Maintaining Your Printer; Cleaning The Print Head - Epson Stylus Photo 1280 Printer Basics Manual

Maintaining Your Printer

This section describes maintenance procedures to keep your printer working at its best
and preparation steps for moving your printer. Follow the instructions in these
sections:
■
"Cleaning the Print Head" below
■
"Replacing an Ink Cartridge" on page 7
■
"Aligning the Print Head" on page 11
■
"Cleaning the Printer" on page 13
■
"Transporting the Printer" on page 14
For more details, see your on-screen Reference Guide, as described on page 4.

Cleaning the Print Head

If your printed image is unexpectedly light, 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. Cleaning the print head uses ink, so clean it only if print quality declines.
This section explains how to clean the print head using the printer's Head Cleaning
utility, which is the recommended method when the printer is connected directly to
your computer (not over a network).
You can also clean the print head by holding down the b maintenance button on the
control panel for three seconds (when the b maintenance light is off).
Caution: When you don't turn on your printer for a long time, the print quality can
decline. It's a good idea to turn on your printer at least once a month to maintain good
print quality.
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