Using The Control Panel; Examining The Nozzle Check Pattern; Aligning The Print Head - Epson Stylus Color 900N User Manual

Never turn off the printer while the P power light is
flashing, unless the printer hasn't moved or made noise
for more than 5 minutes.
6. When the P power light stops flashing, run a nozzle check
to test the results and reset the cleaning cycle.
Make sure paper is loaded in the printer and click
(Windows) or
nozzle check pattern
(Macintosh). Then click
prints; see "Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern" on
page 11 for details.
7. If the nozzle check pattern is filled in completely, click
.
Finish
If the pattern is missing dots, click
head again. Then try the suggestions in "Problems and
Solutions" in the Start Here book or "Troubleshooting" in
the EPSON Stylus COLOR 900N Manual.

Using the Control Panel

Follow these steps to clean the print head:
1. Make sure the printer is turned on but not printing, and
both the B black and A color ink out lights are off.
2. Press the R cleaning button and hold it down for three
seconds. Cleaning takes a little over a minute, during which
the printer makes some noise and the P power light flashes.
Never turn off the printer while the P power light is
flashing, unless the printer hasn't moved or made noise
for more than 5 minutes.
3. After the P power light stops flashing, 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 4.
If you're using DOS or printing over a network, open an
application and print a document containing black and
color data. Then go to step 8.
4. Start an application, open a document, and access the
printer settings dialog box.
5. Click the tab (Windows) or the
Utility
(Macintosh). You see the Utility menu.
6. Make sure paper is loaded in the printer, click the
icon, and click
Check Next
on the printer; see "Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern"
on page 11 for details.
7. If the nozzle check pattern is filled in completely, click
.
Finish
If the pattern is missing dots, click
head again.
Print
Confirmation
. The nozzle check pattern
Next
to clean the print
Clean
Utility icon
Nozzle
. The nozzle check pattern prints
to clean the print
Clean
8. If you don't see any improvement after cleaning two or
three times, then try the suggestions in "Problems and
Solutions" in the Start Here book or "Troubleshooting" in
the EPSON Stylus COLOR 900N Manual.

Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern

Examine the nozzle check pattern you print. It should look
something like this:
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 shown
below, clean the print head again; see page 10 for instructions.
missing dots

Aligning the Print Head

If your printouts contain misaligned vertical lines, you may
need to align the print head.
If you are using DOS, follow the instructions in "Aligning the
Print Head Using the Control Panel Buttons" instead.
Follow these steps:
1. Make sure the printer is turned on and letter-size paper is
loaded.
Load paper that's at least 8.27 inches (210 mm) wide.
This prevents ink from spraying inside the printer and
smudging your printouts.
For the best results, load EPSON ink jet paper in the
printer whenever you check the print head alignment.
2. Access the printer settings dialog box.
3. Click the tab (Windows) or the
Utility
(Macintosh). You see the Utility menu.
4. Click the
Print Head Alignment
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EPSON Stylus COLOR 900N
missing dots
Utility icon
icon.
EPSON Stylus COLOR 900N
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