Epson CX7400 Product Information Guide - Page 10

Epson Stylus CX7400 Series 12. Press the y Stop button to begin charging the ink. This takes about 2 minutes. When it's finished, the P On light stops flashing and remains on. Caution: Never turn off the CX7400 Series while the P On light is flashing or you'll waste ink. If the B ink light flashes, press the y Stop button and press down all the cartridges securely. Adjusting Print Quality If the print quality declines, you may need to run a utility to clean or align the print head. You can use the control panel or software to run these utilities. See the on-screen User's Guide for instructions on using software. Checking and Cleaning the Print Head If your printouts become too light, or you see dark or light bands across them, you may need to clean the print head nozzles. Cleaning uses ink, so clean the nozzles only if print quality declines. You can check for clogged nozzles before you clean them so you don't clean them unnecessarily. Checking the Print Head Nozzles 1. Load several sheets of plain letter-size paper (see page 4). 2. Turn off the CX7400 Series. 3. Hold down the y Stop button as you press the P On button to turn the CX7400 Series back on. Hold down both buttons until the P On light begins to flash, then release the buttons. 4. Check the nozzle check pattern that prints to see if there are gaps in the lines: Nozzles are clean Nozzles need cleaning 5. If there are no gaps, the print head is clean. If there are gaps or the pattern is faint, clean the print head. Cleaning the Print Head Nozzles Note: You cannot clean the print head if an ink cartridge is low or expended. You must replace the cartridge first (see page 8). 1. Load several sheets of plain letter-size paper (see page 4). 2. Hold down the y Stop button for 3 seconds to start the head cleaning cycle, which lasts about 1 minute. The P On light flashes throughout the cleaning cycle and stays on when the cycle is finished. Caution: Never turn off the CX7400 Series during a cleaning cycle or you may damage it. 3. Run a nozzle check to verify that the print head is clean (see page 10). Note: If you don't see any improvement after cleaning the print head two times, turn off the CX7400 Series and wait at least 6 hours to let any dried ink soften. Then try printing again. If you do not use your CX7400 Series often, it is a good idea to print a few pages at least once a month to maintain good print quality. Aligning the Print Head If your printouts look grainy or blurry, or you see light or dark bands across them, you may need to align the print head. Note: Banding may also occur if your print head nozzles need cleaning. You can align the print head using the control panel or your software. See the on-screen User's Guide for instructions on using software. 1. Load several sheets of plain letter-size paper (see page 4). 2. Turn off the CX7400 Series. 3. Hold down the Copies button as you press the P On button to turn the CX7400 Series back on. Hold down both buttons until the P On light begins to flash, then release the buttons. The alignment sheet prints. 4. Look at pattern #1 and find the patch that is most evenly printed, with no noticeable streaks or lines. 5. Press the Copies button until the number for that patch appears in the Copies window. 6. Press the x Start B&W button. 7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each of the other alignment patterns. 8. The CX7400 Series will turn off when alignment is complete. 10 7/07