Paper Is Smudged/Printed Surface Is Scratched

Check 1: Did you confirm the paper and print quality settings?

Check 2: Is the appropriate type of paper being used? Check the following

Check 3: Load the paper after correcting its curl

Check 4: If you are printing on thick paper, select the Prevent paper abrasion setting

Check 5: If the intensity is set high, reduce the Intensity setting in the printer driver and try printing again

Check 6: Is printing performed beyond the recommended printing area?

Check 7: Is the Paper Feed Roller dirty?

Check 8: Is inside of the printer dirty?

Check 9: Set Ink Drying Wait Time longer

Check 10: Is the paper scratched by other loaded paper?

Check 1: Did you confirm the paper and print quality settings?

Check 2: Is the appropriate type of paper being used? Check the following

Check to see if the paper you are printing on is suitable for your printing purpose.

-> [ Media Types You Can Use ]

When performing Borderless Printing, make sure that the paper you are using is suitable for Borderless Printing.

If the paper you are using is not suitable for Borderless Printing, the print quality may be reduced at the top and bottom edges of the paper.
-> [ Printing Area ]

Check 3: Load the paper after correcting its curl

When using Photo Paper Plus Semi-gloss, even if the sheet is curled, load one sheet at a time as it is. If you roll up this paper to flatten, this may cause cracks on the surface of the paper and reduce the print quality.

For Plain Paper

Turn the paper over and reload it to print on the other side.
Leaving the paper loaded on the rear tray for a long time may cause the paper to curl. In this case, load the paper with the other side facing up. It may resolve the problem.
We recommend putting unused paper back into the package and keeping it on a level surface.

For Other Paper

If the curl on the four corners of the paper is more than 0.1 inch / 3 mm (A) in height, the paper may be smudged or may not be fed properly. In such cases, follow the procedure described below to correct the paper curl.

1. Roll up the paper in the opposite direction to the paper curl as shown below.

2. Check that the paper is now flat.
We recommend printing curl-corrected paper one sheet at a time.

REFERENCE

Depending on the media type, the paper may be smudged or may not be fed properly even if it is not curled inward. In such cases, follow the procedure described below to curl the paper outward within 0.1 inch / 3 mm (B) in height before printing. This may improve the print result.

(C) Printing side
We recommend printing paper that has been curled outward one sheet at a time.

Check 4: If you are printing on thick paper, select the Prevent paper abrasion setting

Selecting the Prevent paper abrasion setting will widen the clearance between the Print Head and the loaded paper. If you notice abrasion even with the media type set correctly to match the loaded paper, set the printer to prevent paper abrasion on the computer.
Print speed may be reduced if you are selecting the Prevent paper abrasion setting.
* Deactivate the Prevent paper abrasion setting once printing is complete. If not, this setting remains enabled for all subsequent print jobs.

Open the printer driver setup window, and in Custom Settings in the Maintenance sheet, select the Prevent paper abrasion check box, and then click OK.

In the Canon IJ Printer Utility, select Custom Settings in the pop-up menu, select the Prevent paper abrasion check box, and then click Apply.

Check 5: If the intensity is set high, reduce the Intensity setting in the printer driver and try printing again

If you are using plain paper to print images with high intensity, the paper may absorb too much ink and become wavy, causing paper abrasion.
Reduce the Intensity setting in the printer driver and try printing again.

1. Open the printer driver setup window.
2. On the Main sheet, select Manual for Color/Intensity, and then click Set.
3. Drag the Intensity slide bar on the Color Adjustment sheet to adjust the intensity.

1. Open the Print dialog box.
2. Select Color Options in the pop-up menu.
3. Drag the Intensity slide bar to set the intensity.

Check 6: Is printing performed beyond the recommended printing area?

If you are printing beyond the recommended printing area of your printing paper, the lower edge of the paper may become stained with ink.
Resize your original document in your application software.

To ensure the best print quality, the printer allows a margin along each edge of media. The actual printable area will be the area inside these margins.
Recommended printing area : Canon recommends that you print within this area.
Printable area : The area where it is possible to print.
However, printing in this area can affect the print quality or the paper feed precision.

REFERENCE

When performing Automatic Duplex Printing, the printable area will be 0.08 inches (2 mm) smaller at the top margin.

- Borderless Printing -

By selecting Borderless Printing option, you can make prints with no margins.
When performing Borderless Printing, slight cropping may occur at the edges since the printed image is enlarged to fill the whole page.
Duplex printing is not available when performing Borderless Printing.
For Borderless Printing, use the following paper:

- Photo Paper Pro Platinum <PT-101>
- Glossy Photo Paper "Everyday Use" <GP-501>
- Photo Paper Glossy <GP-502>
- Photo Paper Plus Glossy II <PP-201>
- Photo Paper Plus Semi-gloss <SG-201>
- Matte Photo Paper <MP-101>*
* This paper can be used only when printing from your computer.
Performing Borderless Printing on any other type of paper may substantially reduce printing quality and/or result in printouts with altered color hues.
Borderless Printing on plain paper may result in printouts with reduced quality. Use them only for test printing. You can perform Borderless Printing on plain paper only when printing from your computer.

Borderless Printing is not available for legal, A5, or B5 sized paper, or envelopes.
Depending on the type of paper, Borderless Printing may reduce the print quality at the top and bottom edges of the paper or cause these parts to become smudged.

Other Sizes than Letter, Legal, Envelopes

Size	Printable Area (width x height)
A5*	5.56 x 7.95 inches (141.2 x 202.0 mm)
A4	8.00 x 11.38 inches (203.2 x 289.0 mm)
B5*	6.90 x 9.80 inches (175.2 x 249.0 mm)
4" x 6" (10 x 15 cm)	3.73 x 5.69 inches (94.8 x 144.4 mm)
4" x 8" (10 x 20 cm)*	3.73 x 7.69 inches (94.8 x 195.2 mm)
5" x 7" (13 x 18 cm)	4.73 x 6.69 inches (120.2 x 169.8 mm)
8" x 10" (20 x 25 cm)	7.73 x 9.69 inches (196.4 x 246.0 mm)
Wide	3.73 x 6.80 inches (94.8 x 172.6 mm)

* This page size can be used only when printing from your computer.

:Recommended printing area
(A) 1.60 inches (40.7 mm)
(B) 1.47 inches (37.4 mm)
:Printable area
(C) 0.12 inches (3.0 mm)
(D) 0.20 inches (5.0 mm)
(E) 0.13 inches (3.4 mm)
(F) 0.13 inches (3.4 mm)

Letter, Legal

Size	Printable Area (width x height)
Letter	8.00 x 10.69 inches (203.2 x 271.4 mm)
Legal*	8.00 x 13.69 inches (203.2 x 347.6 mm)

* This page size can be used only when printing from your computer.

:Recommended printing area
(A) 1.60 inches (40.7 mm)
(B) 1.47 inches (37.4 mm)
:Printable area
(C) 0.12 inches (3.0 mm)
(D) 0.20 inches (5.0 mm)
(E) 0.25 inches (6.4 mm)
(F) 0.25 inches (6.3 mm)

Envelopes

Size	Recommended Printing Area (width x height)
European DL*	4.06 x 7.07 inches (103.2 x 179.6 mm)
US Comm. Env. #10*	3.86 x 7.91 inches (98.0 x 200.9 mm)

* This page size can be used only when printing from your computer.

:Recommended printing area
(A) 0.12 inches (3.0 mm)
(B) 1.47 inches (37.4 mm)
(C) 0.13 inches (3.4 mm)
(D) 0.13 inches (3.4 mm)

Printable Discs

The printing area of the printable disc is from 0.67 inches (17 mm) of the internal diameter to 0.04 inches (1.0 mm) from the external diameter of the printing surface.

:Recommended printing area
(A) 0.67 inches (17.0 mm)
(B) 0.04 inches (1.0 mm)

Printing Area

Check 7: Is the Paper Feed Roller dirty?

Clean the paper feed rollers.

REFERENCE
Cleaning the paper feed rollers will wear the roller, so perform this procedure only when necessary.

Cleaning the Paper Feed Rollers from Your Computer

Cleans the paper feed rollers. Perform feed roller cleaning when there are paper particles sticking to the paper feed rollers and paper is not fed properly.
The procedure for performing the feed roller cleaning is as follows:

1. Prepare the printer
Remove all sheets of paper from the paper source from which paper could not be properly fed.

2. Open the printer driver setup window

3. Click Roller Cleaning on the Maintenance tab
The Roller Cleaning dialog box opens.

4. Select Rear Tray or Cassette, and then click OK
The confirmation message appears.

5. Execute paper feed roller cleaning
Make sure that the printer is on and then click OK.
Paper feed roller cleaning starts.

6. Complete paper feed roller cleaning
After the rollers have stopped, follow the instruction in the message, load three sheets of plain paper into the selected paper source of the printer, and click OK.
Paper will be ejected and feed roller cleaning will be completed.

1. Prepare the printer
Remove all sheets of paper from the paper source from which paper could not be properly fed.

2. Select Cleaning from the pop-up menu on the Canon IJ Printer Utility

3. Click the Roller Cleaning icon
A message appears.

4. Select Rear Tray or Cassette, and then click OK
The confirmation message appears.

5. Execute paper feed roller cleaning
Make sure that the printer is on and then click OK.
Paper feed roller cleaning starts.

6. Complete paper feed roller cleaning
After the rollers have stopped, follow the instruction in the message, load three sheets of plain paper into the selected paper source, and click OK.
Paper will be ejected and feed roller cleaning will be completed.

Cleaning the Protrusions Inside the Printer

(The photo is the MP540.)

1. Prepare the printer
Remove all sheets of paper from the paper source from which paper could not be properly fed.

2. Open the printer driver setup window

3. Click Roller Cleaning on the Maintenance tab
The Roller Cleaning dialog box opens.

4. Select Rear Tray , and click OK
The confirmation message appears.

5. Open the Rear Tray.

6. Place a moistened cotton swab, etc. to one of the protrusions (A) of the feed roller shaft.

7. Execute paper feed roller cleaning
Make sure that the printer is on and click OK.
Paper feed roller cleaning starts and the shaft will rotate. While the shaft is rotating, clean the protrusions (A) by keeping the swab touching to them one by one.

8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for each protrusion (A) of the feed roller shaft until you clean all of them.

Cleaning the Paper Feed Rollers from Your Computer

Check 8: Is inside of the printer dirty?

When performing duplex printing, the inside of the printer may become stained with ink, causing the printout to become smudged.
Perform the Bottom Plate Cleaning to clean the inside of the printer.

REFERENCE
To prevent the inside of the printer from stains, set the paper size correctly.

Perform bottom plate cleaning before you execute duplex printing to prevent smudges on the back side of the paper.
Also perform bottom plate cleaning if ink smudges caused by something other than print data appear on the printed page.

The procedure for performing bottom plate cleaning is as follows:

Bottom Plate Cleaning

1. Open the printer driver setup window

2. Click Bottom Plate Cleaning on the Maintenance tab
The Bottom Plate Cleaning dialog box opens.

3. Load paper in the printer
As instructed in the dialog box, fold the A4 size or Letter size plain paper in half horizontally, and then unfold the sheet.
Load the paper into the rear tray in the portrait orientation with the crest of the crease facing down.

4. Perform the bottom plate cleaning
Make sure that the printer is on and then click Execute.
Bottom plate cleaning starts.

Cleaning the Protrusions inside the Printer

IMPORTANT
Be sure to turn off the power and disconnect the power plug before cleaning the printer.

You need to prepare: cotton swab

If the protrusions inside the printer are stained, wipe off any ink from the protrusions using a cotton swab or the like.

Cleaning Inside the Printer

Check 9: Set Ink Drying Wait Time longer

Doing so gives the printed surface enough time to dry so that paper smudged and scratched are prevented.

1. Make sure that the printer is turned on.
2. Open the printer driver setup window.
3. Click the Maintenance tab and then Custom Settings.
4. Drag the Ink Drying Wait Time slide bar to set the wait time, and then click OK.
5. Confirm the message and click OK.

1. Make sure that the printer is turned on.
2. Open the Canon IJ Printer Utility.
3. Select Custom Settings in the pop-up menu.
4. Drag the Ink Drying Wait Time slide bar to set the wait time, and then click Apply.
5. Confirm the message and click OK.

Check 10: Is the paper scratched by other loaded paper?

Depending on the media type, the paper may be scratched by other loaded paper when feeding from the Rear Tray. In this case, load one sheet at a time.

PIXMA iP4940
PIXMA iP4950