Do I need the color cartridges for PIXMA iP 4200 inkjet to work?

[BasicPrintBob]

I have a PIXMA iP 4200 inkjet printer. Do I need the color cartridges for the PIXMA iP 4200 inkjet to work? In other words, can I not to have color cartridges and still print black & white (and maybe various shades of gray) with only the black inkjet (5 PGBK and 8 BK) cartridges?

It's been several years since I used the printer due to some computer problems. And all the cartridges are now dry or empty. In general I only print black and white text documents, and occasionally some grayscale. So I really don't want to spend money on the color cartridges.

Thank you,

Bob 

[Ramona]

Hi BasicPrintBob,

The printer requires all of the ink tanks be installed in the printer to be able to print, even if one or more of the ink tanks are low or out of ink.  Since you don't use the color inks, you can disable the ink level detection function of the printer and set the printer to print in grayscale so that only the large black ink tank is used in the printer, and so that you won't be prompted to change the color inks.  

To disable the ink level detection function of the printer, please press and hold down the STOP/RESET or RESUME/CANCEL button on the printer for at least 7 seconds, then release it.  Please note that you will need to do this procedure for each ink tank that is low or out of ink.  Once completed, the function for detecting the remaining ink level will be disabled until new Canon genuine ink tanks are installed in the printer. 

If you would like instruction for setting the printer to print in grayscale mode, please reply with what operating system is on your computer and we'll be happy to provide instruction.

Hope this helps!

This didn't answer your question or issue? Please call or email us at one of the methods on the Contact Us page for further assistance.