Canon ink monitor - How to disable (ink tank printers)

Canon printer refusing to print with 'Ink out condition detected'?

This page explains why you're seing this: Printer detected ink out condition of the following ink error, what it means and what can be done about it.

Note: The info on this page applies to Canon printers with individual ink tanks. If your printer is a twin cartridge (1 x black & 1 x tricolour) model, you can find the right info here.

Why your printer stopped working...

Canon inkjet printheads operate at high temperatures and could get damaged by running dry (without ink). To prevent this, all Canon printer models are programmed to automatically stop printing well before any black or colour ink runs out. 

Great!  ...unless you want to use up the remaining ink or add some more (top up the ink tank). Because Canon printers don't monitor the actual (*) ink levels, the printer will still recognize the refilled ink tank as empty and refuse to print with the same Printer detected ink out condition or Ink may have run out error message.

(*) Ink levels are estimates based on printer use

So...what can you do about this?

You have couple of choices depending on your printer model...

• Buy a chip resetter (if available)
• Disable the printer ink monitoring

If there is a chip resetter available for your tanks and you can afford it - get one! Being able to reset the ink chips means you get to keep the ink level display, so will know roughly when it's time to refill. This may not sound all that exciting, but not running out of ink can make your printer more reliable and easier to refill. Another less obvious benefit is lower running costs, because your ink tanks should last longer as well.

Check resetter availability further down this page.

If there is no chip resetter available - stress less. There is another way to get around the ink level detection issue with Canon printers and it's completely free and easy to do. 

Disable your printer ink monitoring...

1) When your printer decides that an ink tank might be close to empty - you should get this (or similar) message on your computer monitor and/or the printer display. 

Note: The disabling process is the same with most Canon ink printers, even if the Support code messages look different.

Click OK to continue...

2) Next you should receive this (or similar) message:

Click Yes to continue...

3) Next you should see this:

Click Yes to continue...

 

4) And finally this message:

Press and hold STOP button on printer - until the error clears. That's it!

No Stop button on your printer?

If there is no STOP button on your printer, use RESUME or CANCEL button instead. Hold the button until the Alarm LED stops glowing and/or the error message clears. It should take about 5-6 seconds for the ink monitor to disable and the printer resume normal operation.

If the printer is still refusing to print, there could be some other issue. Confirm that  there are no new ink tanks registering as empty and have a look in your task tray (bottom of monitor) for any new printer related messages that may need attention. Also check your printer LCD for any new errors. If you can't find anything, try powering the printer off & on.

No buttons at all on the printer?

Some late model Canon printers don't have any buttons on the control panel (except on/off) and everything is set on the touch screen LCD. The disabling process is similar to above, except instead of holding the printer STOP button for few seconds, you will be prompted to touch the 'Stop' symbol on the printer LCD for few seconds.

There may also be one extra step in the process asking you to confirm your refilled ink tanks are not counterfeit. Click NO.

Important notes:

• Your printer will not stop printing, if ink runs out with ink monitor disabled
• Disabling the ink monitor may void your printer warranty
• You have to repeat above process for every ink tank that indicates empty
• Fitting a new or reset ink tank in printer will enable the ink monitor again

Chip resetters are now available for: Canon PGI-5, PGI-520, PGI-525, PGI-650, PGI-670, CLI-8, CLI-521, CLI-526, CLI-651, CLI-671 including Setup and XL ink tanks.

Need more info? Contact us