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I think Stratman makes an excellent point and the fact that Canon supplied only two special sheets of auto-calibration paper on my MX850 is proof that calibration is not meant to be a regular maintenance operation. Possibly there are high precision mechanisms that calibrate the print head's azimuth and not meant to be regularly used.
I do wonder however if the mere printing of the manual calibration test sheet activates those mechanisms. If it doesn't then it would be a good measure to store a printed sheet away and use it for future comparisons in cases where calibration is suspected for bad printouts.
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What is an auto calibration sheet? My ip5000 & I think my pro9000 just does a calibration on its own with some lights shining down on a blank paper it prints on.
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Multifunctionals such as my MX850 and MP750 print two sheets of paper which are meant to be placed to the scanner for the calibration process.
Your printers (and most expensive Canon models) have a sensor to do this without a scanner.
Cheaper models (such as my IP3300) offer the manual calibration option only.
The idea is to issue a manual calibration, cancel it after the sheet is printed out without passing the parameters to the printer and then compare it again with a new calibration printout after some months.
But the question is whether the printing of the calibration sheet actually activates the print head's calibration mechanisms.
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panos wrote:
... Possibly there are high precision mechanisms that calibrate the print head's azimuth and not meant to be regularly used...
My presumption is that calibration is a software thing and not mechanical, instructing when to fire each nozzle.
I am wondering if newer models, with carriage moving on a L-shaped profile, require more frequent calibration compared with older models with carriage on a rod.
My cheap Pixma 1900, even with CISS, requires monthly calibration, compared with one calibration per year for Pixma 4500 and 5000.
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panos I do wonder however if the mere printing of the manual calibration test sheet activates those mechanisms.
If it doesn't then it would be a good measure to store a printed sheet away and use it for future comparisons in cases where calibration is suspected for bad printouts.
There is no need to keep a printed record of your print alignments the printer does it automatically.
Before you click on the manual Alignment Tab there is another Tab called Print Alignment Value
that where you’ll find the record of your pervious alignment, so you’d start with that.
gigigogu My cheap Pixma 1900, even with CISS, requires monthly calibration, compared with one calibration per year for Pixma 4500 and 5000.
Mine it the total opposite to yours, My CISS printers hardly ever need to have the re-alignment run at all.
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Had another thought about this, dangerous I know 
Is head alignment more of an issue on the cheaper Canons that no longer have the solid steel bar for the carriage to run on?
If so, then maybe it is a flexing thing with that cheap and nasty rail that's on the Mp640 and others 
Will be interesting to compare on my 640 and Pro 9000 MKII
Last edited by Redbrickman (07/27/2011 4:50:40 pm)
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