Epson Stylus COLOR 3000 Product Information Guide - Page 11

EPSON Stylus COLOR 3000 4. Click the Utility tab (Windows) or the Utility button (Macintosh). You see the Utility menu. 5. Click the Head Cleaning icon. 6. Follow the instructions on the screen to clean the print heads. You can clean the black or color print head separately, or you can clean both. Cleaning each head takes up to three minutes, during which the printer makes some noise and the Operate and Pause lights flash. Caution: Never turn off the printer while the Pause light is flashing. If, however, the Pause light flashes for more than five minutes after the printer has stopped moving or making any noise, you may turn off the printer. When the lights stops flashing, you need to run a nozzle check to test the print quality and reset the cleaning cycle. 7. Make sure paper is loaded in the printer and click Print nozzle check pattern (Windows) or Confirmation (Macintosh), and then click Next. If your print quality has not improved, repeat the steps above. Using the Control Panel 1. Make sure the printer is turned on and not printing. 2. Make sure all the Ink Out B lights are off. 3. To clean the black print head, press the B Cleaning button for three seconds. To clean the color print head, press the A Cleaning button for three seconds. Cleaning each head takes up to three minutes, during which the printer makes some noise and the Operate and Pause lights flash. 4. After the cleaning cycle is complete and the Pause light stays on without flashing, you can repeat step 3 to clean the other print head, if you wish. Then you need to run a nozzle check to test the print quality and reset the cleaning cycle. 5. Access the Main printer settings dialog box. 6. Click the Utility tab (Windows) or the Utility button (Macintosh). You see the Utility menu. 7. Click the Nozzle Check icon, then click Next. See the next section for instructions on examining the nozzle check pattern. If your print quality has not improved, repeat the steps above. Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern Examine the nozzle check pattern you print. It should look something like this, with the lower pattern colored cyan, magenta, and yellow: W01372 C01267 Each staggered horizontal and straight vertical line should be complete, with no gaps in the dot pattern. If your printout looks okay, you're done. If any dots are missing, clean the print heads again, as explained in the previous sections. Aligning the Print Heads If your printouts contain misaligned vertical lines, you may need to align the print heads. Using the Print Head Alignment Utility If you're using Windows or a Macintosh, follow these steps: 1. Make sure the printer is turned on. 2. Load several sheets of paper, at least 8.3 inches (210 mm) wide, into the paper tray, making sure the edge guides are positioned correctly and the paper-release lever is set to the singular sheet position. 3. Access the Main printer settings dialog box. 4. Click the Utility tab (Windows) or the Utility button (Macintosh). You see the Utility menu. 5. Click the Print Head Alignment icon. 6. Follow the instructions on the screen to print an alignment test page and select the correct alignment. Using the DOS Utility Before you can align the print heads, you need to install the DOS alignment utility. Follow these steps: 1. Make sure your computer and printer are turned on. 2. Load several sheets of paper, at least 8.3 inches (210 mm) wide, into the paper tray, making sure the edge guides are positioned correctly and the paper-release lever is set to the singular sheet position. 3. Insert the EPSON printer software CD-ROM or diskette into a drive. 4. At the DOS prompt, type D:\SETUP (where D is the drive letter of your drive) and press Enter. 5/97 EPSON Stylus COLOR 3000 - 11