Aligning The Print Heads - Epson Stylus Color 850 Manual

EPSON Stylus COLOR 850
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 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.
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 P power light flashes.
When the power light stops flashing, you need to run a
nozzle check to test the print quality and reset the cleaning
cycle.
Caution:
Never turn off the printer when the
unless the printer hasn't moved or made any noise for more than
10 minutes.
6. Make sure paper is loaded in the printer and click Print
nozzle check pattern (Windows) or Confirmation
(Macintosh). Then click Next. See "Examining the Nozzle
Check Pattern" for instructions.
If your print quality has not improved, repeat the steps above.
If you don't notice any improvement after doing this two or
three times, check the print quality solutions in the User's
Guide.
Using the Control Panel
Follow these steps to clean the print heads:
1. Make sure the printer is turned on and not printing, and
that the black and
B A
2. Open the printer cover, then press the
cleaning button and hold it for three seconds. Cleaning
takes about two minutes, during which the printer makes
some noise and the power light flashes.
P
3. When the power light stops flashing, repeat step 3 for the
P
other print head if necessary.
Caution:
Never turn off the printer when the
unless the printer hasn't moved or made any noise for more than
10 minutes.
10 - EPSON Stylus COLOR 850
P power light is flashing,
color ink out lights are off.
black or
Y X
power light is flashing,
P
4. After you're finished cleaning and the
flashing, you need to print a page to test the print quality
and reset the cleaning cycle. If you're connected directly to
the printer, run a nozzle check. Go to step 5.
If you're using DOS or a network interface card, open an
application and print a document containing black and
color data. Then go to step 7.
5. Access the printer settings dialog box. Then click the
Utility tab (Windows) or the Utility button (Macintosh).
You see the Utility menu.
6. Click the Nozzle Check icon, then click Next. See the
next section for instructions on examining the nozzle check
pattern.
7. If your print quality has not improved, repeat the steps
above. If you don't notice any improvement after doing this
two or three times, check the print quality solutions in the
User's Guide.
Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern
Examine the nozzle check pattern you print. 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, as illustrated
below, clean the print heads again.
color

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 ways:
With the Print Head Alignment utility in your printer
software (when the printer is connected to a local port only)
Using the printer's control panel buttons
3/98
P power light stops
missing dots