Product Information Guide

EPSON Stylus C44 Series
4/03 EPSON Stylus C44 Series - 7
Cleaning the Print Head
If your printouts are 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.
Print head cleaning uses ink, so clean it only if quality
declines.
This section explains how to clean the print head using the
Head Cleaning utility. This is the recommended method
when the printer is connected directly to your computer (not
over a network).
You can also clean the print head by holding down the
b maintenance button on the printer’s control panel for 7
seconds when the red
b error light is off.
Caution: When you don’t turn on your printer for a long time,
the print quality can decline. It’s a good idea to turn on your
printer at least once a month to maintain good print quality.
Running the Head Cleaning Utility
1. Make sure the printer is turned on but not printing, and the
red
b error light is off. (If the b error light is flashing or
on, you may need to replace the ink cartridge; see page 6 for
details.)
2. Do one of the following:
■ Windows: right-click the Status Monitor icon on
the right side of the Windows taskbar. Then click
Head Cleaning.
■ Macintosh OS 8.6 to 9.x: Open the File menu and
choose
Page Setup or Print. Click the utility
button, then click the
Head Cleaning button.
■ Macintosh OS X: Double-click the Applications folder
on your hard drive. Double-click
EPSON Printer
Utility
, select the C44 Series printer, and click OK.
Then click the
Head Cleaning button.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen to clean the print
head. Cleaning takes about 30 seconds, during which the
printer makes some noise and the green P power light
flashes.
Caution: 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.
4. When the P power light stops flashing, run a nozzle check
to confirm the print head nozzles are clean.
Make sure plain paper (not special ink jet paper) is loaded
in the printer and click
Print nozzle check pattern. Then
click
Print. The nozzle check pattern prints (see the next
section for details).
5. If the nozzle check pattern has no gaps or lines, click
Finish.
If the pattern has white lines, click
Clean to clean the print
head again.
If you don’t see any improvement after cleaning three or
four times, check the solutions in the electronic User’s Guide
on your printer software CD-ROM. 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.
Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern
Examine the nozzle check pattern you print. Each black and
colored area should be solid, with no gaps or lines, as shown
below:
■ If your printout looks okay, you’re done.
■ If you see any white lines or gaps (see below), clean the print
head again; see the previous section for instructions.
Aligning the Print Head
If your printouts contain misaligned vertical lines, you may
need to align the print head. Your printer must be connected
to a local port, not on a network, to use the Print Head
Alignment utility.
1. Make sure the printer is turned on, but not printing, and
letter-size plain paper (not special ink jet paper) is loaded.
Caution: Load paper that’s at least 8.27 inches (210 mm)
wide to prevent ink from spraying inside the printer and
smudging your printouts.
2. Do one of the following:
■ Windows: right-click the Status Monitor icon on
the right side of the Windows taskbar. Then click
Print Head Alignment.
■ Macintosh OS 8.6 to 9.x: Open the File menu and
choose
Page Setup or Print. Click the utility
button, then click
Print Head Alignment.
■ Macintosh OS X: Double-click the Applications folder
on your hard drive. Double-click
EPSON Printer
Utility
, select the C44 Series printer, and click OK.
Then click
Print Head Alignment.