Canon Error Code 5B00: Meaning, Causes & Fix (Ink Absorber Full)
The waste ink absorber is full. The printer's internal waste-ink counter has reached its limit and Canon stops the printer until the absorber is serviced — 5B00 (with its siblings 5B01 and 5B12-5B15) is the full state that the 1700/1701 'almost full' warnings precede.
Every PIXMA inkjet throws away ink on purpose. Print head cleaning pushes ink through the nozzles to clear them, borderless printing oversprays the page edges, and startup and shutdown cycles purge small amounts to keep the head primed. None of that ink reaches paper — it is collected inside the printer in the waste ink absorber: a set of absorbent pads in the base of the machine. Canon tracks the absorber's life with a counter that estimates how much waste ink the printer has produced, and the system has two documented stages. The warning stage is support code 1700 (1701 on some models): 'the ink absorber is almost full' — you press OK and keep printing, and Canon tells you in the same breath to contact the service centre. The full stage is 5B00 and its sibling numbers (5B01, 5B12-5B15 in Canon USA's TS4320 article): the counter has reached its limit, the printer will not print, and Canon's handling changes from 'press OK' to 'service required'. On LED-display models the same end-state never shows as 5B00 at all — Canon's LED page maps it to P07 (support codes 5B02/5B04/5B12/5B14), with E08 as the almost-full warning. Canon USA's dedicated article 'What to Do When Your Printer's Waste Ink Absorber Is Full' (ART177612) is honest about the economics: the absorber is an internal service part, replacing it means opening the machine and resetting the counter, and Canon presents the owner's real options as servicing the printer or replacing it — on an older, inexpensive model, replacement is frequently the rational choice Canon itself puts on the table. What 5B00 is not is a sensor glitch to clear: the counter is doing exactly the job it exists for, which is stopping the printer before saturated pads leak waste ink inside (and eventually outside) the machine.
What causes the 5B00 code on a Canon printer?
The absorber pads are genuinely saturated
The straightforward reading, and the one Canon's design assumes: years of head cleanings, purge cycles and borderless overspray have filled the pads with the volume of waste ink they were rated to hold. Heavy cleaning users reach it fastest — every deep cleaning is paid for in absorber capacity, which is why a printer that needed frequent cleanings (itself often a symptom of infrequent use and dried nozzles) can arrive at 5B00 younger than a lightly used machine. When the counter and the pads agree, the only cure in Canon's documentation is absorber replacement by a service centre, with the counter reset as part of that job.
The waste-ink counter reached its limit by estimate
The counter does not weigh the pads; it estimates waste ink from the printer's own activity — cleanings run, pages printed, purges performed. 5B00 therefore means 'the printer's accounting says the absorber is full', which is the only signal Canon gives the owner and the only one its service procedure acts on: the technician replaces the absorber and resets the counter together, because neither half of the job is meaningful alone. This is also why no Canon document offers an owner-level counter reset for consumer PIXMA models — resetting the estimate without replacing the pads it estimates would defeat the leak protection the system exists to provide.
A long-ignored 1700/1701 warning finally completing
Many 5B00 printers announced themselves months earlier: 1700 or 1701, 'ink absorber almost full', dismissed with OK again and again. Canon's warning stage is explicitly a grace period — printing continues so you can finish work and arrange service — not a false alarm. Each dismissal is safe in itself, but the destination is fixed: the counter keeps counting, and the warning stage ends at 5B00 with the printer stopped. A 5B00 with a history of 1700 warnings is the system working exactly as documented, and the lesson carries to the next printer: 1700 is the code to act on, while acting is still optional.
Cleaning-heavy usage patterns filling the absorber early
The absorber's load is not pages printed but ink purged, so usage pattern matters as much as age. Printers that sit idle for weeks and then need deep cleanings to recover their nozzles spend absorber capacity in bursts; printers used for heavy borderless photo work add overspray to every page; printers whose owners run maintenance cleanings as a first response to any quality issue consume the pads on a schedule the counter dutifully records. None of these is a malfunction — but together they explain the 5B00 that arrives on a machine that 'hasn't printed that much', and why Canon's service conversation includes how the printer is used, not just how old it is.
Checks to run before you replace anything
- Confirm which stage you are actually at: 1700/1701 is the warning (press OK, keep printing, book service), 5B00 is the stop. On an LED-display model the same two stages read E08 (warning) and P07 (full). Do not let anyone sell you a 5B00 repair for a 1700 warning — or vice versa.
- Confirm the exact code form on your model: Canon USA's TS4320 article groups 5B00 with 5B01 and 5B12-5B15 as the same full-absorber family, so any of those numbers is the same conversation with service.
- Before unplugging an MX-series or other fax model, save or print any faxes stored in memory — Canon's manuals warn that unplugging the power cord deletes faxes held in the printer's memory, and service handling will unplug it.
- Gather the facts service will price from: model, age, whether 1700 warnings appeared and for how long, and your usage pattern (cleaning frequency, borderless printing). Canon's ART177612 frames the decision as service versus replacement, and those facts decide it.
- Check Canon's support page for your model's current service options before paying anyone: on some models and regions Canon's own route (authorised service, or replacement offers) is the cheapest legitimate path to a working printer with a fresh absorber and a reset counter.
- Rule out the confusions the code attracts: 5B00 is not an ink-cartridge message (changing cartridges does nothing for it), and it is not answered by the 1700 procedure — pressing OK belongs only to the warning stage, and a full absorber offers no button to press.
Canon error code 5b00 how to fix
- There is no owner fix in Canon's documentation, and that is the fix section's honest headline: 5B00 is resolved by absorber service — a service centre replaces the waste ink absorber pads and resets the waste-ink counter as one job.
- Follow Canon USA's documented options in ART177612: contact Canon or an authorised service centre for the absorber service, and weigh its quoted cost against replacing the printer, which Canon itself presents as the alternative when the model is old or the service cost approaches replacement cost.
- If you service it, confirm the job includes both halves — new absorber AND counter reset. A counter reset alone (the widely sold '5B00 reset' service) leaves saturated pads in the machine and converts a controlled stop into a future ink leak inside the printer.
- Do not buy button-sequence 'resets' or service-tool downloads as a cure: Canon publishes no consumer reset for 5B00, and a cleared counter over full pads risks waste ink escaping the absorber — the damage the code exists to prevent.
- While the printer is stopped, do not keep power-cycling it hoping for a different answer, and do not transport it tilted or on its side: a full absorber is at its most leak-prone exactly when the machine is being moved for service. Keep it upright and level.
- After service, protect the new absorber's life where your usage allows: run deep cleanings only when a nozzle check actually shows missing nozzles, and treat the next 1700 warning — a full cycle away — as the booking signal it is, rather than as background noise to dismiss.
The part that usually fails: The waste ink absorber (absorber pad kit)
This is the one deep entry where the part is the whole story, and it is Canon-documented: the absorber is a set of pads in the printer's base that collect purge and cleaning ink, and 5B00 means the printer's counter judges them full. Canon's service model is to replace the absorber assembly for the model and reset the counter — pads are model-specific, the job requires opening the machine, and it is not listed by Canon as a user-replaceable part on consumer PIXMA models. When you get quotes, the part plus the counter reset is the complete job; either half alone is not.
Canon printer error code 5b00 reset
Canon publishes no reset for 5B00 in its consumer documentation — no button combination, no menu item, no driver command. The counter is reset by the service centre as part of the absorber replacement, after the pads have actually been changed. This is deliberate design, and it is why every 'Canon 5B00 reset' sequence circulating online is either a service-mode procedure Canon does not document for owners or a counter-only reset that leaves the physical problem untouched. The only legitimate 'reset' of 5B00 is a serviced printer: new absorber, counter reset by the technician, code gone because the condition is gone.
Canon documents one general power reset for its printers, in the form given in Canon USA's B203 article and repeated across its support-code procedures: turn the printer off, unplug the power cord, wait at least two minutes, plug the cord back in, and turn the printer on. The LED-display manuals give the same motion in shorter form for undocumented errors (turn off, unplug, plug back in, turn on; if the error remains, contact the service centre). This reset clears transient internal states only — Canon's guidance is explicit for code families like B200-B207 that a code which reappears after the reset has given its verdict (there, likely print head hardware failure and service). Two standing cautions attach to the unplug step on Canon machines: on fax models (the MX line), unplugging deletes faxes stored in the printer's memory, so retrieve them first; and for imageRUNNER copiers, user power cycling is not an error clear at all — iR errors are cleared in service mode (COPIER > FUNCTION > CLEAR > ERR) by a technician after the fault is repaired, and repeated clearing of protection codes like E001 without repair defeats a safety function.
Why does the 5B00 code keep coming back?
After genuine absorber service, 5B00 does not 'come back' — it starts a new life cycle and returns only after another absorber's worth of waste ink, normally years. The returns that give 5B00 a reputation are counter-only resets: the code is cleared, the pads are still saturated, and the machine either re-trips quickly (when the counter re-accumulates) or, worse, starts leaking waste ink from its base while reporting nothing at all. The other return path is a printer serviced for the absorber whose usage never changed — weekly deep cleanings will fill a fresh absorber on the same schedule as the old one, so the pattern, not just the pads, is worth fixing.
How to stop 5B00 coming back
- The absorber pads are genuinely saturated: The straightforward reading, and the one Canon's design assumes: years of head cleanings, purge cycles and borderless overspray have filled the pads with the volume of waste ink they were rated to hold. Heavy cleaning users reach it fastest — every deep cleaning is paid for in absorber capacity, which is why a printer that needed frequent cleanings (itself often a symptom of infrequent use and dried nozzles) can arrive at 5B00 younger than a lightly used machine. When the counter and the pads agree, the only cure in Canon's documentation is absorber replacement by a service centre, with the counter reset as part of that job.
- The waste-ink counter reached its limit by estimate: The counter does not weigh the pads; it estimates waste ink from the printer's own activity — cleanings run, pages printed, purges performed. 5B00 therefore means 'the printer's accounting says the absorber is full', which is the only signal Canon gives the owner and the only one its service procedure acts on: the technician replaces the absorber and resets the counter together, because neither half of the job is meaningful alone. This is also why no Canon document offers an owner-level counter reset for consumer PIXMA models — resetting the estimate without replacing the pads it estimates would defeat the leak protection the system exists to provide.
- A long-ignored 1700/1701 warning finally completing: Many 5B00 printers announced themselves months earlier: 1700 or 1701, 'ink absorber almost full', dismissed with OK again and again. Canon's warning stage is explicitly a grace period — printing continues so you can finish work and arrange service — not a false alarm. Each dismissal is safe in itself, but the destination is fixed: the counter keeps counting, and the warning stage ends at 5B00 with the printer stopped. A 5B00 with a history of 1700 warnings is the system working exactly as documented, and the lesson carries to the next printer: 1700 is the code to act on, while acting is still optional.
Retrieving stored fault codes on Canon printers
How a Canon code reaches you depends on the platform's display, and the display tells you which code language you are in. LCD PIXMA and MAXIFY models show the full support code (four digits, or alphanumeric like 5B00, B200, C000) on the printer's screen and in the computer's status monitor, together with a plain-language message on many models. LED-display PIXMA models cannot show four characters, so they render the same faults as alternating E or P letters with digits (E, 0, 4) and flash the Alarm lamp in counted patterns — Canon's manuals publish the translation tables (support code 1688 is E16 and 16 flashes on the families that use flash counts; P02 is support code 5100). imageRUNNER copiers show E codes with a subcode (for example E805-0001) on the control panel, with full detail held in service mode and error logs; the send function on imageRUNNER and imageCLASS machines reports its own #-prefixed codes (#751, #802...) on the Status Monitor/Cancel screen's job details and printed in the Results column of the Communication Management Report. First diagnostic act on any Canon: read the code in the language the machine is speaking, then use that language's table — never another platform's.
Other Canon printer error codes
| Code | Meaning | First fix |
|---|---|---|
| 5C02 | PIXMA support code: Canon's consumer documentation says only 'a printer error has occurred' for 5C02 — Canon publishes no more specific consumer meaning for this code | Turn the printer off, unplug the power cord, plug it back in and turn it on, exactly as Canon's manual page directs; if 5C02 is still displayed, contact the Canon service centre |
| 1000 | PIXMA support code: there is no paper in the rear tray | Load paper in the rear tray and press the Black/Color button (or OK/Resume) to continue printing |
| 1300 | PIXMA support code: paper is jammed in the paper output slot | Pull the jammed paper out slowly with both hands, check inside the machine for torn pieces, then press the resume button; if the paper tears and stays inside, Canon directs you to the service centre |
| 1401 | PIXMA support code: the print head is not installed (on FINE-cartridge models: the FINE cartridge is not installed). Canon USA's MX922 article words the 1401/1403/1405 group as the print head not being installed or possibly being damaged | Install the correct print head or FINE cartridge properly; if the code stays with a correctly installed head, Canon routes you to the service centre |
| 1403 | PIXMA support code: the FINE cartridge cannot be recognized — the appropriate FINE cartridge is not installed. Canon groups 1403 with 1401 and 1405 on MX922-class machines (print head not installed or may be damaged) | Install the appropriate FINE cartridge for the model; if a correct, known-good cartridge still gives 1403, Canon directs you to the service centre |
| 1472 | PIXMA G-series (MegaTank) support code: the print head cannot be recognized — it may not be installed properly or may not be compatible with the machine | Remove and reinstall the print heads in their correct left/right positions following Canon's procedure for your G model; if 1472 persists, replace the print head — and if it still persists, contact Canon service |
| 1660 | PIXMA support code (models with separate ink tanks): the ink tank is not installed | Install the ink tank for the colour the printer indicates, push it until it seats, and close the cover |
| 1682 | PIXMA support code (LED models show E15): the FINE cartridge cannot be recognized — Canon's manual table equates it with U150, an ink cartridge hardware error; the cartridge may be damaged | Reinstall the FINE cartridge; if 1682 returns, replace the cartridge — Canon's documented remedy for this code is replacement, not cleaning |
| 1684 | PIXMA support code (LED models show E14): the ink cartridge (ink tank) cannot be recognized | Install the appropriate ink tank for the model, seated fully; press Stop to cancel a job you do not need, per Canon's page |
| 1686 | PIXMA support code (LED models show E13): the ink may have run out — the remaining ink level cannot be correctly detected | Replace the cartridge, or hold the Stop button for at least 5 seconds to continue printing with the remaining-ink detection function disabled — Canon notes the level will then show as unknown |
| 1687 | PIXMA support code (LED models show E04): the FINE cartridge is not installed properly | Open the cover, take the FINE cartridge out and reinstall it until it locks in place, then close the cover and resume |
| 1688 | PIXMA support code (LED models show E16): the ink has run out | Replace the ink tank or cartridge and close the panel. To keep printing temporarily, hold Stop for at least 5 seconds to release the remaining-ink detection — Canon warns that printing under ink-out conditions may damage the machine and that it accepts no liability for damage caused that way |
| 1700 | PIXMA support code: the waste ink absorber is almost full (the warning stage before 5B00) | Press OK (or the Black/Color button) to continue printing for now, and arrange service — once the absorber is completely full the printer stops with 5B00 and only service or replacement resolves it |
| 1701 | PIXMA support code: the waste ink absorber is almost full — the model-specific variant of the same warning Canon documents as 1700 on other models | Press OK to continue printing and contact the service centre about absorber service before the warning becomes the full-absorber stop (5B00) |
See the full list on the Canon Printer error codes hub.
Codes 5B00 gets confused with
C000 — Printer error (MX922-class): Canon USA's dedicated MX922 article documents exactly three causes — packing material (the orange tape) not fully removed, an ink tank not seated properly, or an obstruction in the paper feed path. On some other models Canon groups C000 as a generic printer error handled by power cycle, then service. C000 needs to be rescued from its own internet reputation before it can be fixed, because the popular account of it is not Canon's.
B200 — A printer error has occurred — Canon's manuals define B200 only that far and route it directly to 'turn the printer off, unplug the power cord, then contact the service center'. Canon USA's guidance for the B200-B207 family and Canon's own support staff identify the print head hardware as the likely failure behind it. B200 is the most feared code in the PIXMA line, and the first honest thing to say about it is what Canon itself says — which is deliberately little.
5200 — Print head temperature rise error — Canon's service-manual name for 5200. The print head has overheated; Canon's consumer guidance ties the code to low remaining ink or a defective cartridge, and on G-series/MAXIFY models to ink not reaching the head. Support code 5200 is the PIXMA print head's thermal protection trip, and Canon documents it at two depths that agree with each other.
6000 — Canon's service-manual name is 'Line feed error [6000]' — the paper feed mechanism has faulted. Canon's consumer articles describe the same event as a printer error usually caused by jammed paper or a foreign object stuck in the paper feed path. Support code 6000 sits at the seam between Canon's two documentation depths, and reading both is what makes it make sense.
Frequently asked questions
What does Canon error code 5B00 mean?
The waste ink absorber is full. Inside every PIXMA, pads in the base collect the ink purged by head cleanings and borderless overspray, and a counter tracks how much has been collected. 5B00 (and its siblings 5B01, 5B12-5B15) means that counter has reached its limit — the printer stops printing and Canon requires absorber service. The earlier warning stage of the same system is 1700/1701, 'ink absorber almost full'.
How do I fix Canon error code 5B00?
Canon documents exactly two routes, in its article 'What to Do When Your Printer's Waste Ink Absorber Is Full': have the absorber serviced (a service centre replaces the absorber pads and resets the waste-ink counter), or replace the printer — the route Canon itself suggests weighing when service costs approach the price of a new machine. There is no Canon-documented home fix, because the absorber is an internal part and the counter reset is part of the service job.
How do I reset Canon error code 5B00?
Canon publishes no owner reset for 5B00 — no button sequence or menu reset exists in its consumer documentation. The counter is reset by the service technician after the absorber has been replaced. Button combinations and 'service tool' resets sold online only clear the counter while the saturated pads stay in the machine, which removes the protection the code provides and risks waste ink leaking inside the printer; they are not a Canon procedure and this site does not present them as one.
Is support code 5800 the same as 5B00?
Honestly: we could not verify 5800 in Canon's documentation. Technician and third-party sources describe 5800 as an absorber-full code on some older MX-era models, but no Canon consumer document checked for this site defines it — Canon's documented absorber-full code is 5B00, with 1700/1701 as its warning stage. If an older printer shows 5800, treat the situation as the absorber family (stop, service conversation) but quote the exact code to Canon, because Canon's own pages will not confirm the number.
What is the difference between 1700 and 5B00?
Two stages of one system. 1700 (1701 on some models) means the waste ink absorber is almost full: you press OK and keep printing while you arrange service. 5B00 means the counter has reached the full limit: the printer stops and will not print until the absorber is serviced and the counter reset. 1700 is the warning worth acting on precisely because acting is still optional at that stage; on LED-display models the pair reads E08 (warning) and P07 (full).
My PIXMA E470 shows an absorber error but not '5B00' — is it the same thing?
Yes, in a different vocabulary. The E470 is an LED-display model, and Canon's LED page renders the absorber states as E08 (almost full — press Black/Color to continue) and P07 (full — 'the machine error has occurred, contact the service center', mapped to support codes 5B02/5B04/5B12/5B14). Same absorber, same counter, same destination: service. When you call, quote what your display actually shows (E08 or P07) plus the model.
Can I keep printing if I clear 5B00 myself?
No — and Canon's design is the reason. With 5B00 showing, the printer refuses to print; the only ways past it are the service job (absorber replaced, counter reset) or an undocumented counter reset that leaves saturated pads in place. Printing on a cleared-but-full absorber risks waste ink overflowing inside the printer, which converts a serviceable machine into a leaking one. Canon's documented choices are service or replacement.
Related guides
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