EPSON Stylus Photo 820

8.If you need to replace the other ink cartridge, repeat steps 3 through 7 before continuing with step 9.

9.Press the e ink cartridge replacement button and close the printer cover. The printer begins charging the ink delivery system.

The green P power light flashes and the printer makes
noise. Charging takes about half a minute. When it’s

finished, the green P power light stops flashing and stays on, and the red b error light goes out.

Never turn off the printer while the green P power light is flashing, unless the printer hasn’t moved or made noise for more than 5 minutes.

Cleaning the Print Head

If your printouts are unexpectedly light or faint, or dots or lines are missing from the image, you may need to clean the print head. This unclogs the nozzles so they can deliver ink properly. Print head cleaning uses ink, so clean it only if quality declines.

This section explains how to clean the print head using the Head Cleaning utility. This is the recommended method when the printer is connected directly to your computer (not over a network).

You can also clean the print head by holding down the

bmaintenance button on the printer for three seconds (when the red b error light is off). See the electronic Reference Guide on your printer software CD-ROM for detailed instructions.

When you don’t turn on your printer for a long time, the print quality can decline. It’s a good idea to turn on your printer at least once a month to maintain good print quality.

3.Follow the instructions on the screen to clean the print

head. Cleaning takes about 30 seconds, during which the printer makes some noise and the green P power light flashes.

Never turn off the printer while the green P power light is flashing, unless the printer hasn’t moved or made noise for more than 5 minutes.

4.When the green P power light stops flashing, run a nozzle check to confirm the print head nozzles are clean.

Make sure paper is loaded in the printer and click Print nozzle check pattern. Then click Print. The nozzle check pattern prints (see the next section for details).

5.If the nozzle check pattern has no gaps or lines, click Finish.
If the pattern has white lines, click Clean to clean the print head again.

If you don’t see any improvement after cleaning three or four times, check the solutions in the Printer Basics book. You can also turn the printer off and wait overnight (allowing any dried ink to soften); then try cleaning the print head again.

Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern

Examine the nozzle check pattern you print. Each black and colored area should be complete, with no gaps or lines, as shown below:

❏If your printout looks okay, you’re done.

❏If you see any white lines or gaps (as shown below), clean the print head again; see the previous section for instructions.

Running the Head Cleaning Utility

Follow these steps to run the Head Cleaning utility:

1.Make sure the printer is turned on but not printing, and the red b error light is off. (If the red b error light is flashing or on, you may need to replace the ink cartridge; see page 6 for details.)

2.Do one of the following:

❏Windows: Right-click the printer icon on your taskbar (in the lower right corner of your screen). Select

Head Cleaning.
❏Macintosh: Open the File menu and choose Page
Setup or Print. Click the Utility button, then click the Head Cleaning button.
8 - EPSON Stylus Photo 820

Aligning the Print Head

If your printouts contain misaligned vertical lines, you may need to align the print head. Your printer must be connected directly to your computer (not over a network) to use the Print Head Alignment utility.

1.Make sure the printer is turned on, but not printing, and plain letter-size paper is loaded.

Load paper that’s at least 8.27 inches (210 mm) wide to prevent ink from spraying inside the printer and smudging your printouts.

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