Hi ericg75! Thank you for contributing to the Canon Community. I see that you have a PIXMA MX922 and you would like your scanned images to print darker than they are.
Your MX922 can only print as it is instructed to by your computer. It cannot darken a print by itself. The image needs to be darkened before you print it.
There are two ways you can address this issue. First, you can edit the light image and make it darker. You would need to use an editing program depending on the type of file you want to edit. If the image is saved as a PDF file, you will need a program that can edit PDF files (such as Adobe Acrobat). If your file is saved as a JPEG, you would need a program that can edit JPEG images (like Adobe Photoshop).
Adobe Acrobat and Photoshop are just examples. I can’t recommend either of them or any other editing software that are out there. If you do an Internet search for “Programs that Edit PDF” or “Programs that Edit JPEG,” you may find many programs that can help. You would need to choose which one to use. Many of these programs must be purchased. Your computer may already have some Microsoft programs that can edit JPEG files, and there are other free versions available online, but I recommend that you research any program before installing it (whether it is free or not).
Once you edit the JPEG or PDF file and make it darker with that program, you can use the same program to print the darkened image. The print will end up looking darker than the original scan.
The second way you can address this issue has to do with darkening the image during the scanning process. You can use the Canon IJ Scan Utility that comes with your MX922 for this. For example, if scans of your receipts are turning out light, you can use the scanner settings in the IJ Scan Utility to darken the image before it is scanned and saved. When it is done scanning, the receipt will be darker. As a result, the receipt will also print darker.
In the IJ Scan Utility window, there is a button called ScanGear (in Windows computers and some Mac computers) or Scanner Driver (on some versions of Mac). When you click on that button, a different window will open that will allow you to preview and adjust the image before scanning. When you click on the Advanced Mode tab in that window, you will see the settings you can use to adjust the image (including the one that adjusts how dark or bright the image is).
You would click on the Preview button first. When you do that the scanner will activate and show you how the image looks without adjustments. Once you have that preview, you can use the options to adjust the image. As you are making those adjustments, the preview will change so you can see what the image looks like with adjustments. When you are happy with the preview, you can click on the Scan button and the image will be scanned using the adjustments you made. The final product will look like the image you saw in the Preview screen prior to clicking Scan.
I recommend using the IJ Scan Utility to darken the image before it scans your original. If you do this, you won’t have to use any editing programs to make them darker after scanning. Since the images have already been darkened during the scanning process, they will print darker.
Instructions on how to use the IJ Scan Utility and the Advance Mode tab can be found in the printer’s online manual. You can use the following links to view those pages in the manual:
Windows:
Using the IJ Scan Utility: https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/Manual/W/MX920%20series/EN/CNT/CNT_scan01.html
Using the Advanced Mode tab: https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/ScanGear/W/MFP/19.1/EN/SG/Sg-904.html
Adjusting Brightness and Contrast: https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/ScanGear/W/MFP/19.1/EN/SG/Sg-912.html
Mac:
Using the IJ Scan Utility: https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/Manual/M/MX920%20series/EN/CNT/CNT_scan01.html
Using the Advanced Mode tab: https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/ScanGear/M/MFP/19.1/EN/SG/Sg-904.html
Adjusting Brightness and Contrast: https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/ScanGear/M/MFP/19.1/EN/SG/Sg-912.html
Once you do have the Advanced Mode window open and are looking at the Preview, you can use the Brightness/Contrast button to make the image darker. When you click on the Scan button in the Advanced mode window, the image will be scanned according to the adjustments you made.
I hope this information helps. Thanks for choosing Canon.
