Ink System and Printhead

Ink System and Printhead

When you pop the hood on the MP640, you will see the intelligent ink-management system that uses individual ink tanks for each color. You replace only the color that runs out rather than an entire multicolor cartridge. A red LED lights the bottom of the tanks when they are properly installed. If a tnank is low or needs to be replaced, it will blink. The MP640 uses 5 colors consisting of cyan, magenta, yellow, black and a pigment black ink. The pigment-based black ink is used to make laser-quality text and the CMYK inks are ChromaLife100+ compliant.

The ChromaLife100+ system combines FINE printheads with the ChromaLife100+ ink technology to create prints that can resist fading for up to 100 years when stored in an archival quality photo album. The 100-year-lifespan rivals that of many traditional film based photos, long considered by consumers to be the benchmark for image permanence. Prints produced on Canon Photo Paper Pro with ChromaLife100+ inks have an up to ten-year gas fastness when exposed to open air. ChromaLife100+ prints, when created using Canon Photo Paper Pro or Photo Paper Plus Glossy, have up to 30-year light fastness when displayed under glass.

The MP640 printhead employs Canon's FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) technology. The 4,416 nozzle FINE advanced print head technology is one of the keys to the impressive speed and high photo quality in PIXMA photo printers. FINE technology uses a ground-breaking high-performance, multi-nozzle print engine that ejects consistent and microscopic (1-picoliter) ink droplets.

Not only can the user replace the individual ink tanks, you can also replace the entire print head if necessary. (Replacement print heads are available from Canon Service after it is determined that a replacement is necessary.)   Other manufacturer's printers require a trip to the service center when they encounter a problem as the print head is permanently mounted.

Dual Color Gamut Processing Technology takes advantage of Canon's vast experience in office imaging equipment. By taking into account factors such as human vision characteristics and the type of print paper being used, this technology independently controls hue and brightness to achieve the same color balance as the original. Fully utilizing the color-reproduction capabilities of scanners and printers, Dual Color Gamut Processing Technology makes possible the creation of copies with rich gradation and minimal color difference.

Color development based on Canon's Color Management Technology, which incorporates human color preference factors, is reflected in the company's inkjet printers as "Canon Digital Photo Color." Through a wide variety of panel tests, Canon improved gray shades, contrast, and saturation, making possible vivid expression of skin tones and landscapes with low-chromatic colors pleasing to the eye.

Optical ink sensors automatically monitor all ink color levels and communicate with your computer, giving you a pop-up message indicating exactly what colors are running low. You can also check the status of the ink tanks at any time using the Status Monitor of the driver as shown above.

Canon's optical low ink detection system prevents wasted printouts by notifying you via the Printer Status Monitor before any ink tank becomes empty, so you'll never unexpectedly run out of ink in the middle of a job again.

A light beam shines through a prism located at the bottom of each ink tank. When there is sufficient ink, the light is detected by the sensor. When only about 20% of ink is left in any of the ink tanks, the light beam is refracted, triggering the sensor which tells the printer driver to display a low ink tank notification for that ink tank.