Canon MX870, vertical line on copies and scans. How do I get rid of this?

[RLWilber4]

I have tried the maintenance functions to clean the printer heads, etc. Nothing seems to work. I keep getting a vertical line down the right side of my copies and scans. Do I need to take the machine apart to clean?

[fyigmo63]

Is the vertical line black, white, or colored?

[bentzie]

black

[fyigmo63]

Then it sounds like you have spot of dirt, smudge of ink, or possibly even a small scratch on the scanner's glass platen. Provided the platen is not scratched, then cleaning will typically resolve the issue.  If you have your user manual then refer to how to clean the platen in it and/or download a copy from Canon's support site.

A brief description of the cleaning process would be to turn off your printer's power and disconnect the power cord before cleaning the machine.  Clean the inner side of the document cover, but be careful as it can be easily damaged.  Next, with a soft cloth, wipe the glass platen to remove any spot, residue, etc.  Do a visual inspection of the platen, and if it looks clean then plug your printer back in and run a test copy.  If it's clean then cool, but if the black streak remains then you may have a smudge of some kind on the underside of the glass platen.  Refer to the user manual for how to remove the glass platen to clean it underneath and/or how to gain access to the underside in order to clean it.

Try that, and if it doesn't work there could be other issues that may cause a black line.  Start with the simplest solution first and clean the platen and document cover.

[albertb]

it did not work     the line only appears when copying and DOES NOT appear when a fax is received

[Ramona]

Hi albertb,

Cleaning the rollers of the ADF and the platen glass may resolve the issue.  To do this, please follow these steps:

1. Please turn off the printer, then open the left-side cover of the ADF. Inside of the cover, you should see several rubber rollers.

2. With a moistened cotton swab (you can moisten the swab with water or glass cleaner), please clean each of the rollers, being sure to rotate the rollers with the swab instead of directly touching it.

3. Once the rollers have been cleaned, please close the ADF cover.

4. Next, please open the printer cover to get to the platen glass. With the moistened swab, please clean the small strip of the glass that is off to the left hand side, separated from the main scan area of the glass.  You will also want to clean the main area of the platen glass as well.

5. Once the above areas have been cleaned, please attempt to photocopy and scan again. 

Hope this helps!

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[LePluBo]

Hello,

How can I remove the platen glass ? It is very dirty inside ( it looks like someone spilled coffee on the glass )

[albertb]

how did u fix it

[albertb]

did u find a fix?