I'm having a problem with my printer(Canon IP1500). Yesterday I was printing some images & nothing appeared on the paper. I tried cleaning the printhead to see if it was clogged, but the printhead was fine. I checked the nozzles and I notice that none of the colors appeared on the paper, only cyan. I find this weird because the ink cartiages are barely a month old & I don't print a lot. Did they dry up or something? I should I do? Just buy new ones?


BTW, these were store-bought from Frys, not online.

The less you use the printer, the more the chances are that the ink will clog. This is especially true in brands that use a thicker type of ink (not sure about cannons). It's not a bad idea to print something at least once a week just to keep them clear. How many times did you clean it? Sometimes cleaning it 3-10 times is necessary to clear out a light clog, but with cyan working and the others not, expect cyan to be depleted early. Other times you may be able to salvage it by cleaning it with Isopropyl alcohol. First try with a cotton swab or ball lightly wetted, rub it lightly along the bottom where the ink comes out, avoid touching the contacts on the back that communicate with the printer as these are very sensitive. Then blot the bottom with a tissue to see if all the colors show and remove the remaining alcohol. If the colors show, the cartridge may work.

Other methods include soaking the cartridge in a shallow dish (about 1/4 inch... just enough to touch the bottom) of water and just a dash of alcohol overnight. But this may drain some ink from the cartridge. Nearly empty cartridges may be cleaned by inserting alcohol in the top where ink is inserted on refill.

I do suggest trying to clean the print head with the utility first as the other methods run the risk of damaging the cartridge. These are "when all else fails" methods to use when the cartridge isn't working anyway.