Epson Stylus Pro 5500 Product Information Guide - Page 12

EPSON Stylus Pro 5500 Loading Paper in the Optional Lower Tray Always pull the paper tray completely out of the lower paper cassette before you insert paper. Note: If you use paper longer than letter size in the lower tray, pull out the tray and cover extensions of the upper paper tray, so your printouts will be supported when they come out of the printer. To print on paper in the lower tray, select Paper Tray (Lower) or Auto Select in your printer software before you send the print job. Cleaning the Print Head If your printed image is unexpectedly light or faint or dots are missing from the image, you may need to run a cleaning cycle. This unclogs the print head nozzles so they can deliver ink properly. The cleaning cycle uses ink, so you should run it only if print quality declines. You can run a printer check or the Nozzle Check utility to determine if the cleaning cycle has been successful, or if you need to run it again. There are two ways to run a cleaning cycle: ❏ Using the Head Cleaning utility in your printer software (not available if you're accessing the printer over a network) ❏ Using the printer's control panel buttons Using the Head Cleaning Utility Follow these steps to run the Head Cleaning utility: 1. Make sure the printer is turned on but not printing, and the Ink Out light is off. If the Ink Out light is flashing or on, you need to replace the ink cartridge(s)-indicated by the H ink out lights-instead. See page 12 for instructions. 2. If you have an application running, access the printer settings dialog box. Or, with Windows, click Start, point to Settings, and select Printers. Right-click the EPSON Stylus Pro 5500 printer icon. Then select Properties (Windows 95, 98, or 2000), Document Defaults (Windows NT), or Printing Preferences (Windows 2000). 3. Macintosh: Click the utility button. Windows: Click the Utility tab. 4. On the Utility menu, click the Head Cleaning button. 5. Follow the instructions on the screen to clean the print head. Cleaning takes about 90 seconds, during which the printer makes some noise and the POperate light flashes. Caution: To avoid damaging the printer, never turn it off while the P Operate light is flashing-unless the printer hasn't moved or made any noise for more than five minutes. 6. When the POperate light stops flashing, run a nozzle check to confirm the print head nozzles are clean. Make sure paper is loaded in the printer, then: Macintosh: Click Confirmation, then click Next. Windows: Click Print nozzle check pattern, then click Print. The nozzle check pattern prints. 7. If the nozzle check pattern has no gaps in its dots, click Finish. If the pattern is missing dots, click Clean to clean the print head again. If you don't see any improvement after cleaning three or four times, check the solutions in your Printer Guide. You can also turn the printer off and wait overnight-this allows any dried ink to soften-and then try cleaning the print head again. Cleaning the Print Head Using the Control Panel Clean the print head using the control panel buttons if you're accessing the printer over a network or not using the EPSON printer driver and utilities. Follow these steps: 1. Make sure the printer is turned on but not printing, and the Ink Out light is off. If the Ink Out light is flashing or on, you need to replace the ink cartridge(s)-indicated by the H ink out lights-instead. See page 12 for instructions. 2. Press the Cleaning button and hold it down for three seconds. The P Operate light begins flashing, and the printer ejects any paper in the paper path. The cleaning cycle takes about 90 seconds. 12 - EPSON Stylus Pro 5500 2/01