Canon prints faded pictures

Today we are going to talk about a very interesting issue: when a printer prints faded pictures but with clear and crisp texts. For example, this user reported "My Canon PIXMA MP250 has been printing with all the ink faded. Black comes out gray, red comes out pink, etc. I have new ink cartridges, so don't tell me to replace the ink. I've done everything the manual says to fix this problem, including cleaning, deep cleaning, and nozzle checking. I can not return the printer because the warranty expired last week, right before this problem started. How can I fix this problem without having to buy a new printer?"

Our first reaction may be checking if the printhead is clogged or if the ink is depleted.  Many people will blame the refilling or wonder if they bought inferior ink. Actually, this problem has nothing to do with ink or the cartridge at all.  

Let's take a look at the symptom first.  We find a picture that we want to print, then we right-click on the picture and select print.  We will try using plain paper with standard print quality first. You can see the picture looks horribly pale and faded.  If we switch to glossy paper and high-quality printing, the result will be a little better but still unsatisfactory. By this time, most users will conclude that there is something wrong with the ink cartridge or printhead.  However, if we take a look at the picture, the picture will be very clear; just the color will be off. Therefore, the printhead will not be clogged. In fact, this problem has nothing to do with ink either.

We will soon find out that if a Word document is printed, all the text and graphics are sharp, and all the colors are vivid.  If we insert this picture into a Word document, then the picture will print correctly.

The problem is how we print this picture.  If we right click and print a picture, we will usually print with the default Windows Picture Viewer, which is known to have problems with some printers.  Therefore, if we use a different program, say Word, Photoshop, or other photo software, to print this picture, it will be printed correctly. If you do not have commercial photo editing software, you can use the built-in Microsoft Paint, which is free and installed in every PC by default. If you want to enjoy borderless printing, most printers come with a photo software suite that can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s support website.