If your Canon MB5160 suddenly refuses to print and shows a maintenance or service warning, the ink absorber counter may have reached its limit.

Inside Canon printers, absorber pads collect excess ink from cleaning and maintenance cycles. The printer uses an internal counter to estimate pad saturation.

This page is prepared for Canon MB5160. Service mode instructions are shown only when a matching series procedure is known.

How the Error Appears

• ‘Ink Absorber Full’ / ‘Service Required’ message
• Support/service code (varies by series)
• Printing blocked after cleaning cycles
• Reset required to continue printing

Clear the Ink Absorber / Waste Ink Counter

Completing the reset clears the internal ink absorber counter stored in printer memory and restores normal operation.

Maintenance Reminder

Treat the reset as a maintenance step. If your printer has extremely high usage, consider cleaning/replacing absorber pads to avoid overflow.

Download & get started

If your model does not show a service mode section, it means no matching procedure was found for its series.

If It Doesn’t Work

• Repeat the service mode steps carefully (timing matters).
• Power-cycle the printer and try again.
• Close other Canon printer utilities while resetting.
• Use the correct Stop/Reset press count for your series.
• Try a different USB cable/port if using PC software.

Frequently Asked Questions