Swab Printheads - Oce Arizona 640 GT User Manual

Swab Printheads

Introduction
To ensure optimal print quality, it is important to periodically clean the printheads with a swab to
remove any excess ink or any debris that was not removed by Printhead Maintenance.
Please note the following changes in procedure that will improve the value of swabbing
printheads:
• Perform Printhead Maintenance before and after you swab the printheads. This ensures that
the swabbing is more effective at cleaning the printheads as any debris in the ink is first sucked
out of the nozzles and then any residual flush or alcohol left on the nozzles after maintenance is
also sucked away.
• You may use either isopropyl alcohol (99%) or flush when swabbing the printheads. Alcohol
works best when nozzles are difficult to recover, but flush is still the preferred cleaner for daily
use.
• Do NOT perform a purge before you swab the printheads as documented in previous revisions
of this User guide.
• If you use Océ IJC258 ink there are additional changes that apply only to that ink. It has
improved adhesion so when uncured, it sticks to unintended surfaces. Therefore we
recommend that you swab the printheads daily rather than weekly. Also, if you used alcohol to
swab the printheads, finish with a flush-soaked swab to re-wet the nozzle plate to better
prepare the surface when using IJC258 ink.
Purpose
Important Caution: To maintain print quality it is very important to swab the printheads at least
once a week, or more frequently, if required. Failure to do this may result in poor image quality.
When to do
At the end of each week, clean the printhead nozzles using the swabbing procedure. This
procedure may also be used when regular printhead maintenance fails to fix blocked or misfiring
nozzles or to remove debris from the printhead.
IMPORTANT
Important Caution: To maintain print quality it is very important to swab the printheads at least
once a week, or more frequently, if required. Failure to do this may result in plugged nozzles and
banding .
If UV ink has fully cured on a printhead it must be replaced. Contact your Océ service
representative.
Before you begin
Print a Nozzle Check to determine if any nozzles are not firing properly. This will help to
determine whether some or all of the printheads must be swabbed. You can also do a visual
inspection of the nozzles (use a flashlight if the ambient room light is not adequate but keep
exposure to a minimum, especially with LED lights).
A small bottle (125ml) is supplied with the printer accessory kit. Label this bottle as "Flush" and
use it only to hold flush for use during the swab procedure. To prevent contamination of the flush
in the bottle, never re-dip a used swab in the flush.
Required tools
Foam Tipped Swabs (3010105434 Swab Foam Flex Tip)
Océ Arizona 600 Series
Swab Printheads
Chapter 12 - Printer Maintenance 191