Is my printer really dead?

[BlogOnTheTyne]

Got a Canon MP640 printer and wholly reliant on it for work (I'm self-employed). Need to print stuff out by tonight and it's just 'died' on me! Help!

I'm getting an error message saying "Error message B200 - printer error - please switch off your printer and unplug it and seek advice from service provider".

Of course I don't actually have anyone to go to. You never do in these situations. Just wondering if, on the off chance, any clever techie here might have a quick and easy solution to fix the printer myself, before I go charging off to buy a new one tonight, as wll as pick up DCs from late club - like now!!?

Would it help to kick it or something?

Could be any one of a number of things according to this.

Thanks. I followed your helpful link and have tried removing ink cartridges and wiping and then replacing but the error message still comes up. Some of the suggestions from your link involve parts of the printer that I can't identify.

If it's quicker and easier to replace with exactly the same model, is it just a question of attaching it to my PC using its cables, as the one before and it'll run straight away? Or does every new printer need to be programmed in and the old printer software taken out, IYSWYM?

I paid for this one to be set up for me (tech.-naive myself) but my PC guy isn't available at w/es and may not even be around. I'm worried that I'll go out and spend hundreds on a new machine only to find that the PC doesn't 'recognise' it and that the old machine software will interfere with me trying to set up the new one.

Anyone got any other ideas for mending a B200 error on printer?

Don't worry... if you can't fix it, printers are relatively cheap and very easy to install these days.

If you buy another Canon Pixma, for example, it normally comes with a disk for your operating system. This contains the drivers (software to run the printer, scanner etc) and a number of supporting programs.

Read the quick setup instructions, then when appropriate, pop the disk in your cd drive and away you go.

The instructions are very clear. It's unpacking the thing that takes the time .

You don't have to uninstall the old printer software, and it won't clash with the new - you just have to select the new one as the default when you print.

• I had a similar printer, and one day saw the unwelcome message 'ink absorber is almost full. Call service.' I thought a service call would probably cost more than a new printer, and had no time or inclination to dismantle/clean it myself.

I wasn't particularly happy about that, so if other Canon owners are reading, be aware that might happen at some point...