Author Topic: Canon Pixma wireless printer/scanner wont work (Read 4470 times)

jcarter · « **on:** October 01, 2012, 02:51:55 PM »

I bought a new Canon printer/scanner last year, and it printed intermittently.
"Communication Error" is what I see all the time now when trying to print from any program.
I used to be able to restart the Mac and turn the printer off then on again, and it would work, but now nothing.

Its close to the computer, so could I just use a cable?
I need to move the desk to see what kind of cable it needs, but I thought to run the idea by you before I started moving furniture.

Xairbusdriver · « **Reply #1 on:** October 01, 2012, 05:15:58 PM »

The cable is, undoubtedly, USB. Although a few consumer printers offer Ethernet, I've not heard of one that doesn't have USB. Surely you have an unused USB cable in the house! A visit to the Canon site is probably easier than moving any furniture, BTW.

I'm not sure how big that printer might be but if you can reach it, I'd just turn it around to see where the cable goes anyway...

jcarter · « **Reply #2 on:** October 01, 2012, 07:01:47 PM »

Tomorrow, thank you,
I just wonder why if everything in our house including all the stuff our kids and grandkids bring can hook up to our wireless, just WHY that printer has such a difficult time of it.
If it takes a cable, I have plenty, tho I did give a box of them to the high school.
I will have to use a cable, as the poor thing certainly cannot deal with wireless.

Its the same Canon which would not use PS to scan with, and you told me to get VueScan, which works, tho its not what I would like to use.
I got rid of my old Epson, which was the dumbest thing Ive ever done.

Ive got an issue with Skype, I upgraded, and now I cant use it, it asks for a pin number which I never had or needed. No way to use it now.
What a dumb issue, I should not upgrade till I know that the new version is OK. Both these things are my fault. I jump ahead without looking at the consequences.
Jane

Xairbusdriver · « **Reply #3 on:** October 01, 2012, 09:12:19 PM »

I think PS, at least the newer versions, need a TWAIN plugin to use any scanner. I don't remember suggesting VueScan, but I don't remember lots of things!

I've never owned it although I've downloaded and tried it. I had the developer tell me it could not handle a shared scanner which is what I needed at the time. Many say it's great because it can access many features in many scanners that don't have good support on the Mac. However, I suspect that is not as much of a problem now as the 5+ years ago that I looked at it.

I'm betting the USB cable will be a type A [wide/flat] (on the computer/hub end) and a type B [squarish] on the printer end.

krissel · « **Reply #4 on:** October 01, 2012, 11:24:38 PM »

Jane, I ran into this problem with our Canon WiFi printer a couple months ago. I came across a lot of people online who had similar error messages with little help.

I made sure all print queues were deleted, then dug into the settings on the printer itself and went though changing the print from wireless to wired and then back again. That sort of worked but not for very long. I was ready to go out and buy another printer since Dad uses it all the time for his business. Then I decided to just unplug the printer from the wall and leave it over night. To my amazement the next day after it was reconnected to power, it decided to work via WiFi and has been pretty consistent since.

Worth a shot.

jcarter · « **Reply #5 on:** October 02, 2012, 07:31:15 AM »

I think I will try that first, as when I used to turn it off, it worked OK the next day on wifi.
We have had a bunch of small power outages and it doesnt like that, tho I dont want to plug it into my battery backup, as Ive got enuf stuff plugged into that thing already.
I will try this right away, as I have a lot of stuff to print all lined up.

(OT here, but its important for any of us who have owned mutual funds and stocks for long periods, to figure out what the cost basis is. If the cap gains tax situation gets screwed up in the future, we will need to do some work before the end of the year. I need the printer working for this stuff.)

I almost went out and bought another Epson a few weeks ago, but since this is a nice scanner, I will try whatever you all suggest here.

Xairbusdriver · « **Reply #6 on:** October 02, 2012, 09:45:09 AM »

QUOTE

I decided to just unplug the printer from the wall and leave it over night.

That's called "Starvation Torture!" It's cruel and unusual treatment of r animals but sometimes works for machines!

Of course, your "[it] has been pretty consistent since," is not exactly a A+ endorsement.

I wouldn't want to own a car with that "performance!"

I have left my new 1430 WiFi enabled but still have it connected to my machine via the USB cable (which fewer manufacturers seem to be including "in the box"... 'course, they don't wear out nearly as fast as what they're connected to.

). I'm just not much of a fan of wireless unless it works, 99.999% of the time.

krissel · « **Reply #7 on:** October 02, 2012, 10:01:04 AM »

Well, my "pretty consistent" allowed for the occasional error that was rectified by going to the printer and merely clicking on the OK button. It would then print without complaint. Not sure if that is directly related to the WiFi difficulty experienced earlier or is an altogether separate issue. Nonetheless, it has been doing it's job (more so than I).

Paddy · « **Reply #8 on:** October 02, 2012, 05:19:42 PM »

For future reference, if anyone is actually looking for a reliable wireless all-in-one, I've been extremely happy with my Brother at the cottage, where it cannot be wired; it lives in the spare bedroom, and our laptops are all over. It even scans wirelessly.

jcarter · « **Reply #9 on:** October 02, 2012, 06:54:47 PM »

Ive hit OK on the Canon a lot, no difference.
The Brother one might be the answer, scanning and printing wirelessly!
I need to look up the model #.

Paddy · « **Reply #10 on:** October 02, 2012, 07:42:32 PM »

This is the Brother I have:

http://www.amazon.com/Brother-MFCJ615w-All...other+MFC-j615w which seems to be more expensive in the US at the moment than it is in Canada (one place has it for $99 here and I got it on sale at Staples for about half price if memory serves...)

NewEgg doesn't have that model, but has a number of others that people seem generally happy with.

Note: I didn't buy it to do color photo printing with - I generally don't do much color photo printing at home, as it's more expensive for the paper and ink than if I get it done commercially, AND it's not as permanent either.

jcarter · « **Reply #11 on:** October 03, 2012, 07:06:55 AM »

I dont print my photos either, I upload them to Shutterfly or others if we want prints. I use our prints for postcards when we travel.
This one sounds like a pretty good one, I will look into it. We do have a local Staples store too.
Thanks,
Jane

daryl66 · « **Reply #12 on:** October 03, 2012, 01:23:15 PM »

QUOTE(Paddy @ Oct 2 2012, 07:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is the Brother I have:

http://www.amazon.com/Brother-MFCJ615w-All...other+MFC-j615w which seems to be more expensive in the US at the moment than it is in Canada (one place has it for $99 here and I got it on sale at Staples for about half price if memory serves...)

Paddy: I have the exact same printer and had been very happy UNTIL, it stopped printing BLACK. Now it prints black copy in an olive green color and of course the color stuff is screwed up also. I have followed all of the "cleaning" routines (read 10 times on 2 occasions) and replaced the cartridge twice. The cartridge(s) were purchased Ink here twice and I have gotten 2 different brands.

I have not contacted Brother yet as I feel sure they will say "aint our problem" you used a cartridge other than ours.

Have another printer

FWIW

Daryl

jcarter · « **Reply #13 on:** October 03, 2012, 03:44:49 PM »

I just came from our little local users group, they said get a cable.

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Author Topic: Canon Pixma wireless printer/scanner wont work (Read 4470 times)