topic Re: PIXMA G6050 colors washed out in Desktop Inkjet Printers

PIXMA G6050 colors washed out

jbulle — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:29:56 GMT

We have a canon pixma g6050. 3 years old. Sporadic use.

I have done everything : cleaning, deep cleaning, ink flush, … nothing works. Colors are washed out. And to discard any Color profile issue I made a trial printing from the scanner : same result.

print (sofa is grey)

original

any idea? I am tired. For information I tried on my mac with latest macos (Tahoe) I tried from my iPhone. Printer is connected via WiFi. Tried already reinstalling the printer no change.

Re: Pixma g6050

DerrickL — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:19:16 GMT

What does a nozzle check look like?

Re: Pixma g6050

jbulle — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:15:38 GMT

This is the output

Re: Pixma g6050

DerrickL — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:52:00 GMT

Based on your nozzle check pattern, your black grid is printing normally, but all three colors (Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow) are completely missing The pale color blocks visible on your page are actually just the background placeholder labels printed on the template, not real ink

Because the entire color print head has stopped firing, the issue is caused by one of three things: air locks in the ink tubes, a severely dried print head, or ink valves being closed.

I know you have tried some of these fixes already. but hopefully a second round may break loose the ink.

1. Check for Air in the Ink Lines (Most Likely)

Lift the scanner bed of your MegaTank printer and look at the clear, flexible ink tubes leading to the color print head.

The Problem: If you see large pockets of air or sections where the tubes are completely clear (empty of cyan, magenta, or yellow), ink cannot reach the nozzles.
The Solution: Perform an Ink Flush through the printer menu.
1. Press the Setup (Gear) button.
2. Navigate to Maintenance and press OK.
3. Select Ink Flush, choose Color, and confirm.
⚠️ Note: This forces ink through the lines to clear air pockets. It uses a significant amount of ink and fills the waste ink absorber, so only run it once.

2. Verify the Ink Valves and Joint Buttons

If you recently moved the printer or refilled the ink, a physical mechanism might be blocking the flow.

Lift the scanning unit to access the print head carriage.
Ensure the ink valve lever (usually on the side, used when shipping) is completely open in the printing position.
Press down firmly on the two blue joint buttons on top of the print head carriage to make sure they are clicked flush and locked into place.

3. Clear Stubborn Print Head Clogs

If the tubes are full of ink but nothing prints, dried ink is capping the nozzles.

Run 1 or 2 standard Cleaning cycles followed by a Deep Cleaning cycle via the printer's Maintenance menu.
If software cleaning fails, you may need to physically remove the color print head and sit the bottom nozzles on a lint-free cloth soaked in warm distilled water or isopropyl alcohol for a few minutes to dissolve the blockage.

If you look inside the printer, are the clear ink tubes full of color, or do they look empty and filled with air bubbles? Knowing this will help rule out a hardware failure versus a simple ink flow issue.

Re: Pixma g6050

jbulle — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:55:55 GMT

I already did all of this i’ll try ink flush again

Re: PIXMA G6050 colors washed out

jbulle — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:09:59 GMT

Ok so after doing all the things I mentioned and an ink flush this is the result which I consider as solved.

canon if you read this : never put such a product on the market. This is completely giving the finger to the customers …

Re: PIXMA G6050 colors washed out

DerrickL — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 22:11:24 GMT

Is the top one you printed after another ink flush?

I am not an advocate of super tank printers, not Canon's not Epson's not anyone's. You save money on ink if you can get enough prints to cover the difference in cost of the printer. However you have a whole printer full of potential other issues with the ink not flowing, printer heads clogging etc, it is the one of the top three problems if not the top issue posted here on this community forum. There is a reason why the five, six or more color pro photo printers use ink cartridges one for each color that mount in the carriage with two print heads, no pump or tubes to contend with.

Re: PIXMA G6050 colors washed out

SignifDigits — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:48:38 GMT

In all fairness I've had printers from every maker and none of them do well if they aren't used regularly. The ONE exception that I think of is laser printers. All inkjet printers get unhappy with disuse. So ever manufacturer is giving the consumer the finger by selling them and not explaining that disuse will lead to printing problems. I have chosen to avoid big ink tank printers altogether to reduce my risk.

Re: PIXMA G6050 colors washed out

jbulle — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:06:14 GMT

top is before (but after all the maintenance steps)
bottom is after additional ink flush

Re: PIXMA G6050 colors washed out

jbulle — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:07:49 GMT

How hard is it to force a [insert_frequence] automatic printing cycle designed to avoid or at the very least limit drastistically those issues? In a time where we nearly have autopilot cars, AI able to perform engineering studies, fusion reactors working and so on and so on. That is beyond me 🙂

Re: PIXMA G6050 colors washed out

DerrickL — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:00:25 GMT

Glad to see the bottom looks just about right. Did you do a new nozzle check, that will really confirm the second ink flush results.

To answer your question, many tech sites recommend printing a nozzle check once a week if you don't print anything else, that is good advice for all printers. I don't know of any automatic print programs, that does not mean there isn't one. I will see what I can find out and let you know. I am relieved to see your appears to functioning again.

Derrick

Re: PIXMA G6050 colors washed out

SignifDigits — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:08:59 GMT

I suppose that might happen someday - seems a good suggestion and even in the interests of the printer manufacturers as well as the users. Now that there are enough electronics in cars some do alert owners to get the oil changed. Prior to that it was solely on the owner. I still tend to perform the maintenance prior to the automatic notification as driving my car 200,000 miles (as all of mine have gotten unless wrecked) isn't really in the auto manufacturers' interests. Perhaps when printers aren't priced solely as throwaway items the additional cost of adding that into the firmware will happen. You should try suggesting it to Canon on their product site. This is a social media platform more than an official product support site. Look for the icon there and suggest it, perhaps.

Re: PIXMA G6050 colors washed out

DerrickL — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 22:40:15 GMT

It is possible to write a batch file using notepad, and scheduling it to print once a week. Having a color test page is good like this one. Google.com AI can provide the instructions.