String search
Word search

Clean Printheads

Introduction

Ink tends to accumulate on the bottom of the printhead nozzles and must be cleaned off on a regular basis. Clean printheads at least once a week and more often if needed.

IMPORTANT

To maintain print quality it is very important to swab the printheads once a week, or more frequently, if required. Failure to do this may result in plugged nozzles and poor image quality.

Equipment

  • Safety glasses with side shields

  • Gloves (for example: Ansell Microflex 93-260)

  • Foam tipped swabs

  • Cloth-Poly Wipe 10cm x 10cm (lint-free)

  • Isopropyl alcohol - IPA (>= 98%)

Perform AMS before and after you swab the printheads. This ensures that the swabbing is more effective at cleaning the printheads as any debris in the ink is first sucked out of the nozzles and then any residual alcohol left on the nozzles after maintenance is also sucked away.

CAUTION

UV inks and flush liquids can be harmful if not properly handled. Follow always the Safety Data Sheets (SDS) guidelines carefully in order to ensure maximum safety.

CAUTION

Wear protective sleeves during printhead maintenance (for example DuPont Tychem 6000 F oversleeve model PS32LA).

IMPORTANT

Do NOT use flush liquid for daily printhead maintenance. It may contribute to increased ink/flush pollution levels on the printheads and the underside of the carriage.

Procedure

  1. Perform an Automatic Maintenance with the AMS.
  2. Slide open the maintenance station drawer.
  3. Push the Raise Carriage button.
    NOTE

    Do NOT perform a purge before you swab the printheads.

  4. Dip the foam end of the swab or the lint-free cloth in the small container of Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solution. Use the lip of the container to wipe away any excess Isopropyl alcohol from the swab.

    IMPORTANT

    Keep swabs clean prior to use. Do not dip a used swab in the Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solution.

    Do not let the seam on the foam contact the bottom of the printhead. This can damage the printhead. See figure below.

    Proper Swab Orientation
  5. Position the foam end of the swab or the lint-free cloth at one end of the printhead as shown in the figure below.
  6. Slowly move the swab or lint-free cloth from one end of the printhead to the other. This should take approximately 2 seconds.
  7. Rotate the swab by 180 degrees to its clean side and repeat step 5 and 6 for the same printhead.
  8. Use a new dry swab to clean around the openings for the printhead. Run the swab around the perimeter of the opening. See path in figure below.
  9. Use the tip of the swab for the short ends. Turn the swab to the seam side to clean the long ends.

    Take special care to remove ink from the gap between the metal plates of the printhead and carriage base plate. See area indicated by the white ellipses in the figure above.

  10. Discard the swabs. Repeat the steps to clean the next printhead.
    NOTE

    A single wet swab is used to clean the surface of 1 double printhead. A dry swab is used to clean the opening around the printhead.

    IMPORTANT

    Never use the same swab on two different color channels.

    Never "scrub" the printhead with a swab as this will drag debris into other nozzles.

  11. Continue until all printheads are cleaned.
  12. Inspect all printheads for any residual ink. Remove with a clean dry swab if necessary.
  13. Close the Maintenance station drawer.

What to do next

NOTE

If too many nozzles are still clogged after cleaning the printheads, try the procedure: Manual Ink Purge and Printhead Swabbing.

Parent topic:
Printer Maintenance
Privacy Terms of use Cookie information