few cleanings, please print another Nozzle Check.

If the issue continues, It is recommended that you contact one of Canon's Technical Support Representatives. To contact a Technical Support Representative, please use the link below:

http://Canon.us/ContactLI

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

jschnell0531 — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 14:16:54 GMT

I am having the same issue with my Maxify MB2320. I literally just changed all my color ink not ten minutes ago. I printed ONE single sided gray scale page and now my magenta and cyan are showing as almost completely gone already. My last set of ink only lasted 2-3 months. We use the printer maybe twice a week for only a page or two and only black and white.

I'm at a loss and think I'll get a new printer/scanner. This is insane. I'm not spending over $70 for a full set of ink for it to only last a very short time. Certainly won't go with Canon again.

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

James_C — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 15:28:49 GMT

Hi jschnell0531,

The bigger black ink tank contains pigment based black ink. This ink
provides dark and sharp black text on plain paper. The bigger black ink
tank is used when the paper type is set to plain paper.

The smaller black ink tank is a dye based ink. This ink provides
greater contrast when printing photographs. There is no way to switch between the tanks because they are used for
different functions.

Reasons for color ink usage
Solution
Why color ink may be used when printing in black and white
Even when printing in black and white, color ink is used for the following reasons:

Automatic cleaning of the print head.

To prevent the print head nozzles from clogging, the print head is automatically cleaned periodically. At that time, a small amount of each color ink is consumed.

Therefore, although printing in black and white is performed, color ink is also consumed.

Color inks may be used to create black.

When printing in grayscale or on photo paper or when duplex printing, although printing appears in black and white, the color black may be created using the three (cyan, magenta, and yellow) color inks. Printers without a pigment black tank / cartridge will print black / grayscale will create a composite black using color ink even on plain paper.

If you continue to have difficulties, please contact our support group using the following link:

http://Canon.us/ContactLI

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

aeaston5959 — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 16:40:11 GMT

Canon the answer to these questions is that your auto cleaning process drinks the ink! Its totally unacceptable. You need to come up with a revised approach where the customer can request a clean not have it forced on them automatically. I've spent the price on the printer 3 times over on inks and have only printed about 50 documents. I'd rather the printer got blocked and have to buy a new one than spend as much i I have to on ink!

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

Paulo1 — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 02:31:26 GMT

I have the same problem voiced by the others in this thread. The ink useage is really excessive, the printer settings and cartridge placements are correct and compared to other printers I have the Canon ink useage is abnormal. Thus far the responses here from Canon are all of the flavor that it is a user problem. My considered opinion is that it is a Canon problem and it is not being addressed.

Lacking some effort by Canon at a fix and acknowledging the problem I will be leaving the Canon family of users.

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

Layla97 — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 12:27:08 GMT

Well said!

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

Boozer — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 18:51:17 GMT

I litteraly use my Canon printer to print eBay shipping labels, maybe a dozen or so per month. I do them gray scale and on draft mode. That's what I print and I'm almost out of all the colored inks. Everything is running low.

Printer ink is probably the most overpriced item in the world. Companies sell printers cheap because the ink is where the profits are. Now Im hearing the machines waste my ink every time I turn it on? They also try to make it impossible for non OEM inks to work in their printers.

This is all adds up to a conflict of interest at best and other things at worst.

All I really know for sure is I'm out of ink and. I shouldn't be.

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

dontknowname — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 11:46:54 GMT

I have the same problem on my MP980 and it always run out of ink quickly even i only print few papers. only the big black ink is still full

Re: Why does my ink run out so quickly?

grizzlyowl — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 18:42:12 GMT

Did you get any resolution?