Cleaning The Print Head; Printing A Nozzle Check; Using The Head Cleaning Utility - Epson LQ 580 Manual

EPSON Stylus Color 580

Cleaning the Print Head

If your printed image is unexpectedly light or faint, or dots or
lines are missing from the image, you may need to clean the
print head. This unclogs the nozzles so they can deliver ink
properly.
You can check to see if any nozzles are clogged by running the
Nozzle Check utility. Then, if you need to clean the print
heads, you can do so from the utility. See the next section for
instructions.
If you don't want to check the nozzles first, you can run the
Head Cleaning utility to clean the print head, as described on
page 8.
Cleaning the print head uses ink, so clean it only if print
quality declines.
When you don't turn on your printer for a long time, the
print quality can decline. It's a good idea to plug in your
printer at least once a month to maintain good print
quality.
If any paper you buy comes with a cleaning sheet, don't use
the cleaning sheet with your printer; it may jam inside the
printer.

Printing a Nozzle Check

Follow these steps for your operating system to run the Nozzle
Check utility:
1. Make sure the printer is plugged in but not printing.
2. Windows: Right-click the
your Windows taskbar, then select Nozzle Check in the
menu that appears.
To right-click, place your cursor on the
icon and click the right mouse button.
Or, if you have an application running, you can also
run the utility by accessing the printer settings dialog box as
described in your Printer Basics book. Click the Utility tab,
then click the Nozzle Check button.
Macintosh: Access the printer settings dialog box as
described in your Printer Basics book. Click the
button, then click the Nozzle Check button.
3. Make sure letter-size or larger paper is loaded in the printer.
Click Print (Windows) or Next (Macintosh) to print a
nozzle check pattern.
8 EPSON Stylus Color 580
-
Status Monitor 3 icon on
Status Monitor 3
Utility
4. Examine the nozzle check
pattern you print.
Each staggered horizontal and
straight vertical line should be
complete, with no gaps in the
dot pattern. If your printout
looks okay, click Finish.
If any dots are missing, as
shown here, click Clean and
follow the instructions on the screen to clean the print head
again. (The actual test prints the lower pattern in color.)
If you don't see any improvement after cleaning three or four
times, check the solutions in "Problems Getting Good Print
Quality" on page 35. You can also turn the printer off and
wait overnight—this allows any dried ink to soften—and then
try cleaning the print head again.

Using the Head Cleaning Utility

Follow these steps for your operating system to run the Head
Cleaning utility:
1. Make sure the printer is plugged in but not printing.
2. Windows: Right-click the
your Windows taskbar, then select Head Cleaning in the
menu that appears.
To right-click, place your cursor on the
icon and click the right mouse button.
Or, if you have an application running, you can also run the
utility by accessing the printer settings dialog box as
described in your Printer Basics book. Click the Utility tab,
then click the Head Cleaning button.
Macintosh: Access the printer settings dialog box as
described in your Printer Basics book. Click the
button, then click the Head Cleaning button.
3. Click Start (Windows) or Next (Macintosh) to start
cleaning. Cleaning takes about 30 seconds, during which
the print head moves and the printer makes some noise.
Never unplug the printer while it's cleaning the print
head.
4. When cleaning is finished, run a nozzle check to confirm
the print head nozzles are clean. Click Print Nozzle
Check Pattern.
8/00
missing
dots
Status Monitor 3 icon on
Status Monitor 3
Utility