You must already know that it is completely one thing to own something and quite another to maintain it. Especially when it comes to tech gadgets, people often forget to conduct maintenance checks necessary for the prime working of those gadgets. For example, when was the last time you cleaned your Epson printer’s printhead? Can’t remember?
Are the prints coming out faint, incomplete, or streaked with lines? These are signs that your Epson printer has a clogged nozzle, a familiar problem user face with Epson printers. It is common sense and unavoidable that all printheads clog over time with usage.
Replacing cartridges promptly when the low ink alert goes off could help prevent the ink from drying inside the nozzles. Additionally, remember that blocked printheads can happen even if the printer is bought from an original Epson dealer in UAE.
Steps to Clean an Epson Printer
As the adage goes, prevention is always better than cure. In this vein, knowing the common causes of this issue can help prevent a clogged printhead after the necessary steps have been followed. Clogged printheads can be a hassle. Remember to use the printer regularly, change the ink cartridge immediately when alerted by the low ink warning, and always turn off the printer after usage.
Steps to clean a clogged Epson printhead are:
Using Paper Towels
Take a paper towel, and fold it in half several times (so that it’s long and skinny in shape, not square). Open the cover of your printer; you’ll see a rubber ball that moves the paper. Place the paper towel on top of the rubber roller and secure each end using tape.
Drop a few drops of distilled water near the middle of the paper towel and move the printhead assembly over the damp part of the towel. Let it rest for 15 minutes. Repeat the process (dampening different portions of the paper towel) until all the individual colors can be seen.
Using Distilled Water in Ink Port
First, remove the ink cartridges from the carriage. Once removed, you will see cone-shaped indents responsible for taking the ink from the cartridge to the printhead. You will need an eye dropper or a plastic syringe for the next step. Put a few drops of distilled water (or printhead cleaner) into the ink port explained earlier.
Replace the ink cartridges and wait for the printer to set them up. Wipe away residue water dripping from the printhead with a paper towel. How do you test clarity? Print out six or more pages of text and images to check.
Use an Inbuilt Cleaning Feature
This should have been the first cleaning step mentioned, but many people don’t know about the inbuilt printhead cleaning function. Many Epson models have a control panel featuring a cleaning utility option. Just press and hold the ‘Ink’ button for three seconds. Release the button after the duration or when the power light begins to flash.
Cleaning the printhead is easy as ABC, but only original printers and cartridges must be bought from first-party Epson dealers.
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