To see if you need to clean the print head on your PIXMA machine, you must first print a nozzle check pattern.
Once the sheet prints, examine the pattern to determine if the print head should be cleaned.
Examine the nozzle check pattern
The nozzle check sheet will print, and will look something like this:
![Nozzle check pattern sheet - A area is grid-like lines, B area is colored horizontal streaks, C shows number of pages.](/library/attachments/embedded/19565_image_1.jpg)
- Review the pattern in A:
-
Review the horizontal rows in B:
- Are there any white streaks in the pattern? (In the sample below, F looks good, but G has white streaks.)
![Figure F shows no streaks in patter, figure G has white streaks running horizontally through the pattern.](/library/attachments/embedded/19565_image_3.jpg)
- If there are horizontal streaks, clean the print head.
![Note](/library/CANON/ImagesGlobal/Sm_Note.png)
In the first image,
(C) represents the total number of sheets printed so far on the printout of the nozzle check pattern (shown in increments of 50).