"I'm sorry I can't send a fax because I'm out of magenta.", I say sheepishly. There's no reply on the other end of the phone line. Just an eerie silence like the line had gone dead.
"Um, Ok. But the page I'm sending is in black and white." the other voice finally replies.
"Yes, but my fax or scanner doesn't work when I'm out of any color of ink."
"Wow, that must be an old machine what is it a dot matrix machine?", the other voice remarks sarcastically.
"Nope, its a Canon PIXMA MP530. In fact I just bought it last year!"
Well, this was how the conversation went and I was not to happy about it. Not very professional for a consulting company.
I knew it wasn't right and I had not yet read any reviews on the printer saying it was a design flaw so I figured I was doing something wrong. So after much careful thought and trial and error (read aggravated pounding) I found the solution!
The Canon PIXMA MP530 InkJet Printer Ink Out Fix:
Step 1) Turn the printer off.
Step 2) Turn the printer on.
Step 3) While the printer is turning on hit the "scan" button like you were playing an old Atari video game. Quickly and constantly until the printer stops "booting up" and the light is off of "Copy" and on the button you were hitting.
You should now be able to get into the menu and switch between all three of the buttons (Copy, Fax, Scan). I haven't test all the functions but I could now successfully scan a document into the computer and fax!
This is what cannon customer support has to say about this issue to use the above trick wisely and only when needed.
Thank you for writing to us. We value you as a Canon customer and appreciate the opportunity to assist you. I am sorry that the MP530 is not normally usable when out of one of the ink.
Of course you can turn the ink detection off, but then you must monitor the ink manually and there can be damage done to the print head because all of the cartridges do not have ink.
The printer performs cleaning cycles whenever the unit is on. The nozzles have heating elements which is part of the printing or cleaning.
This is why it will stop all functions if there is a cartridge error or out of ink to prevent damage to the print head.
Think of it like a car out of oil and the person saying, well I won't put it in gear I will just use the heater or air conditioner.
We hope this information is helpful to you. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance with your Canon MP530.
Thank you for choosing Canon.
