Cleaning The Print Head - Epson Stylus Color 440 Product Information

EPSON Stylus COLOR 440

Cleaning the Print Head

If your printed image is unexpectedly light or faint, or dots are
missing from the image, you may need to clean the print head.
This unclogs the nozzles so they can deliver ink properly.
Caution:
Don't use the cleaning sheets that may be included with
your special media; they may damage the printer.
Cleaning the print head uses ink, so clean it only if print
quality declines. You can use either of the following to clean
the print head:
The Head Cleaning utility in your printer software (if the
printer is on a local port rather than a network)
The printer's control panel buttons.
Using the Head Cleaning Utility
Follow these steps to run the utility:
1. Make sure the printer is turned on but not printing, and
that the B black and A color ink out lights are off. If either
ink out light is on, you must replace the ink cartridge before
cleaning the print head.
2. Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT 4.0:
Click , point to
Start Settings
Right-click the
EPSON Stylus COLOR 440
window.
Printers
Select (
Properties Document Defaults
Windows 3.1:
Double-click the
Control Panel
Double-click the
Printers
Select
EPSON Stylus COLOR 440
printers and click
Setup
3. Click the tab. You see the Utility menu.
Utility
4. Click the
Head Cleaning
5. Follow the instructions on the screen to clean the print
head. Cleaning takes about one minute, during which the
printer makes some noise and the P power light flashes.
When the cleaning cycle is finished (the P power light stops
flashing), you need to run a nozzle check to confirm that the
print head nozzles are clean and to reset the printer's
cleaning cycle.
Caution:
Never turn off the printer while the
flashing, unless the printer hasn't moved or made any
noise for more than 5 minutes.
10 - EPSON Stylus COLOR 440
, and then select
Printers
icon in the
in Windows NT).
icon in the Main group.
icon.
from the list of installed
.
button.
P power light is
6. Make sure paper is loaded in the printer and click
nozzle check pattern
the Nozzle Check Pattern" for instructions on examining
the nozzle check pattern.
7. If the pattern looks okay, click
Check dialog box. If the pattern is missing dots, click
to clean the print head again.
If your print quality has not improved, repeat the steps above.
Using the Printer Control Panel
Follow these steps to clean the print head:
1. Make sure the printer is turned on and not printing, and
that the B black and A color ink out lights are off. If either
ink out light is on, you must replace the ink cartridge before
cleaning the print head.
Caution:
Never turn off the printer while the
flashing, unless the printer hasn't moved or made any
noise for more than 5 minutes.
2. Press the R cleaning button and hold it down for three
seconds. Cleaning takes about one minute, during which
the printer makes some noise and the P power light flashes.
After the cleaning cycle is complete and the P power light
stops flashing, you need to confirm that the print head
nozzles are clean and reset the printer's cleaning cycle. You
.
can do this by printing a page or running a nozzle check (see
"Using the Head Cleaning Utility").
3. If your print quality has not improved, run another cleaning
cycle.
Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern
Examine the nozzle check pattern after printing it. It should
look something like this:
Each staggered horizontal and straight vertical line should be
complete, with no gaps in the dot pattern (the upper pattern is
black and the lower pattern is cyan, magenta, and yellow). If
your printout looks okay, you're done. If any dots are missing,
as shown below, clean the print head again, as explained in the
previous sections.
7/98
. Then click . See "Examining
Next
to close the Nozzle
Finish
P
power light is
missing dots
Print
Clean