ip3600 printer set to grayscale,plain paper: not using 220 black ink

[jnnlw]

ip3600 printer set to grayscale,plain paper, draft.  It is still not using 220 black ink, it is only using 221 black ink & my color ink cartridges are runnning out even though I only use it in the grayscale, plain paper, draft settings. 

Please help. Thank you!

[Ramona]

Hi jnnlw,

There are several factors that may cause the color inks to be consumed by the printer, even if the grayscale printing option is selected:

1. Duplex printing is selected. If you print double-sided pages, the color inks will be used to produce the black on the page, even if printing a black and white document, and if the grayscale printing option is selected. This is to prevent oversaturation of ink on the page.

2. The printer is manually turned off after usage and then manually turned on the next time it is to be used. Turning off and then on the printer will cause the printer to go through its initialization steps each time, which utilize a small amount of all of the inks to ensure the print head nozzles are clear and ready for use. In addition, the printer goes through a cycle to clean the inkjet nozzles periodically so they do not become clogged, and this uses color inks as well. There is not a way to disable this process.

3. Some documents such as PDF documents or certain webpages will use the color inks to produce the black or images on the page, even if the grayscale option is selected.  In these cases, we cannot force the printer to print using only the black ink.

Hope this helps!  Should you need further assistance, we ask that you please call 1-866-261-9362, Monday - Friday 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. ET (excluding holidays).  A Canon technical support representative will be happy to help.  There is no charge for this call.