ASTRO astrojet II plus, Installation And Operating Manual

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38
Cleaning the Printhead
In order to achieve good print output; maintenance of the printhead is required. Paper
fibers and dust can build up on the printhead degrading the print quality. Proper
printhead maintenance will allow the cartridge to produce good print quality its whole
life. A cotton Tex Wipe
®
and distilled water is one of the best ways to wipe ink and
other build-up off of the printhead. A Tex Wipe
®
is 100% cotton, high-density cloth with
no chemical additives. Something comparable is adequate to wipe the nozzles. A good
choice of wipe would have the following qualities:
Soft
Fiberless
No chemical additives
Moist with distilled water
A cloth should NOT be:
Abrasive
Dry
Made of small fibers that can be left behind on the cartridge’s nozzle plate
Never use the following to wipe the printhead:
Industrial paper towels – these cloths usually contain a high recycle content and
are abrasive
Toilet paper – this is usually not fiberless
Sponge – particles from the sponge can be left behind on the nozzle plate
The cloth must be soft so that it does not scratch the printhead. It should be fiberless
because small fibers on the cloth can be left behind and block the nozzles of the
cartridge. The cloth must be moist or it will scratch the printhead. Scratches on the
printhead prevent the ink from coming out of the nozzle straight. If the ink drops do not
come out of the nozzles straight they will not land on the paper in the proper place
causing
fuzzy text. Distilled water is better than tap water because tap water contains
an unmonitored amount of minerals. During wiping, the water cleans out the nozzles
and the firing chambers. A small amount of water mixes with the ink in the chambers.
Over time, the minerals in tap water can leave behind deposits in the chambers that
block it completely. A blocked chamber will show up as a white streak in text or
graphics.
The direction and force of the wipe is also important to note. During wiping, harmful
particles on the top of the printhead can be wiped into the nozzles if you are not careful.
The cartridges need to be wiped in a certain way to obtain optimal print quality.
It is important to wipe the cartridge nozzles in the direction of the nozzle rows for
optimum print quality. See below: