Cleaning the Print Head

If printouts are faint or have gaps, you should clean the print head to clear the clogged nozzles. Clean the print head only if print quality declines or image colors are incorrect. You can clean the print head when printing is paused, if necessary, but the colors in your printout may change when you resume printing.

Note: You can also set up the product to automatically clean the print head at selected intervals using the Periodic CL Cycle setting in the Media Setup menu.

You can select from two levels of head cleaning:

Cleaning (Light): Use this cleaning level first.
Cleaning (Heavy): Use this cleaning level if you cannot clear the clogged nozzles after cleaning with the light level.

Note: If colors are faint or missing even after cleaning the print head, manually clean around the print head inside the product.

Press the maintenance button on the control panel. You see the Maintenance menu.
Press the down arrow button to select Cleaning and press the OK button.
Press the up or down arrow button to choose one of the following cleaning options:
- Cleaning (Light) > All Nozzles: Select this option when you see faint printing or gaps in all rows of nozzles in the check pattern. Press the OK button and print head cleaning starts. Go to step 5.
- Cleaning (Heavy) > Selected Nozzles: Select this option when you see faint printing or gaps in only certain rows of nozzles in the check pattern. Press the OK button. Go to step 4.
To select specific nozzle rows for cleaning, press the up or down arrow button to highlight the row number and press the OK button. Repeat for each row you want to clean. When you finish, press the OK button to select Done. Print head cleaning starts. When it is complete, the menu closes.
Note: If you paused printing to clean the print head, printing resumes when cleaning is finished.
Print a nozzle check pattern or check your printout to confirm that the nozzles are cleared.