EPSON Stylus C84

Cleaning the Print Head

If your printouts are unexpectedly light, or dots or lines are missing, 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.

You can also clean the print head by holding down the button on the printer for three seconds. (This only works when the red light is off.)

Caution: When you don’t turn on your printer for a long time, print quality can decline, so turn it on and print a few pages at least once a month to maintain good print quality.

4.When the green power light stops flashing, make sure paper is loaded in the printer, then do the following:

Windows: Click Print nozzle check pattern. Then click Print.

Macintosh: Click Confirmation, then click Next.

The nozzle check pattern prints (see “Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern” below for details).

5.If the nozzle check pattern has no gaps or white lines, click

Finish.

If the pattern has white lines, click Clean to clean the print head again.

You can also turn the printer off and wait overnight—this allows any dried ink to soften—and then try cleaning the print head again.

Running the Head Cleaning Utility

1.Make sure the printer is turned on but not printing, and the red ink light is off. (If the ink light is flashing or on, you need to replace a cartridge.)

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

Macintosh OS X: Open the Applications folder and double-click EPSON Printer Utility. Select Stylus C84 in the printer list, click OK, and select Head Cleaning.

Macintosh OS 8.6 to 9.x: Open the File menu and choose Page Setup or Print. Click the utility button, then click the Head Cleaning button.

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

Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern

Examine the nozzle check pattern you printed. Each staggered line should be solid, with no gaps, as shown.

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

❏If you see any gaps (as shown below), clean the print head again.

Windows

Macintosh

Cleaning takes several seconds. The printer makes noise and the green power light flashes.

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

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