Head+Strikes

=I am getting head strikes.=

You need to adjust Head Height and/or Vacuum Strength to avoid printhead strikes. There is conflicting information on how to best accomplish this:


 * According to Eric Bullock: "The vacuum strength does not seem to have much to do with the head strike problem. Its a head height issue exclusively. You can either set the head height on the Printer Control Panel manually, or choose a media type suited for thicker papers."
 * Another poster adjusted the vacuum to "strongest" and head height to "high" and has had no further strikes.

If you adjust the head height throught the Printer Control Panel, be sure to set it back to Automatic (or whatever previous setting was) so it works as expected with other papers.

This problem has been reported especially with Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl paper and Harman FB Al Gloss. The fix for Harman FB Al Gloss fed from the top manual tray was to set head height to "Highest".

The problems has also been reported with Hahnemuhle Fine Art Baryta: I encountered head strikes while using this paper in roll form on my 6100, and was able to correct the problem by changing the head height to "High" and the vacuum strength to "Highest". Media selection was "HW Semi Gloss Photo Paper 2" and the icc profile was from HM.

Another poster encountered head strikes with Kirkland Glossy Paper, which were resolved as follows: I tried vacuum strength to strong and it decreased head strikes a little more than half. So I set it back to auto and adjusted head height to standard (middle range) and the head strikes were gone.

How can I correct printhead misalignment problems causing head strikes with Canon paper and correct Media Type?

 * Problem:** I use Canons own Photo Paper Plus Semi Gloss (10.2 mil thickness) and get stripes at the broders of the image and sometimes more in the middle. Seems like the print head 'gets stuck' and hits the borders of the paper and then scratches on the surface. I also hear it, does not sound good.


 * Resolution:** This suggestion from Canon Tech Support fixed the problem:

On printer LCD - Menu button -> Maintenance -> Clean rollers

Apparently, this forces forces the printhead to move up and down and resets it. Then reload cassette, and double check/set the paper type and size.


 * Update:** The problem recurred within one day; a service call has been scheduled by Canon.