The Canon BJC 4300: Common Problems and Solutions

by Charles Jacobus - Laser Save

November 1, 2000- page(s): 92, 94

The Canon BJC 4300, an older model bubble jet printer that Canon no longer produces, is used
widely in small business as well home offices.
Features
The Canon BJC 4300 is "plug and play" compatible for easy installation in Windows 95 or 98.
The printer weighs in at a modest 7.7 pounds (3.5 kg), including the cartridge and is capable of
a resolution of 720 360 dpi in black when using the printer drivers. It has two standard built-in
printer modes. IQ mode (Epson LQ-2550 emulation) and BJ mode (IBM Pro Printer X24E
emulation).
Drop modulation technology has been adopted. It has separate ink cartridges (black and cyan,
magenta andyellow). The printhead has 136 nozzles in a vertical line with 64 black nozzles and
24 nozzles for each color. The printer is capable of using a BC 20 high capacity black cartridge,
eliminating the need to replace the BCI 21 BLK cartridge frequently when printing large reports.
This printer is capable of photo quality printing using a Photo Kit option and the special photo
print driver. It also prints banners and features double sheet feeding. It is capable of high quality
photo image input using the optional image scanner cartridge.
Common Problems
Poor print quality is the most common complaint with these printers.
The BCI 21E print cartridge consists of three parts: the BCI 21 BLK cartridge, the BCI 21
COLOR cartridge and the cartridge-holding unit that both cartridges sit in. The holding unit also
contains the printhead. Canon refers to the entire unit as the BC 21E color cartridge. You can
purchase the BCI 21 BLK and the BCI 21 COLOR separately. However, to replace the
printhead, you must purchase the BC 21E print cartridge.
The black and color cartridges are low capacity and often run out of ink before the owner thinks
they should, which often generates a "poor print quality" complaint. It is a simple task to use
"known good" cartridges to determine if empty ink cartridges are the problem. If the ink
cartridges have ample ink remaining, try cleaning the printhead five times using either the
control panel (while the printer is on, hold the resume button down until the printer beeps twice)
or from the PC, use the cleaning utility in the print manager. If the print quality is still poor,
replace the printhead.
Error codes for the printer come in the form of blinking lights and beeps. You can determine
what the problem is by counting the number of beeps and the number of times the power/error
indicator light flashes orange or green and orange.
Paper Jams
Two beeps and the power/error indicator flashing orange mean paper jams. Paper jams are
common and often caused by foreign objects in the paper path. You may hear, "Has anyone
seen my pen?" and "Why does the paper keep jamming in the printer?" You cannot always see
an object in the paper path because the rear cover of the printer hides the bottom of the sheet
feeder. Some objects can be removed by simply turning the printer upside down.
Removing Foreign Objects
To determine if small objects such as pennies and paperclips are restricting paper movement,
remove the front cover, the inner cover and the rear cover following these steps:
1. Remove the inner cover by releasing two tabs, one on each side of the printer (Figs. 1-2). Use a small
flat screwdriver to gently push the tabs toward the printer. Lift the front cover up and out of the inner
cover.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.
2. Using a small flat screwdriver, release the three tabs holding the inner cover to the rear cover and
printer base (Figs. 3-4).

Figure 3.

Figure 4.
3. Using a small flat screwdriver, release one tab on each side of the printer base holding the rear cover
(Fig. 5). The rear cover will lift off the printer base, giving access to the sheet feeder (Fig. 6).

Figure 5.

Figure 6.
4. Turn the printer around and lift the logic board cover from the sheet feeder.
5. Unplug the cables that are routed through the sheet feeder from the logic board.
6. Remove one screw on each side of the sheet feeder. Lift the unit off the printer assembly. You can now
see if any objects are caught between the sheet feeder and platen assembly.
Worn Pickup Rollers
If no objects are found in the paper path, check the condition of the pickup rollers. The pickup
rollers are located in the sheet feeder and are rubber sleeves that slide over the paper pickup
roller assembly. Replace worn rollers as well as the separation pads located behind the pickup
rollers on the paper lifting plate. Because you have to replace both the pickup rollers and the
separation pads, we recommend replacing the sheet feeder. The pickup rollers are timed using
three gears and indexes located on the side of the sheet feeder, so you must mark the position
of the notches on the gears before you remove the pickup roller assembly. For this reason,
replacing only the rollers and separation pads is much more labor intensive than replacing all
three components.
Broken Gear
A broken gear in the purge unit (Fig. 7) can also cause paper jams.
The bottom gear on the sheet feeder meshes with the drive gear on the purge unit. If the purge
unit drive gear is broken, the sheet feeder gears cannot turn and the pickup rollers will not be
able to move paper. To remove the purge unit perform the following steps:
1. Remove all covers and unplug the power cable from the logic board.

Figure 7.
2. Release the tabs that hold the printer unit to the base unit (Fig. 8), and remove the printer unit from the
base.
3. Remove the platen assembly. Remove the bushing that holds the platen assembly to the printer frame
(Fig. 9). You must break this bushing to remove it so be sure a replacement bushing is on hand. Turn the
printer on end to allow for better access to the bushing. Lift the locking arm and swivel the bushing as far
as you can. Use tweezers to break the center tabs that hold the bushing to the platen shaft (Fig. 10).

Figure 8.

Figure 9.

Figure 10.
4. Remove the coil spring and tilt the shaft out of the printer and lift to remove. Remove the washer from
the shaft. Do not lose the washer or the coil spring.
5. If the carriage unit is over the purge unit, move it to left side of the printer. Turn the printer around and
remove one screw that holds the purge unit to the printer. The purge unit will slide out of the printer.
Printhead Error
Eight beeps and the power/error indicator flashing green/orange mean a head temperature
error. The logic board cannot recognize the temperature of the printhead. The fault lies with the
circuit on the printhead; replacing the printhead will correct the error.
Charles Jacobus is production manager at Laser Save in Freehold, N.J. He can be reached at
732-431-3339 or fax 732-431-3706.