You are correct, it has nothing to do with alignment. When your ink carts are printing lightly you get the can't align message even if you have perfect alignment. When you don't use your ink carts for a while, when they are older than 1 year, when you get new ink carts that have been stored in warehouses for a number of months, or when you have refilled a slightly too dry ink cart, the print head nozzles on the bottom of the ink carts get clogged inside with dried ink. The printer head cleaner menu will NOT dissolve the dried ink inside of the nozzles. Water will. Try this. Soak the bottom of the clogged ink cart in 1/2 inch of hot water for 15 minutes. Blot dry with clean paper towel. Also wipe the electrical contacts on the back of the ink cart. Retry. If this doesn't work you may have to get new ink carts.