Canon Printer Not Printing Black Ink? Here’s How to Fix It (2026 Guide)

You click print, the Canon printer whirs through its motions, and the page comes out blank or missing all the black text. Colour prints fine. Black — nothing. It’s one of the most common printer problems we see in Sri Lanka, and in most cases you can fix it yourself in 15 minutes without calling a technician.

Here’s the full fix, in the order you should try it. Start from the top and only move to the next step if the previous one didn’t work.

First: check the obvious things

Before you start running cleaning cycles, check the simple stuff. You’d be amazed how often the answer is here.

Is the black ink tank actually full?

On G-series Canon printers, open the scanner lid and look at the ink tanks along the front. If the black tank is near empty, that’s your answer — refill it with Canon GI-790 or GI-890 black ink (depending on your model). Run one page after refilling; often it’ll work immediately.

On PIXMA cartridge models (MG2570s, E470, etc.), the printer should tell you if a cartridge is empty — check for a warning light or an error message on screen.

Are you sure it’s actually trying to print in black?

Open the document, go to File > Print, click Properties or Preferences, and check that it’s not set to “Grayscale using colour only” or “Colour”. We see this more often than you’d think, especially on documents that came from a colleague.

Fix #1: Run the print head cleaning utility

90% of “no black ink” problems in Sri Lanka are caused by clogged print heads. Our climate is humid, humid air dries ink nozzles faster, and if you haven’t printed in two weeks, the nozzles can block completely.

Here’s how to run a cleaning cycle:

1. On the printer itself: press and hold the Stop button until the alarm flashes 1 time (G-series) or open the Canon IJ Printer Utility on your computer.
2. From your computer: Control Panel > Devices and Printers > right-click your Canon printer > Printing Preferences > Maintenance tab > Cleaning.
3. Run the cleaning cycle. It takes about 90 seconds and uses a bit of ink.
4. Print a nozzle check pattern (same maintenance menu). If black bars are complete, you’re done. If there are still gaps, run one more cleaning cycle.

Don’t run more than 3 cleaning cycles in a row — you’ll waste a lot of ink and it usually won’t help. If three cycles don’t fix it, move to the next step.

Fix #2: Deep cleaning

A regular cleaning cycle pushes a small amount of ink through the nozzles. Deep cleaning pushes a lot more ink through, under higher pressure. It’s more likely to unclog stubborn blockages but uses significantly more ink.

1. Go to the same Maintenance menu as before.
2. Select Deep Cleaning instead of Cleaning.
3. Let it run (takes about 2 minutes) and wait at least 24 hours before running another one. The print head needs time to settle.
4. Print a nozzle check after waiting. If black is back, you’re done.

If deep cleaning didn’t work either, the problem is probably deeper in the print head itself, and we need to go manual.

Fix #3: Manual print head cleaning

This is the step where most DIY guides get it wrong. Done right, it’ll fix 95% of the remaining cases. Done wrong, it can damage the print head. Follow this carefully.

You’ll need:

• Distilled water (not tap water — chlorine damages nozzles)
• A clean, lint-free cloth
• Optional: printer head cleaning solution (available on printercart.lk)

For G-series ink tank printers:

1. Turn off the printer and unplug it from power.
2. Open the scanner lid and gently move the print head carriage to the centre.
3. Dampen the cloth with distilled water (or cleaning solution) and wipe the bottom of the print head gently. You’ll see black ink transfer to the cloth — that’s good.
4. Repeat with a clean part of the cloth until no more ink transfers.
5. Leave the printer open for 10 minutes to let the print head dry.
6. Close the lid, plug in, power on, and print a nozzle check.

For cartridge printers (PIXMA MG-series, TS-series), you can remove the cartridge entirely and soak the print head portion (the metal strip at the bottom) in a shallow dish of distilled water for 10–15 minutes, then dab dry with a cloth and reinstall. This rescues a surprising number of cartridges.

Fix #4: The printer has been sitting unused for months

If your printer hasn’t been used in 2+ months, the ink in the lines between the tank and the print head may have dried out completely. In this case, running cleaning cycles can sometimes re-wet the dried ink and restore printing — but you may need to run 3–4 cycles over a few days, letting the printer rest 12+ hours between each.

Prevention: print at least one page every 2 weeks. Even a colour test page keeps the ink flowing and saves you this exact problem.

When to give up and get it serviced

If you’ve tried all four fixes above and black still isn’t printing, the print head itself is likely damaged. At this point, the repair economics matter:

• For printers worth more than Rs. 60,000 (most ink tank models): worth servicing. Print head replacement runs around Rs. 8,000–15,000.
• For printers under Rs. 30,000 (budget PIXMA cartridge models): usually not worth it. The service cost approaches the price of a new printer.

If you’re in Sri Lanka and need help diagnosing your specific printer, WhatsApp us a photo of the nozzle check pattern to 0743109923. We can usually tell within 30 seconds whether it’s fixable at home or needs service.

Frequently asked questions

How often should I clean my printer head?

Only when you see print quality problems. Running unnecessary cleaning cycles wastes ink. The one exception: if you know your printer will sit unused for more than a month, print a nozzle check before and after to catch drying early.

Can I use third-party ink in my Canon printer?

You can, but don’t — at least not for black. Third-party black ink clogs print heads in Sri Lanka’s humidity far more often than genuine Canon ink. If you’re trying to save money on ink, ink tank printers with genuine Canon GI-series bottles are already cheap per page.

My black prints are faded, not missing — is it the same problem?

Same cause (partial clogging), same fix. Start with one cleaning cycle and escalate from there. Faded prints usually come back after just one cycle.

Bottom line

Most Canon black-ink problems in Sri Lanka come from humidity-caused nozzle clogs, and almost all of them can be fixed at home. Start with a cleaning cycle, escalate to deep cleaning, then manual cleaning if needed. Only consider service if all four fixes fail.

Looking for a more reliable printer? Our ink tank range on printercart.lk is specifically chosen for Sri Lankan conditions — models that handle humidity better than most. Free islandwide delivery.