Epson Stylus Pro 4800
8/05 Epson Stylus Pro 4800 - 9
Checking and Cleaning the Print Head
If your printed image shows a color shift or horizontal lines,
you should check the print head to see if any nozzles are
clogged.
Note:
You can run a cleaning cycle by holding down the Menu button for
three seconds. You can also use the printer’s menus to run a power
cleaning cycle. See below for details.
You can check the print head nozzles and select the Auto
Cleaning feature at the same time, using your printer utility
software. This enables the printer to print a nozzle check
pattern, read it, and automatically run a cleaning cycle if
necessary.
1. Make sure paper is loaded in the paper tray.
2. Do one of the following to access the printer utilities:
❏ Mac OS X: Open the Epson Printer Utility in your
Applications folder. Select
Stylus Pro 4800, and
click
OK.
❏ Windows XP: Click
Start and select Control Panel.
Double-click
Printers and Faxes. Right-click your
printer icon and select
Printing Preferences. Click the
Utility tab.
❏ Windows 2000: Click
Start, point to Settings, then
select
Printers. Right-click your printer icon and select
Printing Preferences (Windows 2000). Click the
Utility tab.
You see a screen like the following:
3. Click the
Nozzle Check icon.
4. Click
Print to print the nozzle check pattern.
5. Examine the nozzle check pattern to make sure it has no
gaps or lines.
❏ If the printout looks okay, you’re done. Click
Finish.
❏ If you see any gaps, click
Clean to clean the print head
and follow the on-screen instructions.
6. If the nozzles do not clear after a few cleaning cycles, run a
Power Cleaning Cycle, as described in the next section.
Running a Power Cleaning Cycle
You can run a power cleaning cycle from the control panel if
the normal cleaning process is not sufficient to clear the
nozzles. However, the power cycle uses a large quantity of ink,
so it is recommended only as a last resort.
The cartridges need to be at least 50% full to use power
cleaning. You may need to replace a low cartridge to run the
cleaning cycle. After cleaning, you can reinsert the old
cartridge.
Caution:
Don’t run a cleaning cycle while thick media is loaded in the printer.
1. Print a nozzle check to make sure the print head needs
cleaning, as described above.
2. Make sure the printer is ready and the red B ink light on the
printer’s LCD panel is not on or flashing.
3. Press the
Menu button.
4. Press the button until you see
MAINTENANCE, then
press
Menu .
5. Press the button until you see
PWR CLEANING, then
press
Menu . Press Menu again to start the power
cleaning.
6. Follow the instructions on the LCD panel to raise or lower
the ink levers.
7. When cleaning is finished and the
Pause light stops
flashing, print the nozzle check again to confirm that the
head is clean.
For effective cleaning, always run a nozzle check between
cycles.
Note:
You must use at least a 10
× eye loupe to check the pattern.
If the pattern is still missing segments after a few power
cleaning cycles, turn the printer off and leave it overnight,
then clean the print head again the following morning with
regular cleaning cycles. If you still see no improvement,
contact Epson for assistance.
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