Medium Cleaning Method

The print heads are important components that discharge ink. They require periodic and appropriate maintenance. When problems such as dot drop-out are not resolved by normal cleaning, perform the more forceful "medium cleaning" to remove clogging from the print heads.
IMPORTANT:

Medium cleaning consumes more ink than normal cleaning, and overly frequent use may damage the print heads themselves. Avoid performing this operation more than necessary.

Procedure
  1. Press [FUNCTION].
  2. Press [▶].
  3. Press [▼] several times to display the screen shown below.


  4. Press [▶] to display the screen shown below.


  5. Check for the group with dot drop-out or dot displacement by viewing the results of the printing test.
    Missing blocks indicate dot drop-out. Collapsed or inclined blocks indicate dot displacement.

    The space from "A" to "B" is group A. The space from "B" to the right side is group B.

    The following figure shows the "TEST PRINT 2" test pattern.


    MEMO: If the printing-test results are difficult to interpret

    Examine the results from different angles in a well-lit location. They are visible using the reflection of the light.

  6. Select the group of print heads to clean.
    1. Press [◀] or [▶] to select the group of print heads that is not to be cleaned.


    2. Press [▲] or [▼] to get rid of the group display.


    3. Repeat steps (1) and (2) to display only the group of print heads that requires cleaning.
      Only the displayed groups will be cleaned. If A and B are displayed, they will both be cleaned.
  7. Press [ENTER].
    The screen shown below appears, and then cleaning starts. The (approximate) remaining time for the procedure is displayed on the screen. (The display shown below is an example. "01:45" = "1 minute and 45 seconds")


    When finished, the screen shown below appears again.


  8. Press [◀] twice.
  9. Display the printing test menu.

    TEST PRINT

    Press [▲] several times to display the screen shown below.

    It is difficult to check the white ink if the paper for use in the printing test is white. We recommend printing on transparent paper.


    TEST PRINT 2

    Press [▲] several times to display the screen shown below.

    Because white ink is printed on a black undercoat, white ink can be easily checked even when printed on white paper. However, printing takes longer than "TEST PRINT."


  10. Press [ENTER].
    Perform a printing test again to check whether the dot drop-out and dot displacement have been corrected.
    Point:

    • If the problem persists, perform normal cleaning or medium cleaning again.

    • If problems such as dot drop-out and dot displacement persist even after you have performed normal cleaning or medium cleaning several times, perform "powerful cleaning."

    • This cleaning can be effective when carried out periodically, according to the frequency of use.