Introduction: Open and Clean Canon Pixma IX6550 Printer

By twitter.com/jacknumber
About: I still believe doing by yourself is more productive than dumping and buying again. I can be wrong, but it's not here I would convince myself otherwise ;)

I bought this A3 printer in 2011 and even the ink absorber pad is full I don't want to dump it.

So let's open it and clean it.

Step 1: Safety First

Turn off the printer and unplug the power cable.

Step 2: Open the Printer 1/2

  • Start by removing the 2 screws on the back
  • Then remove the cover on the front lef. To do this you need to unlock the flap on the printer's top (you need to over the top cover) and there is a pin on the below

Without the front left cover you can see more clips.

Step 3: Open the Printer 2/2

Use these clip to remove the main printer cover

Step 4: Clean the Inside

  • Move the cartridge receiver to discover to reveal the ink absorber

As you can see the ink absorber is really dirty and for good reason. When your printer late to start printing (after long time without print any page) it cleaning the inkjet nozzles with these little silicone blades.

To clean all the splashed ink I use some warm water, some cotton swab, some cotton and paper towel.

  • Remove the stamps (the material of these elements is interesting, it absorbs but is not soft at all) and its rubber support
  • Submerge all parts in warm water and replace the water until the pad is clear (you can use some soap)
  • Clean all splashed ink in the printer with some wet cotton swab
  • Remove the long foam under the cartridges and clean it
  • Let dry all parts before putting them back in place

Step 5: Reassemble the Printer and Test It

To reassemble the printer, you can use the Step 2. At the end put back in place the 2 back screws.

You can now plug the power cable and test you printer!

Hope this instructable help you in any way.