Epson Stylus COLOR 480SXU Product Information Guide - Page 7

EPSON Stylus Color 480SXU Replacing an Outdated Ink Cartridge If you need to replace an ink cartridge before you see a Status Monitor 3 message, follow the steps here to use the Ink Cartridge Replacement utility. Before you begin, make sure you've read the ink cartridge precautions on page 5. You can only access the Ink Cartridge Replacement utility from the Windows Printers utility, as described in the steps below. You can't run the utility from within a Windows application. 1. Make sure the printer is plugged in but not printing. 2. Click Start, point to Settings, then select Printers. Right-click the EPSON Stylus COLOR 480SXU icon and click Properties from the menu that appears. 3. Click the Utility tab, then click the Ink Cartridge Replacement button. 4. Follow the instructions on the screen to replace the ink cartridge. After you've installed the cartridge, the printer begins charging ink for several minutes. 5. Wait until you see a message telling you that charging is complete before resuming printing. Never unplug the printer while it's charging ink. Cleaning the Print Head If your printed image is unexpectedly light or faint, or dots or lines are missing from the image, you may need to clean the print head. This unclogs the nozzles so they can deliver ink properly. You can check to see if any nozzles are clogged by running the Nozzle Check utility. Then, if you need to clean the print heads, you can do so from the utility. See the next section for instructions. If you don't want to check the nozzles first, you can run the Head Cleaning utility to clean the print head, as described on page 7. Cleaning the print head uses ink, so clean it only if print quality declines. When you don't turn on your printer for a long time, the print quality can decline. It's a good idea to plug in your printer at least once a month to maintain good print quality. If any paper you buy comes with a cleaning sheet, don't use the cleaning sheet with your printer; it may jam inside the printer. Printing a Nozzle Check Follow these steps for your operating system to run the Nozzle Check utility: 1. Make sure the printer is plugged in but not printing. 2. Right-click the Status Monitor 3 icon on your Windows taskbar, then select Nozzle Check in the menu that appears. Or, if you have an application running, you can also run the utility by accessing the printer settings dialog box as described in your Printer Basics book. Click the Utility tab, then click the Nozzle Check button. 3. Make sure letter-size or larger paper is loaded in the printer. Click Print to print a nozzle check pattern. 4. Examine the nozzle check pattern. Each staggered horizontal and straight vertical line should be complete, with no gaps in the dot pattern. If your printout looks okay, click Finish. If any dots are missing, as missing dots shown here, click Clean and follow the instructions on the screen to clean the print head again. (The actual test prints the lower pattern in color.) If you don't see any improvement after cleaning three or four times, check the solutions in your Printer Basics book. 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. Using the Head Cleaning Utility Follow these steps to run the Head Cleaning utility: 1. Make sure the printer is plugged in but not printing. 2. Right-click the Status Monitor 3 icon on your Windows taskbar, then select Head Cleaning in the menu that appears. Or, if you have an application running, you can also run the utility by accessing the printer settings dialog box as described in your Printer Basics book. Click the Utility tab, then click the Head Cleaning button. 3. Click Start and follow the instructions on the screen. Cleaning takes about 30 seconds, during which the print head moves and the printer makes some noise. Never unplug the printer while it's cleaning the print head. 9/00 EPSON Stylus Color 480SXU - 7