Constant carriage returns

[originalsbyterr]

For the past month or so, my printer mx452 is constantly doing carriage returns for no reason. I think it must be some kind of Canon update, but how do I make it stop? I can no longer contact Canon about issues with my printer.

[shadowsports]

Are you saying the outputs (printed pages) have text with random spaces between senteces or paragraphs?

Sure, it could be a hardware issue, but more likely is an issue with the print driver being used (selected) or the formatting in your document(s). 

What are you printing?

What program are you printing from?

If you are printing from Word, is it possible you have changed the normal.dot template?

Do this:

Open notepad.

Press and hold the "a" key

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Now print.  Do you get spaces?

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[originalsbyterr]

I am not printing anything. It does it all by itself. I could be in another room. When I do use it to print, it prints. fine.

[shadowsports]

Oh, those "carraige returns".  So what you actually mean is the print head is randomly self aligning itself while the printer is sitting idle.  Similar to a "sweeping" motion  

Ya, thats not normal.

Whats causes this behavior:

Driver (maybe)

Connection type being used

Bad or faulty sensor(s)

Print head dirty, clogged or out of alignment

Paper feed not even or alighned  

The chance of this being a driver issue is possible, but slim.  The connection type you are using might affect this if something else is initating a "print" related function.  Speculation as we know nothing about your environment, connection, OS, network or other devices you might have.

Sensors fail, and when they do, the device might randowly self align or reset itself.  The same goes for the print head.  Dirty, clogged or out of alignmnet.  Using non-OEM inks might also affect this if the cartridges are "chipped". 

The paper feed mechanism should be properly set (size and width) for the paper you are using.  There is some forgiveness, but if the feed was off by more than 1-2mm, it might cause the device to self align. 

There are just some pointers or possible causes.  Some or all may not apply in your case.

[ArthurJ]

Hi orihinalsbyterr,

I agree with shadowsports, there could be a few causes for that issue. You can click HERE for the steps to perform a nozzle cleaning and the follow it up with an alignment by following the steps HERE.

You can also try performing a rest of the printer. While the printer is on, unplug the power cord from the printer and let it sit for 60 seconds. While the power is off, press the power button 5 times. After 60 seconds plug the power cord back in and power on the printer. 

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