Epson Stylus COLOR 800N Product Information Guide - Page 11

EPSON Stylus COLOR 800N Printer Care Cleaning the Print Heads If your printed image is unexpectedly light or faint, or dots are missing from the image, you may need to clean the print heads. This unclogs the nozzles so they can deliver ink properly. Cleaning the print heads uses ink, so clean them only if print quality declines. You can clean the print heads in either of the following two ways: t With the Head Cleaning utility in your printer software (when the printer is on a local port rather than a network) t Using the printer's control panel buttons Using the Head Cleaning Utility Follow these steps to run the utility from a Windows computer or a Macintosh: 1. Make sure the printer is turned on but not printing, and the B black and A color ink out lights are off. 2. Access the main printer settings dialog box. 3. Click the Utility tab (Windows) or the Utility button (Macintosh). You see the Utility menu. 4. Click the Head Cleaning icon. Caution: Don't turn off the printer while the P power light is flashing, unless the printer has not moved or made noise for more than 5 minutes. 5. Follow the instructions on the screen to clean one or both print heads. Cleaning each head takes about two minutes, during which the printer makes some noise and the Ppower light flashes. When the power light stops flashing, you need to run a nozzle check. 6. Make sure paper is loaded in the printer and click Print nozzle check pattern (Windows) or Confirmation (Macintosh). If your print quality has not improved, repeat the steps above. Using the Control Panel To Clean the Print Heads Follow these steps to clean the print heads using the control panel buttons: 1. Make sure the printer is turned on and not printing, and that the B black and A color ink out lights are off. 2. Open the printer cover. 3. Press the Y black or X color cleaning button and hold it for three seconds. Cleaning takes about two minutes, during which the printer makes some noise and the Ppower light flashes. 4. When the Ppower light stops flashing, repeat step 2 for the other print head if necessary. After you're finished cleaning and the Ppower light stops flashing, you need to run a nozzle check. 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. 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 after cleaning the print heads. It should look something like this, with the lower pattern colored cyan, magenta, and yellow: 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. You can align the print heads in either of the following two ways: t With the Print Head Alignment utility in your printer software (when the printer is on a local port rather than a network) t Using the printer's control panel buttons Using the Print Head Alignment Utility Follow these steps to run the utility from a Windows computer or a Macintosh: 1. Make sure the printer is turned on and paper is loaded. Caution: Load paper that's at least 8.27 inches (210 mm) wide. This prevents ink from spraying inside the printer and smudging your printouts. 10/97 EPSON Stylus COLOR 800N - 11