The short version
- 01Press Stop to cancel printing if a job is running, then turn the printer off.
- 02Open the printer and check nothing is impeding the cartridge holder's movement.
- 03Remove the shipping stabiliser if the printer is newly set up.
- 04Avoid touching the clear film strip that runs across the carriage's path.
- 05Reseat each cartridge and push the lock lever up until it clicks.
- 06Turn the printer back on, and contact Canon service if the code returns.
Raw message
Support Code 5100 — Printer error has occurred.
Likely causes
- The cartridge holder blocked by the orange or clear shipping stabiliser after setup.
- Jammed paper or a torn scrap sitting in the carriage's path.
- A foreign object, often a paperclip or a photo, inside the printer.
- Cartridges not fully seated, so the lock lever has not clicked.
- A fault in the carriage drive itself, if nothing is physically in the way.
A vague cause with specific instructions
Canon's manual gives the cause for 5100 as nothing more than “Printer error has occurred.” That is unhelpful on its own, but the actions listed underneath say plainly what the printer actually thinks is wrong: the cartridge holder cannot move.
Canon's steps are to cancel any print job with the Stop button and turn the printer off, then make sure the FINE cartridge holder's motion is not impeded by the stabilizer, jammed paper or anything else, and to remove whatever is in the way.
So treat this as a mechanical obstruction until proven otherwise. The carriage has to sweep the full width of the printer, and anything in that path — including things that look harmless — stops it.
The stabiliser, and the film you must not touch
Canon naming the stabilizer first is a strong hint about the most common case: a brand-new printer that still has its shipping restraint fitted. If this appeared on a printer you have just set up, look for orange tape or a plastic restraint around the carriage before anything else.
The warning attached to that step is the important one. Canon says that when clearing an impediment to the cartridge holder's motion, be careful not to touch the clear film. That is the thin transparent encoder strip running the width of the printer, and the carriage reads its position from it. A greasy fingerprint or a kink in it causes errors that are far harder to diagnose than the jam you were clearing.
Work with the printer powered off and take your time. Pulling firmly at paper caught around the carriage is how the film gets damaged.
Cartridges, and when to stop
Canon's next step is to make sure the FINE cartridges are properly installed, pushing the ink cartridge lock lever up until it clicks. A cartridge sitting slightly proud fouls the carriage's travel, which produces exactly this code and looks nothing like a cartridge problem.
Then turn the printer back on. If the code has gone, the obstruction was the whole story.
If it has not, Canon's instruction is to contact your nearest service centre to request a repair. A carriage that cannot move with nothing in its way is a drive or encoder fault, and there is no further home remedy in Canon's documentation.
Sources and review notes
Checked on . Based on Canon's online manual error code page for 5100, taken from the TS3700 series manual. Canon publishes this code per model, and wording and part names differ between ranges — check the manual for your own printer. The identification of the clear film as the encoder strip, and the note about newly set-up printers, are editorial. Glitchary is independent of Canon.