EPSON Stylus Color 580
8
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EPSON Stylus Color 580
8/00
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
Status Monitor 3 icon on
your Windows taskbar, then select
Nozzle Check
in the
menu that appears.
To right-click, place your cursor on the
Status Monitor 3
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
Utility
button, then click the
Nozzle Check
button.
3. Make sure letter-size or larger paper is loaded in the printer.
Click
(Windows) or
Next
(Macintosh) to print a
nozzle check pattern.
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
Status Monitor 3 icon on
your Windows taskbar, then select
Head Cleaning
in the
menu that appears.
To right-click, place your cursor on the
Status Monitor 3
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
Utility
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
.
missing
dots
