Canon imagePROGRAF Print Head & Maintenance Cartridge Care

Wide-format Canon imagePROGRAF printers separate ink tanks (PFI), print heads (PF) and maintenance cartridges (MC). Replacing the wrong one wastes money and can leave the plotter offline mid-job.

Maintenance cartridges — MC-30 vs MC-31

• - MC-31 (1156C005AA) appears on our TM-240/340, TA-20/30, TM-250-class and GP-200 collections.
• - MC-30 (1156C002AA) appears on TX / GP-2000 / PRO-class collections.

These are not interchangeable. When the printer reports the maintenance cartridge is full, replace with the exact MC code in the service message.

Print heads — PF-06 / PF-07

Run nozzle checks and cleaning from the printer menu before ordering a head. If a single colour still bands after cleaning, note which channel fails. We stock PF-06 (2352C001AA) and PF-07 (5230C001AA) — match the head your model specifies. Heads are sensitive to static and drying; keep the protective cover on until install.

Ink tanks during maintenance

Do not let tanks run bone-dry on purpose — deep cleans consume ink and can ingest air. Keep spare PFI-120 / PFI-320 (TM), PFI-030 (TA/TM-240), or the relevant PFI-2100 / PFI-3100 / PFI-311 set on the shelf for production devices.

After replacing MC or PF

Follow the on-screen alignment / print-head alignment routine, then print a nozzle check. If errors persist, capture the service code and contact sales@rainbowsales.co.uk with the printer model (for example TM-300, TX-3200, GP-4000).

See also: Canon imagePROGRAF hub · Compatibility matrices draft · Recycle Canon tanks