Canon MG7520 Not Printing Black

[jameson]

I go to print a document with black and it spits out a blank page but it goes through all the motions like its printing. I've done the Print Nozzle Check and the PGBK line doesnt even show up. It just starts with cyan. I'd really love to get this fixed so I dont have to buy a new printer, this guy is hardly a year old (I bought him Febuary 24, 2016) 😞 

I've run the cleaning and the deep cleaning enough to almost depleat all my ink, which also incredibly frustrating as I had just bought new Canon brand cartriges just to see if that would fix the problem. It didnt and now I'm out 50 dollars. 

Emailing support but wanted to post this here as well. 

[James_C]

Hi jameson,

It sounds like you have already performed all the recommended trouble shooting steps to resolve the described issue.  Just to be sure, I have provided the recommended steps in order below:

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-251BK
CLI-251GY
CLI-251Y
PGI-250PGBK
CLI-251C
CLI-251M

Next, a test of your PIXMA MG7520 should be performed.  This will tell us if the printer is working correctly.  To do this, please load letter-sized paper in the PIXMA MG7520 and follow these steps:

 1.  Flick the HOME screen and then tap Setup.

 2.  Tap Maintenance.

 3.  Tap Print nozzle check pattern.

 4.  Tap Yes.

The Nozzle Check will print.  If it does not print correctly, please perform a few printhead cleanings.

To perform cleanings, please follow these steps:

 1.  Flick the HOME screen and then tap Setup.

 2.  Tap Maintenance.

 3.  Tap Cleaning.

 4.  Tap Yes to clean the printhead.

 5.  Tap Yes to print another Nozzle Check.

Test the printer.

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

[chilipepperwoma · Accepted solution]

The suggested steps did not fix the problem for me, so I called Canon support and got excellent help. Here's the skinny - at least for my situation.

First, I learned that the large black tank (PGBK - pigment black) is used primarily for printing text documents (Word, emails, and so forth). The other ink tanks - black, grey, cyan, magenta, and yellow - are used primarily for photo printing.

When I printed the Nozzle Check test page, all the tanks printed correctly EXCEPT the PGBK. The PGBK prints first on the page and this section was blank (as were my documents I was trying to print). The other colors printed fine on the Nozzle Check page.

My problem is that the PGBK was an old tank (a friend had given it to me) and it apparently stopped working even though it wasn't empty.

More importantly, however, the wonderful tech support person gave me a workaround in the short term. From my Word document, when I clicked Print, before printing you click Printer Properies. Under Commonly Used Settings, switch from Standard to Photo Printing. Standard uses the PGBK tank while Photo Printing prints with the other 5 (even if all you are printing is black). Voila! No more blank page.

NOTE: On my printer, when switching from Standard to Photo, it also switch the paper size to 4 x 6, so double-check that you're still printing on the size - and from the tray - you want.

Another important thing I learned. In the Printer Properties dialog box, under Additional Features, clicking the box for Grayscale Printing has no effect on this particular problem whatsoever. The tech support rep told me he talks to a LOT of people who think that by clicking this box the printer will use ONLY black ink, but that is not the case. In fact, Grayscale Printing will "create" black from the five color ink tanks. To save your color inks, print on Standard which should print from the PGBK tank.

So the workaround got me out the door for the time being until I can buy a replacement PGBK. Hope this helps!

[Taworn]

I have exact same problem that you just described and I did fix my problem on MG7520 doing same thing as you did.

Any update on your PGBK cartridge? If so what brand of PGBK did you purchase?

Thank you for your post.

[sjbeayon]

Same exact thing happened, I changed to photo settings and it works now

[gump249]

I just wanted to say thank you for that info guess my pgbk ink is low but not out and it must be what you said about it that i couldnt print anything that had black lettering would pring color icons but not the words i did the photo thing and it printed all was helpful ty again i spent hours trying to fix this ....

[domcomm]

I have the same problem, but it is not the black cartridge, because I just replaced all of the cartridges. I've tried everything you mentioned, did a Cleaning, did a Deep Cleaning, and still no success. A dealer gave me a little bottle of EKS Prunt Head Cleaner. That didn't work, either! Now what? I'm stuck!

[domcomm]

No, that did not solve the problem. I also took the heads out and used the cleaner kit to clean the heads and retested. The other colors print, but not the black. All of my inks are brand new.

[Patrick]

Hi domcomm,

Based on your description of the issue, it would appaer that your PIXMA MG7520 would require service.  You are eligible for Canon's Upgrade Program. This is for out of warranty units which have been diagnosed to require service, or for some reason are incompatible with a new or upgraded system. This option allows you a one-time opportunity to purchase a replacement product, discounted from the list price.

If you would like to take part in this option, please call our Sales Department at (866) 443-8002 Monady throuigh Saturday, 9am to 9pm. Let them know you have been working with technical support and the Canon Upgrade Program was offered.