EPSON Stylus COLOR 900

Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern

Examine the nozzle check pattern you print. It should look something like this:

Each staggered horizontal and straight vertical line should be complete, with no gaps in the dot pattern. If your printout looks okay, you’re done. If any dots are missing, as shown below, clean the print head again; see page 10 for instructions.

missing dots

missing dots

Aligning the Print Head Using the Control

Panel Buttons

If you cannot use the print head alignment utility program that came with your printer, follow these steps to align the print head.

1.Make sure that letter-size or A4-size paper is loaded in the sheet feeder.

2.While holding down the R cleaning button, press the P power button to turn on the printer. Then release both buttons.

3.The S paper out light flashes for about three seconds. While it is flashing, press the E load/eject button.

The printer prints a sheet of instructions in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese explaining how to align the print heads. Follow these instructions.

If the E load/eject button isn’t pressed while the S paper out light is flashing, the printer enters default-setting mode. If this happens, turn off the printer and repeat steps 2 and 3.

4.After aligning the print head, turn off the printer to exit print head alignment mode.

Aligning the Print Head

If your printouts contain misaligned vertical lines, you may need to align the print head. Your printer must be connected to a local port, not on a network, to use the Print Head Alignment utility.

If you are using DOS, follow the instructions in “Aligning the Print Head Using the Control Panel Buttons” instead.

Follow these steps:1.Make sure the printer is turned on and letter-size paper is loaded.

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

For the best results, load EPSON ink jet paper in the printer whenever you check the print head alignment.

Cleaning the Printer

To keep your printer working at its best, you should clean it several times a year. Follow these steps:

1.Turn off the printer, unplug the power cord, and disconnect the printer cable.

2.Remove all the paper from the sheet feeder.3.Clean the exterior of the printer with a soft, damp cloth.4.Clean ink out of the printer’s interior with a soft, damp cloth.

Don’t touch the gears inside the printer.

Never use alcohol or thinner for cleaning; they can damage the printer components and case.

Don’t use a hard or abrasive brush.

2.Access the printer settings dialog box.

3.Click the Utility tab (Windows) or the Utility icon (Macintosh). You see the Utility menu.

4.Click the Print Head Alignment icon.

5.Follow the instructions on the screen to print a test page and select the correct alignment.

Don’t get water on the printer components and don’t spray lubricants or oils inside the printer.

Don’t use any cleaning sheets included with special media; they may jam inside the printer.

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EPSON Stylus COLOR 900 - 11