Set the print head on a paper towel to dry, drying time will vary. This ensures that any risidual minerals or impurities of the tap water are flushed out of the print head. You WILL need to do a final flush/rinse with some distilled, or purified water. You'll see when there is no more ink being flushed out. You'll need to turn the print head over, bottom side up, and flush it that way as well. This will flush the ink out of the printhead. Hold the print head, bottom facing down, and cup your hand under the running water so that the water fills it up and flows into the the print head. Use the kitchen or other sink and turn the water on so that it is running slowly and that it is warm. Next remove the print head, it snaps out. Set them aside, preferrably propped upright. Remove the ink tanks from the printhead (tank holder) and seal them in a ziplock plactic bag. You can try the following as it will cause no harm: (we and many others have succesfully done this)
If the cleaning cycles don't do the trick in clearing up poor and incomplete output, don't give up and assume you'll need to buy a new print head (they often cost more than a new printer!). Look for the 'maintenance' tab and follow the cleaning prompts. When the dropdown menu shows, click on 'properties'. Place your mouse cursor over the printer icon and 'right-click' on it. This will bring up a page with your installed printer's icon. For quick access to your printer's utility (drivers): In your browser's address bar type: control panel\printers and hit 'enter' on your keyboard.
HOW TO CLEAN CANON PIXMA IP3000 PRINT HEAD SOFTWARE
Normally you can clear up minor clogs and streaking by running the cleaning cycle found in your printer's software utility.
You need to print both black and color at least once per week in order to prevent clogging and keep the ink flowing. Over time, it can and does become clogged, mainly from letting the printer set without use. It's the 'holder' that the ink cartridges (tanks) fit into. Canon printers have a semi-permanent printhead.