Canon MP610 Printer Problem

I was printing some photos for friends this evening when my Canon MP610 Multifunction printer developed a problem.

The printer’s display showed:

U052

The type of print head is incorrect. Install the correct print head.

That’s meaningless! The print head was fine a second ago. Why does it now say the type is incorrect. Also – what is the “correct” print head it supposedly needs? As far as I know there is only one type – the type that I installed when I bought the printer.

I looked for the on-screen manual on my laptop. Of course it was in Thai due to the problem I wrote about here. The installation software assumed that as my computer is in Thailand I wanted Thai-language software. Wrong!

I had to hunt online for an English manual. Of course this was a time my Internet connection went back to its old slow ways and the download took 15 minutes. I did not expect much from Canon’s troubleshooting guide and I wasn’t disappointed.

Canon MP610 Error U051-U052

I did as it advised. I removed all four ink tanks, lifted the lock lever for the print head and removed it. The printer is well-designed. Everything was easy to see, remove and re-install.

I keep the printer under a dust cover when I’m not using it so the inside of the printer was clean.

I re-installed the print head and the ink tanks, closed the cover and …

The same U052 error appeared. I tried once more but it’s a hard error.

So my MP610 is now a great doorstop. It does not even function as a scanner because this error comes up during its Power-On Self-Test and it won’t go on-line until the error is cleared.

My “Canon Service representative” is Canon (Thailand) on Sathorn Road. The printer’s too big to take on the Subway so I’ll have to take a taxi. I still have the original box.

The printer is just over two years old and has printed 3,372 items:

B&W Documents	1,303
Colour Documents	1,162
A4 Photos	269
4×6 Photos	603
T-Shirt transfers	11
CDs	24

I don’t think that is a lot of use. I’ve been very pleased with its printing up to A4 size. It works well with Lightroom and Photoshop as well as a general-purpose printer and scanner. My only complaints have been about the excessive cost of ink and the fact it claims an ink tank is empty far before it is.

Fortunately it is still in production so there should not be any problems getting it fixed.

I read somewhere that the print head is an expensive item. The Bangkok Frugal Photographer is annoyed.

I checked the Canon (Thailand) web site. They have email support. I sent them this message:

My Canon MP610 shows error U052 “The type of print head is incorrect. Install the correct print head.” I removed and re-installed the print head as the manual advised. The error still shows.

Do I need to bring the printer to you for service? Or can I purchase a replacement print head from you?

Thank you.

Tags: Canon, error, MP610, printer