Cleaning Your Inkjet Printer
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You should remember to keep your inkjet printer well maintained a clean as not only will it make it look more presentable, but more importantly it will improve it’s performance and the quality of your print outs. Try to make cleaning the print heads, cleaning nozzles and the exterior of your printer a regular task as well as following each of these helpful steps:
Start the process by first switching off your printer. Wait until you are sure that all the parts have stopped moving and that the power light is definitely off. Some printers can take a moment or two to shut down so don’t act too quickly.
The first task is to wipe the outside of the printer. This should be done using a dry cloth which has no lint on it. Wipe down all of the outer surface and don’t forget to remove any trays so that you can reach all the areas.
The next task is to clean the inside of the printer. You need to first open the panel used to access the inkjet cartridges. Again with a dry cloth or an air duster remove the dust, dirt and any scraps of paper which may have got caught. If you can see any spots of ink then make sure you clean these up too. You need to take extra care so that you don’t accidentally make contact with any of the circuits or other electronic components.
When it comes to running the cleaning and nozzle test for your printer make sure you read the instruction book as the manner in which this is performed can vary from printer to printer. Generally it is accessed through the printer’s property pages. If you are using a PC then you will find it in Start->Settings->Control Panel->Printers and Faxes. Right click on your printer’s icon and then select ‘properties’. On the next screen you should see a tab that will relate to troubleshooting and maintenance. For those of you who are using a Max simply open up any programme that has a print option and go to File->Page Setup then select ‘Utilities’ and look for the nozzle cleaning option under printer tests.
If the test print doesn’t work then toy may wish to try and clean the cartridges manually, however you should only take this drastic step as a last resort when the printer’s self cleaning fails. Again, refer to your printer’s manual for specific instructions on how to remove the ink cartridge. You will then need to clean the opening of the ink cartridge which can be found on the bottom where the ink comes out. Clean it by using a q-tip that has been dabbed with a little water or some isopropyl alcohol.
Next you need to soak the ink cartridge. You can do this by soaking the cartridge overnight in a shallow dish of water. Fill up the dish so that it only just submerges the opening.
The final task is to clean the heads. Again this varies from printer to priner as som may have them built into the printer rather than the cartridge. When it comes to cleaning the heads, remove the cartridge from the printer as before and then put a few drops of alcohol or water into the hole that the ink comes out from. Then replace the cartridge back into the printer before running the printer’s head cleaning program again.
Dave Matthews is writing on behalf of Ink Technologies UK, a leading bulk inkjet ink supplier.
