Epson Stylus Pro 9000 Product Information Guide - Page 10

EPSON Stylus Pro 9000 series Running a Nozzle Check The nozzle check prints a pattern of dots that lets you see if any print head nozzles are clogged. If any dots are missing, you can run a cleaning cycle to clear the nozzles. Follow these steps to print the nozzle check: 1. Load a sheet of paper in the printer. (You can print the nozzle check on roll paper, but you will use more paper.) 2. Press the SelecType button on the control panel repeatedly until you see TEST PRINT MENU on the display. 3. Press the Item button. You see NOZZLE CHECK=PRINT on the display. 4. Press the Enter button. The nozzle check prints as shown below. If all the lines on the check pattern are complete, with no gaps in the dot pattern, the print head doesn't need cleaning: If dots are missing from the pattern, as shown below, you need to run a cleaning cycle. See the following section for instructions. Running a Cleaning Cycle 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 process uses ink, so you should run it only if print quality declines. Always run a nozzle check first to confirm that the print head needs cleaning; the nozzle check uses only a small amount of ink. If you have installed the EPSON printer driver and utilities, you can run the Head Cleaning utility. Follow these steps to run the cleaning cycle from the printer's control panel: 1. Make sure none of the Ink Out lights is on or flashing. (If so, you need to replace the indicated ink cartridge before you can run a cleaning cycle.) 2. Press the Cleaning button and hold it for three seconds. The Pause light flashes as the printer cleans its print head. The cleaning cycle takes about three minutes, and does not use any paper. Caution: To avoid damaging the printer, don't turn it off until the cleaning cycle is finished and the Pause light has stopped flashing. 3. When the Pause light goes off, print a document or run a nozzle check to confirm that the print head is clean. You may need to run the cleaning cycle several times to get a clean nozzle check pattern. If the lines on the pattern still appear broken after several cleaning cycles, contact EPSON for assistance. Always run a test print or nozzle check between cleaning cycles. Otherwise, cleaning will not be effective. Aligning the Print Head If banding appears on your printouts, or vertical lines are not straight, you need to align the print head. You can use the Print Head Alignment utility if you have the EPSON printer driver installed. If not, you can align the print head using the control panel. Both procedures align the head for all modes and resolutions. Print head alignment is a two-part procedure: ❏ First you print a series of alignment or adjustment patterns. ❏ Then you determine which numbered row of patterns (EPSON Stylus Pro 9000) or numbered line or box (EPSON Stylus Pro 9500) is best aligned (has the smallest gaps). You enter the information on the control panel to align the print head. Printing the Alignment Patterns For the EPSON Stylus Pro 9000, use 13 × 19-inch EPSON coated ink jet paper (short edge first). You'll need 4 sheets to complete the alignment procedure, which includes 12 patterns of 7 rows each and takes about 15 minutes. For the EPSON Stylus Pro 9500, you can use EPSON roll paper. Six patterns of 15 lines or boxes are printed, which takes about 10 minutes. The patterns are repeated across the width of the paper. Follow these steps to align the print head using the control panel: 1. Load paper in the printer. 2. Press the SelecType button until HEAD ALIGNMENT MENU is displayed. 10 - EPSON Stylus Pro 9000 series 8/00