Canon Error 5B00 (Ink Absorber Full): What It Means and What Your Options Really Are

Canon error 5B00 means the printer's waste ink absorber counter has hit its limit. Every time the printer cleans its printhead, ink is flushed out of the nozzles and into an absorbent pad inside the chassis. A counter tracks roughly how much has gone in, and at the limit the printer stops printing to prevent that ink overflowing. It is a maintenance threshold, not a breakdown - and knowing that changes what your options actually are.

Quick facts first

1. 5B00 and 5B01 are the hard stop; support codes 1700 and 1701 are the earlier warnings that printing can continue through.
2. The pad is a physical component that genuinely holds ink - the counter is an estimate of what has gone into it.
3. A counter reset restores printing but does not empty the pad.
4. The correct repair is replacing the absorber and resetting the counter, which is a service-centre job.
5. On entry-level PIXMA models, that service typically costs more than a replacement printer.

What the absorber actually is

Inkjet printers must flush their nozzles regularly to stay usable. Every power-on cycle, every idle-period maintenance routine and every manual cleaning pushes ink through the printhead and out - and that ink has to go somewhere. In a Canon PIXMA it goes into a pad of absorbent felt, usually sitting in a tray in the base of the printer.

The pad has a finite capacity. Canon cannot measure how saturated it is directly, so the firmware counts instead: each cleaning operation increments a counter by an amount reflecting how much ink that operation uses. When the counter reaches the value Canon considers equivalent to a full pad, the printer stops.

This is why the timing varies so much between printers of the same model. A printer used regularly for documents reaches the limit slowly. A printer switched off between every job - which triggers a cleaning cycle at each power-on - or one that has had a dozen deep cleanings run in an attempt to clear a clog can get there in a fraction of the time.

Your three real options

Option 1: Have the absorber replaced

This is the correct repair. A service centre or independent repairer opens the printer, replaces or cleans the absorber pad, and resets the counter. The printer is then genuinely back to zero on both counts.

The problem is arithmetic. On an entry-level PIXMA the labour alone typically exceeds the price of a new printer, before parts. On a mid-range or MegaTank model with expensive supplies already fitted, it can be worth it - get a quote before deciding. Independent repairers are usually considerably cheaper than manufacturer service centres, and in the UK and Australia the postage cost of sending a printer away is often the deciding factor on its own.

Option 2: Reset the counter

Service-mode key sequences and third-party reset utilities will clear the counter and restore printing. Understand precisely what you are doing: you are telling the printer the pad is empty when it is not.

Whether that is reasonable depends on how full the pad really is. A printer that hit 5B00 after years of light use with many power-cycle cleanings may have a pad that is far from saturated - the counter simply over-estimated. A printer that has genuinely printed tens of thousands of pages likely has a pad near capacity, and continuing risks ink seeping out.

If you reset, do two things: put the printer on a surface where a leak would not matter, and check underneath it periodically for ink. Any seepage means stop immediately.

Option 3: Replace the printer

For most consumer PIXMA models this is the honest answer. A new printer comes with a warranty, a fresh absorber, a new printhead and a full set of ink, for less than the cost of servicing the old one. It is not a satisfying answer, but it is the one the economics support.

If you go this route, it is worth thinking about what you buy next rather than replacing like with like. An ink tank model - Canon MegaTank, Epson EcoTank, HP Smart Tank - has a dramatically lower running cost, and mono lasers do not have absorbers or clogging printheads at all. See ink tank vs cartridge and inkjet vs laser.

Comparing the options

How to make the next one last longer

The absorber fills through cleaning cycles, not through printing. So the levers that matter are the ones that reduce cleanings:

• Leave the printer switched on and let it sleep rather than powering it off between jobs. Most models run a cleaning at power-on; a printer turned off daily accumulates counter value far faster than one left in standby.
• Print something in colour once a week. Regular use keeps the nozzles wet and avoids the clogs that lead to manual cleaning.
• Do not run repeated deep cleanings. Two normal cycles with a rest between them is the sensible limit; six consecutive deep cleanings consume a large share of absorber capacity for very little gain. See printer printing blank pages for the right approach to clogs.
• Always power off with the printer's own button. Cutting power at the wall leaves the printhead uncapped, which causes drying and therefore more cleaning later.
• Replace cartridges when low rather than empty. Running dry causes clogs and, on Canon, risks error B200.

Related Canon codes

Canon calls its numeric errors support codes, and it is worth knowing which family yours belongs to:

• 1700 and 1701: absorber nearly full - warning stage of this same issue.
• 5B00 and 5B01: absorber counter at limit - printing stops.
• B200: printhead protection shutdown - a different and more serious fault.
• 1300: paper jam in the output or feed path.
• 5100: carriage obstruction.
• 6000: paper feed error.

Canon's own manual pages list codes tersely; the full picture for your model is on the Canon hub, and a broader index is at common printer error codes.

If the printer is nearly new

A 5B00 on a printer only a year or two old is unusual and worth challenging. Canon's warranty may still apply, and consumer protection law gives you a route regardless of the manufacturer's stated period: in the UK, goods must be of satisfactory quality and durable, with a claim window against the retailer of up to six years; Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply for a period reasonable for the product; Canadian provincial legislation offers similar implied warranties.

Reaching a maintenance limit within a normal warranty period is a reasonable basis for raising it, particularly if your usage has been light. Approach the retailer rather than the manufacturer - it is usually faster, and in the UK and Australia the retailer is the party with the legal obligation.

If you are not sure which way to go

The deciding question is simple: what is this printer worth to you if it works for another two years? If the answer is more than the cost of a service, get it serviced. If it is less - which it is for most sub-$150 PIXMA models - a reset buys you time to choose a replacement properly rather than in a hurry, and that is a legitimate use of it.

What is not worth doing is repeatedly resetting a printer that has genuinely printed a great deal. At that point the absorber is not the only component near the end of its life, and you will be back with a different error before long.

If you would like a second opinion on whether your printer's usage history makes a reset reasonable or risky, you can get help from a printer specialist before deciding.