Tips & Tricks
Ensure a high quality cleaning and keep your print heads
safe
Cleaning inkjet print heads represents a challenge for most print
shops. Our extensive experience in this field has convinced us that there is no
standard method for safely cleaning Spectra, Xaar, Seiko or Hitachi print heads.
Most print shops use ultrasonic devices that were developed for other
industries. However, these devices can damage the print heads if used wrongly.
The following
frequently asked questions should help you clean inkjet print heads without any
risk of damaging them while prolonging their life span.
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Which print heads can be cleaned with ultrasonic
devices?
All Spectra, Xaar,
Konica, Hitachi solvent and UV print heads can be cleaned using ultrasonic
devices with good results. Epson DX4 (solvent)
and DX5 print heads can also be cleaned with ultrasonic devices, though with
less success.
Printheads come in all shapes and sizes and types they also come with a
manufactures warranty which can vary from one month to one year depending on the
type of printer and who the manufacturer is. Given they are an expensive item to
replace. It is very important that some time be taken to look after them. Daily
use will lead to build up of overspray this will vary depending on the head
height being used, this build up in conjunction with the media type being used
and the environment will attract particles to the surface of the head.
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T
Head
maintenance:
All printers give the capability to carry out head maintenance this should be
done on a daily basis using a mild solvent /Flush and lint free swabs. Take time
not only to clean the surface but also the edges. When printers are not being
used on a regular basis it can take some time to bring the heads back to an
acceptable level especially in the case of solvent and UV inks. If at all
possible try and run some simple test prints which require all colours everyday
or perhaps some prints for internal use.
If the printer is not going to be used for a week or so it is best to flush
heads through and leave flush in the heads. If this cannot be done then soak
some lint free cloth with a mild solvent and place on the capping station prior
to capping if possible, if this is not possible then clamping the capping
station tubes and placing some mild solvent on the actual caps prior to capping
the heads should help. The figure shows normal bulldog clips but clamps of
all sorts are available.
Both
thermal and piezo heads do wear in the case of the thermal heads the
heating element may fail as these are being switched on and off hundreds
of thousands of times. In the case of the piezo head the crystal characteristics
will change over a period of time both of these actions will cause the quality
to deteriorate. There are other factors such as media debris and the environment
that can cause quality issues, which is why it is important to carry out the
manufactures daily / monthly preventative maintenance by doing this when quality
issues arise it helps diagnose where the problem lies.
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Head
adjustment:
Head height adjustment is also key in getting quality output, depending on
the material and printer being used the closer you can get the head to the media
the better. This cuts down both deflection and banding, you obviously have to be
aware and make allowances for the media thickness to avoid any head strike. Some
manufacturer have automatic head height facilities and others just have fixed
settings, but it is always worth finding out the best height that can be used
for a given media.
Print quality
issues
Problems occurring with Print heads drying up and causing blockages to the
nozzles, this does not necessarily mean installing a new print head which is
costly and may sometimes be unnecessary to do. An easy fix and solution to this
problem is detailed below:
With the carriage locked in home position and the heads capped.
Take a clean syringe, and fill it with a clean solvent solution.
Attach a male adapter to a syringe, (used to connect the pump tubing), as
this fits perfectly into the top of a new damper.
Carefully remove the damper from the troubled print head, with the syringe
attached to the new damper push onto the manifold on top of the print head.
Gently push the plunger on the syringe, until you can see the blockage clearing
from the print head through the tubing that connects to the pumps. Be careful
not to apply too much pressure there are filters in the actual head and to much
pressure can cause issues. The same thing can be done by connecting the tubing
from the syringe directly onto the manifold this should only been done once you
have experience of doing this.
Do this until the solvent becomes clear going through the tubing of the pump.
It can sometimes take a couple attempts. If the solvent goes through to the pump
tube you can be sure that the manifold, head, capping station and pump are clear
of any blockage. If after a couple of attempts nothing is happening you need to
isolate where the actual blockage maybe. This can only be done with the heads
disengaged from the capping station. Once the head is uncapped ensure the
printer is switched off and the power lead is removed this
mainly applies to the large format printers and not the Grand format. This is to
avoid any possibility of causing problems to a main board if you disturb ribbon
cables that plug into the print head.
Move the carriage to a comfortable position to work on and place lint free
material under the print head to catch the solvent. With the damper removed
attach the syringe to the print head and gently push you should feel no
resistance and the solvent should jet out of the bottom of the head. Look at the
base of the head whilst doing this and you should see a nice curtain of solvent
from all the nozzles. If this is good move onto the capping station.
On the capping station, disconnect the tube at the pump end place some lint
free material on the bottom of the tube and using a pipette place some solvent
on the cap after a short time this should drain away. If it drains away move
onto the pump.
Place the syringe onto the pump tube and gently push this should push the
solvent through to the waste bottle.
When doing this always complete the process as quick as you can and never
walk away and come back. Because the carriage is not capped leaving it uncapped
for a long time could cause other heads to dry up and become blocked. Also if
you are unsure of any of the above process do not attempt it, get an engineer to
check it for you.
How to use this document: Many of these tips require that you put liquid
(Windex or water), and your hands into the printer housing. Please be careful as
you do this, to avoid damaging your printer and to avoid an electric shock.
Follow these safety tips:
·
Wear gloves (rubber, latex or
nitrile) when working on your printer, particularly on a step that requires you
to place your hands into the printer.
·
Wear eye protection, to avoid
splashing ink or Windex in your eyes.
·
Before you put any liquid into your
printer, either by dripping it in or by using a dampened paper towel, unplug the
printer first. The steps below explain when to do this in the
process.
·
If you accidentally spill liquid
inside your printer, try to dry the liquid out before doing anything else (with
the printer unplugged). Let the printer air dry as long as possible, although in
this case you should reinsert the cartridges, and push the print head back to
the capping station before doing so.
Many of the tips listed below
are not Epson-sanctioned, although they have been proven to be very effective
over the years. When performed carefully and with attention to the warnings
listed above, they are also very safe. Nonetheless, if you choose to use these
tips, Vermont Photoinkjet stipulates that you assume all risks of damage to your
printer, other property or your health.
Removing cartridges from different
printers: On most printers, you may remove and
reinsert cartridges without affecting their performance. On certain models,
however, you must remove your cartridges in a special way in order to retain the
ink level information stored on the cartridge chips.
Printer models 1270, 1280, 1290, 2000P. If you wish to remove a prefilled cartridge that you
plan to reuse in the future, you must unplug the printer before removing it. If
you leave the printer turned on when pulling a cartridge from one of these
printers, you will write an “empty cartridge” message to the chip on the
cartridge, making the cartridge stop being accepted by the printer. To safely
remove your cartridges for reuse, simply push the “ink change” (yellow) button
on the printer, and after the print head moves to the left side of the carriage,
unplug the printer, and then remove the cartridges. If you plan to discard your
removed cartridges, you may leave the printer turned on. If you have a PiezoFlow
system, you may safely remove your cartridges with the printer turned
on.
Printer models 860, 1160, 1200. On these printers, ink level information is stored
in the printer memory, and not in a chip on the cartridges. If you flip open the
cartridge lid, and then close it, while the printer is turned on, the ink level
for that cartridge will return to a full reading. If you move the print head to
the ink change position, unplug the printer and then open and close the
cartridge lid, when you plug the printer back it will retain the same ink level
as it had before unplugging it.
Keep this information in
mind as you remove and replace cartridges in your printer. If you remove a
half-full flush cartridge, and put it back in the printer at some point in the
future, the ink level reported by the printer will be wrong. Under certain
circumstances the printer may tell you that a cartridge is empty when in reality
it is not, or a printer may tell you a cartridge still has ink in it when it is
really empty, and this all depends on how you removed the cartridge just before
installing this one.
Printer models 2100, 2200, R1800, R800 and R2400. These printers use chipped cartridges, but unlike
the chipped cartridges in older printers (e.g., 1280), the chip retains the
actual ink level in it.
Printer models 3000, 7000, 7500, 9000 and 9500: These printers all use large format cartridges
without chips on them. How you remove a cartridge from these printers is very
important in certain ways. If you remove a cartridge from any of these printers
and then replace or reinsert it, the ink level for that channel will reset to
full. However, if you remove all of the cartridges in a 3000, 7000 or 7500 while
the printer is turned on, and then turn it off with the cartridges still out,
the printer will empty itself of all the ink in the tubes and print heads. This
cycle is called a “transport dump,” and it should be avoided if you are not
intending to run one. If you remove and replace a cartridge while any of the
above printers are turned off, the printer will retain the previous ink level
status.
Storing removed cartridges for later use. Cartridges may be safely stored by following these
suggestions:
Place clear plastic tape
over the ink outlet holes on the bottoms of the cartridges, and over the air
vents, if applicable. Place the cartridges into plastic bags and close them
tightly. Make sure to stand the cartridges up as they sit in the printer:
certain cartridges will leak from their air vents if they are left on their side
or upside down.
For large format
cartridges, place tape over the ink outlet holes and seal them in plastic
bags.
For PiezoFlow Continuous
Inking System cartridges, visit http://www.piezography.com/support/piezoflow.htm#storage
List of print head cleaning tips:
Tip #1: Run print head cleaning cycles.
Printers affected: all models
Quite often, running several print head cleaning cycles will
unclog a nozzle, when perhaps one or two cycles will not.
Run up to five cycles in sequence. Print a nozzle check
pattern after every one or two cleaning cycles to see if you have made any
progress. On most printers, after approximately every fifth cycle, the printer
will perform a more power head cleaning routine.
Compare the nozzle check patterns and see if there is an
improvement. If you see steady progress, by the time you have run 5 cycles, try
one or two more and see if it continues to improve. If you don’t see much
progress, or if you see the problem get worse, go to the next step.
On large format printers, you can run a head cleaning
cycle either from the printer utility on your computer or from the control panel
on the printer. Most large format printers offer different “levels” of cleaning.
The cycle run from the computer is a standard cleaning cycle. From the printer,
you can run more powerful cycles as well- depending on your printer model and
which menu you access on the printer, you can run any of the following:
·
Powerful cleaning cycle
·
KK0
·
KK1
·
KK2
·
Initial Fill
The “KK” cycles increase in power (and in ink usage) as the
number increases. The initial fill cycle uses the most ink. If a standard
cleaning cycle does not fix the problem, try one or two KK2 cycles. Print
frequent nozzle check patterns to check your progress. Learn more about these
different cleaning cycles in your printer manual.
On desktop printers, you may run a nozzle check
pattern from the printer, without needing to open the printer utility window on
your computer. While the printer is on, hold down the “ink droplet” button for
several seconds until a cycle begins. You can also print a nozzle check pattern
from your printer as well: turn off the printer, load a sheet of paper in the
paper tray (usually copier paper), and turn the printer back on as you hold down
the page feed button. On most printers this will result in the printing of a
nozzle check pattern.
Note about “automatic” nozzle check cycles: in
addition to the standard nozzle check pattern utility on Epson printers certain
newer printer models offer an automatic version of the nozzle check pattern. In
the automatic mode the printer prints a special pattern, measures it, runs a
cleaning cycle if needed, up to 3 or five times, until either the problem is
fixed, or the printer stops trying. With Piezography inks, the measurement
system on these printers will always reject an automatic nozzle check pattern,
regardless of how it looks. If you want to run the automatic cycle, realize that
you must look at the patterns as they printer, to determine if the cleaning has
been successful or not. If you see a perfect nozzle check pattern in this mode,
you can abort the cycle when you want to. Alternatively, you may start an
automatic cycle, and let it run through its steps, knowing in advance the print
head has been cleaned several times. Also you will have a printout of the nozzle
check patterns printed during this process. Just keep in mind that no matter how
good or bad the actual pattern looks, the printer will always determine it is
bad.
Tip #2: Clean the capping station.
Printers affected: all models
This tip is easy to
perform and often highly effective in fixing not only missing nozzles, but also
any residual color you may see in a print shortly after installing a set of
Piezography inks in a printer for the first time. This tip is especially helpful
if you see a nozzle check pattern become worse after running more and more
cleaning cycles.
The capping station is a rectangular flat sponge surrounded
by a raised gasket. When the print head is in the “parked position,” at the
right side of the printer carriage, the gasket of the cap presses against the
print head, sealing it. One purpose of this is to keep the print head from
drying out due to air exposure. The second reason is that the cap is used as
part of cleaning cycles: the sponge in the cap is porous, connected to a small
vacuum pump underneath. During cleaning cycles, ink is pulled or printed out of
the print head, and the ink drains into the sponge, with help from the cap. The
ink is then deposited on an absorbent waste pad inside the printer. Sometimes
the sponge will clog up, due to dried ink, or due to paper fiber in the sponge,
and this keeps the ink from draining out properly. The excess ink will then make
contact with the print head, and transfer onto the print head’s nozzle surface.
This can cause blocked nozzles, or can even cause the printer to print the wrong
color, if leftover color ink is pulled back into the nozzles and printed out
again.
Cleaning off the sponge and gasket of the capping station
allows the print head to stay clean. This can often make an ink jetting problem
disappear instantly. The steps for cleaning the capping station are listed
below. Please note that certain printer models have two caps (and two
printheads).
1.
Access the cap: Move the print head off the cap in order to inspect and
clean it.
·
Desktop printers: push the “ink change” button to move print head off the
cap. Unplug the printer
·
3000 printer: Unplug the printer, and manually slide the print head to
the left side. Unplug the printer
·
Large format Epson printers: use initiate a “cutter replace” function
from the printer control panel, to move the print head. Unplug the printer after
the print head moves over.
2.
Look inside the printer case, below where the print head was originally
sitting, to find the cap or caps. A cap is a rectangular piece, approximately 1”
high by 2” wide (the exact size varies from printer to printer). It is mounted
on a spring loaded mechanism. On certain large format printers, there may be a
second device to the left of the capping station. It is simply an opening into
the printer body, for the printer to shoot ink into during cleaning cycle. It is
not spring loaded. Among the different printers, the following models have two
caps, one next to the other: 3000, 7000, 7500, 9000, 9500, R800, R1800,
R2400.
3.
Look at the cap, using a flashlight if necessary.
·
It should be horizontal, not tilted at an angle. If it tilted, there may
be a problem with the fixture supporting it. This can cause ongoing problems due
to ink drying out in the print head. This problem usually requires the printer
to be serviced professionally.
·
The surface of the sponge must be flat, and sitting below the level of
the gasket. Make sure that it does not bow up at all. Sometimes, the sponge will
lift up in the center or an edge. When this happens the sponge will always
contact the print head, and cause ongoing problems. Older model printers are
more prone to this problem. Newer models have a metal piece holding the sponge
down.
4.
Clean the cap. Sometimes you may notice a buildup of residue or liquid in
the cap or on the gasket; other times you will not. Use a drinking straw to
deposit warm water, or use the tube from the inside of a bottle of Windex to
deposit Windex, onto the sponge. Use your finger to dispense only two or three
drops of liquid at a time. The liquid will remain in the cap for a few seconds,
but will soon drain out. Repeat this several times. Try not to let the Windex or
water spill around the cap, and into the printer.
5.
Fold a paper towel into a 4”x4” (10cm X 10cm) pad. Press the towel gently
on the sponge to dab away ink and water or Windex. As you push on the sponge,
push down and slightly to the right, to protect the spring-loaded mechanism that
supports it. Pushing too hard, or pushing to the left can damage the capping
station (and hence the printer). After dabbing several times, you will remove
much of the liquid, but you can never remove all of it.
6.
Dip a cotton swab (Q-Tip) in water, and use it to wipe gently around the
edge of the capping station gasket, to remove dirt buildup there. Again, be
careful not to push the capping station out of alignment.
7.
Plug the printer back in, turn it on if necessary, and return the print
head to the parked position. Run one or two print head cleaning cycles,
and then print a nozzle check pattern. If the nozzle check pattern is better,
but not perfect, either run additional cleaning cycles, or clean the cap
again.
Tip #3: Use flush cartridges or dye
ink cartridges.
Printers affected: desktop models
On 3000 printers and large format, this procedure is to be
avoided, since the flush cycle uses a lot of ink and flush fluid. Use it only as
a last resort.
If you think that the ink has dried inside your printer, then
you may consider using flush, or dye ink cartridges. Dye ink is nearly as
effective to use as flush fluid, since it doesn’t have solids (pigment
particles) in it. Depending on your printer model, you may wish to use Epson dye
ink cartridges instead of flush cartridges. 1270, 1280, 1290 and 2000P flush
cartridges contain clear flush fluid, which makes it impossible to see the
nozzle check pattern they print, and so they are not very helpful at giving you
a feel for how well they are working. Epson 860, 1160 and 1200 printers use a
tinted flush fluid.
It is known that PiezoTone and Piezography NK6 inks can be
interchanged with Epson dye ink, plus Darn Good Dye ink cartridges. Therefore,
there are no concerns of ink compatibility when going from one set to the
other.
Below are listed the procedures for flushing your printer
with flush or dye ink cartridges. The procedure for desktop printers contains
additional steps which may be more helpful if included, but they may be skipped
due to time constraints. These steps are indicated with an asterisk (*).
Large Format and 3000 printers:
a.
Remove the ink cartridges and use the “ink change” procedures initially
used to install the flush cartridges. After filling the printer with flush
fluid, move the print head off the capping station, deposit a few drops of
Windex or water (see Tip #2, above), and then replace the print head to the
capping station, before turning off the printer.
b.
If time permits, turn off the printer overnight or longer (flush fluid is
very inert and can be left in the printer a long time).
c.
Turn on the printer, print a nozzle check pattern, and try to see if it
looks better. You may run a cleaning cycle if desired.
d.
Replace your flush cartridges with the PiezoTone or NK6/NK7 ink
cartridges. If your ink cartridges are near expiration, or if they are nearly
empty, strongly consider replacing them with fresh cartridges, rather than
installing them.
Desktop printers using prefilled cartridges. If you have a
PiezoFlow (CIS) system, see the note below:
a.
Remove the cartridges from the printer.
b.
Before you install the next set of cartridges, deposit two or three drops
of water or Windex, using a straw, on the sponge in the capping station.*
c.
Use the straw to deposit liquid into the black plastic spikes inside the
printer’s cartridge holder.*
d.
Install the flush or dye ink cartridges. Return the print head to the
parked position, run one print head cleaning cycle, and turn the printer off.
Leave the printer turned off for several hours, overnight, or longer if
possible.
e.
Turn on the printer, run two head cleaning cycles, and then print a
nozzle check pattern. At this point, you should see an improvement in the
previously missing nozzles. If the nozzle check pattern is not yet perfect, run
additional print head cleaning cycles, and you should see continuing
improvement.
f.
When you have a perfect nozzle check pattern, tap your PiezoTone or
NK6/NK7 cartridges on the table, gently, a few times (place a paper towel down
to contain drips). This will help to dislodge air bubbles that may have formed
near the ink outlet holes in the bottoms of the cartridges.
g.
Remove the flush or dye ink cartridges, and use water dampened cotton
swabs (q-tip) to clean around the black plastic spikes inside the cartridges
holders. Use dry cotton swabs to dry out the cartridge holders and spikes, and
then reinstall the PiezoTone or Piezography NK6/NK7 cartridges.
h.
Return the print head to the parked position, run two print head cleaning
cycles, and print a nozzle check pattern to confirm that it is good. Print the
flush image (here) on typing paper, to flush out the flush fluid or dye
ink.
Note for PiezoFlow users: If you have a PiezoFlow system, modify the above
procedure as follows.
·
Close the pinch valves before removing
it from the printer;
·
Place the PiezoFlow system on
newspapers, to protect the table from ink drips.
Tip #4: Dislodge air bubbles from the
cartridges.
Whenever you remove and reinstall a cartridge, you will admit
air into the print head, which could temporarily affect the printer operation.
Oftentimes, allowing the printer to sit undisturbed for an hour will help the
air bubble to move out of the way.
You can try to dislodge a bubble that is blocking ink flow
out of the cartridge, by tapping the cartridge gently on a table surface a few
times before installing the cartridge. Place a few sheets of newspaper or paper
towels on the table to protect it from ink drips. Note that certain cartridges
have spring loaded valves at their ink outlet holes, but many cartridges do not.
The cartridges without valves can drip more than other cartridges when you tap
them, so be careful.
Tip #5: Fix air flow problems on
desktop printer cartridges
Note: This tip applies
only to prefilled cartridges. Do not attempt this fix on CIS or PiezoFlow
cartridges, as you will damage them.
Ink flow problems can occur if the air channels on the top of
the cartridge become blocked. These air channels must be open to allow ink to
flow out of the cartridge. Two different causes of blocked air vents have been
seen:
·
Ink can enter the air vents of the cartridge during shipping, blocking
air flow even after you have opened the air vent (by pulling the plastic
tab);
·
A piece of the tab can remain over the hole, keeping the air vent blocked
even after pulling the tab.
The solution to either problem is the same: physically open
the air vent with a pin.
The procedure for doing this depends on the type of printer
involved:
A. Printers that use two cartridges; one of which has three
or five color channels in it (models 860, 1160, 1200, 1270, 1280, 1290,
2000P);
B. Printers that use one cartridge per color, i.e., a printer
with 6, 7 or 8 individual cartridges (models 2100, 2200, R1800, R800).
A. Printers that use two
cartridges: These cartridges have the pull tab on one end of the top, and small
plastic channels that run under the label, leading to the air intake hole at the
other end of the top of the cartridge. On these types of cartridges the vent
blockage will occur either from ink blocking the vent, or an incompletely
removed tab, so that part of the vent is still sealed.
Solution: The cartridge label covers a firmly fastened layer
plastic film, which is either clear or white (depending on printer model). The
plastic film covers the air channels and air intake on the cartridge body. To
fix this type of cartridge, peel off the top cartridge label, exposing this
second film. Then, either remove the film completely, or else trace the air
channels back to the air intake holes and poke through the plastic film with a
pin, bypassing the vent channels completely. Be sure to poke through each air
intake hole; there is one hole per ink position (1 hole for the black and , 3 or
5 for the color cartridge).
On cartridges with clear film layers, it is easy to see the
air intake holes. On cartridge with opaque plastic films on them, you may be
able to see the holes through the film, or else you can see small depressions in
the plastic film that covers the intake holes. Each air intake hole is ¼ to ½
inch from the edge, and on color cartridges they are evenly spaced.
If you wish to put the label back on the cartridge, be sure
not to cover the holes you just created. You may, however, cover the end of the
cartridge that used to hold the vent tab, since these vents have been
bypassed.
It has been determined that poking holes of different sizes
into the film has no effect on the amount of ink flow out of the cartridge, and
so you may poke one, or several holes into each air intake without fear of
changing how your cartridge will print. However, when you remove a modified
cartridge from your printer, you may cause ink to spill out of the cartridge,
through the new holes. Also, the ink inside the cartridge may evaporate a little
more quickly due to the hole directly into the cartridge. The difference in
evaporation rate is not extreme, and it should not affect a cartridge during its
recommended lifetime, which is six months after first installing it.
If you wish to remove a modified cartridge from your printer
and store it for future use, put tape over both the ink outlet, as well as air
inlet holes, to help keep the ink from drying out during storage.
B. Printers that use one cartridge
per color: These cartridges are of a two piece design, and they have the vent
tab directly over the air inlet hole in the cartridge. There are not air
channels on these designs.
On these cartridges what can occasionally happen is that the
vent tab will not completely pull off the cartridge, leaving the air intake hole
still blocked. This prevents ink from printing out of the cartridge and appears
as a clog.
To fix this problem, locate the air vent hole over the vent
tab, and poke a pin through it. Then reassemble the cartridge, reinstall it and
you should have good ink flow at this point.
Different models of cartridges have different procedures:
·
2100/2200 printer cartridges are a two piece design. You can access the
vent hole by separating the cartridges into its two halves. To separate the two
halves, hold the outer holder in one hand, and pry the inner portion out of it,
by pressing on the bottom part of the cartridge. The top of the inner portion
has a black plug and a small circular hole in it. Poke a pin through the
circular hole, but do not disturb the black plug. Reassemble the cartridge and
put it back into the printer.
·
R800/ R1800 printer cartridges are a different two piece design, and
again the vent hole is in the inner portion. Separate the cartridge by sliding
the inner portion out of the holder. At the top of the inner portion you will
see a black plug and two small, circular holes. Locate the hole nearest one edge
of the cartridge and poke a pin though that. Do not poke a hole through the
other hole (which is near the middle of the top of the cartridge), and do not
disturb the black plug. After poking a hole in the air inlet, reassemble the
cartridge and put it back into the printer.
Important note about troubleshooting: On most printers, the position of each “color,” or
shade or density of ink in the nozzle check pattern does not correspond to the
order of the cartridges in the printer. For example, the fourth cartridge from
the left in the printer may not be responsible for the fourth nozzle check
pattern position. Look at the color nozzle check pattern schematic on the Epson
utility and match the colors shown to the locations of each color position
cartridge, or position within a cartridge. Be sure to fix the correct cartridge
or position within a cartridge. As a simple precaution, it is often best to use
the above procedure on every cartridge, or every position within a
cartridge.
Tip #6: Scrub the bottom of the print
head.
Use This procedure to clean the bottom of the print head,
where the nozzles are located. You will manually move the print head back and
forth over a folded, wetted paper towel. This procedure can remove a buildup of
dirt (paper fiber) that may not be removed by print head cleaning cycles. Use
this procedure sparingly, and understand that it is the most invasive of the
tips listed, in that it can damage the print head if performed improperly. A dry
paper towel can actually scratch the print head, affecting its performance.
Additionally, if there is any abrasive residue built up on the print head, this
technique may either scratch the print head or else force a piece of solid
matter into a nozzle, permanently closing it. However, if used carefully and in
moderation, it can be a very effective cleaning technique, particularly on an
older printer, perhaps one that has never been cleaned before, or one that has
sat for a long period of time without use.
a. Get several paper towels and a glass of warm water or a
bottle of Windex.
b. Push the appropriate button(s) to move the print head to
the left side of the carriage. After the print head has moved, unplug the
printer power cord. If necessary, manually push the print head to the far left
side of the printer carriage.
c. Cut a paper towel in half, and fold the towel lengthwise
until the strip is about 1” (2.5cm) wide, by approximately 8 inches long.
d. Push the folded paper towel strip in the black plastic
channel beneath where the print head travels back and forth when printing.
e. Moisten the left one inch of paper. Manually slide the
print head over the left edge of the paper towel, trying not to slide or drag
the towel as you do so.
f. As soon as you can see a small portion of the paper towel
on the left side of the print head, wet the rest of the towel. Place a few drops
of water or Windex along the length of the towel, and let the liquid spread. The
paper should be completely dampened, but not oversaturated with liquid.
g. Gently slide the print head back and forth over the towel,
being careful not to shift or tear the towel as you do this. As you slide the
print head you will see the paper towel turn black. This is dried ink wiped from
the nozzle plate, and ink pulled out of the nozzles by capillary action.
h. After two or three passes over the paper towel, slide the
print head to the far left, remove the towel, and replace it with a new one,
following steps c-g above. Two towels are generally enough to remove the
majority of the debris on the print head. Additional towels will continue to
turn black, but this is mainly due to ink from inside the print head, wicking
onto the towel by capillary action.
i. When you have finished scrubbing the print head, remove
the towel, and use a clean, dry paper towel to clean up any liquid remaining in
the black plastic channel.
j. Plug in the printer, and run one or two cleaning cycles to
remove any remaining paper fibers from the bottom of the print head. Then verify
you have a perfect nozzle check pattern before
printing.