The Canon Pixma ‘Check Ink 1682’ and ‘Check Ink 1684’ error message will appear when your printer is having trouble recognising one or more of the cartridges. In most cases these codes will be accompanied by text stating “The FINE cartridge cannot be recognized” or “The ink cartridge cannot be recognized.” and some representation of whether it is the colour or black cartridge your printer is having trouble recognising.
Quick Video Guide
Why am I getting the “Check Ink 1682/1684” message?
Your printer uses a series of gold contacts on the front of the cartridge to communicate with the cartridge and receive information like estimated ink levels and the kind of cartridge it is. If these contacts have been partially obscured by dirt, ink, or have been damaged when being used/handled previously. Whatever the case your printer will need to be able to recognise both of the installed cartridges electronically before you can carry on printing.
Is there anything I can do to resolve this error message?
There is no guaranteed workaround to get your printer up and running with the cartridges currently installed, but I can offer you some basic troubleshooting to hopefully clean up the contacts sufficiently. Please try the following:
- Remove the problem cartridge(s). With any luck the error message you are getting will be specifying if the black or colour cartridge is the one causing the “Check Ink” message, if not remove both cartridges from your printer.
- Wipe down the cartridge contacts. On the front of your cartridge you should see a small strip with a series of gold contacts on the front (as pictured above). Simply wipe down these contacts with a piece of kitchen tissue or another non-fibrous tissue. if you spot something particularly stubborn on the contacts they can be cleaned with an alcohol based cleaning solution or something similar.
- Reinstall the cartridge(s). With the cartridges contacts as clean as possible reinstall the cartridge/cartridges into the correct position and close any open covers.
With any luck the “Check Ink 1682/1684” error has now disappeared, leaving you free to carry on printing. If however it remains it is likely that the cartridges contacts have been damaged physically or stopped functioning electronically. Whatever the case, the next step is to try a replacement cartridge. I would recommend purchasing a brand new (preferably Canon original) cartridge, but if you have another cartridge to hand that you know ahas worked previously there is no harm in giving this cartridge a go.
If you are still having trouble getting your printer to recognise the cartridge(s) installed then it is likely that the contacts inside your printer may be the ones causing the problem.
If you remove the cartridge(s) from your printer you should be able to see contacts in a similar configuration to those on your cartridge that we cleaned earlier. Our next step is to clean these cartridges using a non-fibrous tissue like we did to the cartridge earlier. Feel free to use a cleaning solution sparingly and be careful not to leave scraps of tissue inside the printer as these contacts can sometimes be pointed.
If the error “Check Ink 1682/1684” message still remains after you reinstall your cartridge then sadly it is likely that then issue lies with the machine itself and cannot be resolved with basic troubleshooting. In which case I would recommend getting in touch with a printer technician or Canon themselves.
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