Epson Stylus C86

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.

Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern

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

4.Follow the instructions on the screen to print a black vertical alignment test page. You see a screen like this:

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

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

5.Look at the five sets of patterns in your printout. For each set, if you see a pattern with no visible vertical lines, enter its number in the corresponding box on the screen and click

Next.

If you can’t find a pattern without any vertical lines, select the best pattern. Click Realignment and then Print to print another alignment sheet and repeat this step.

6.Click Print to print the color vertical alignment sheet. You see a screen like this:

Aligning the Print Head

If your printouts look blurry or grainy, or you see light or dark horizontal banding, you may need to align the print head.

Note: Banding may also occur if your cartridges are low on ink or you need to clean the print head.

1.Turn on the printer.

2.Load several sheets of paper.

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

Note: If you don’t see the icon, go to your printer properties window, click the Maintenance tab, then select Print Head Alignment

Macintosh OS X: Open the Applications folder and double-click the Epson Printer Utility icon. Select Stylus C86 in the printer list, click OK, and select Print Head

Alignment.

Macintosh OS 9: From the File menu, select Page Setup or Print. Click the Utility button, then click the

Print Head Alignment button.

7.Look at the four sets of patterns in your printout. For each set, if you see a pattern with no visible vertical lines, enter its number in the corresponding box on the screen and click

Next.

If you can’t find a pattern without any vertical lines, select the best pattern. Click Realignment to print another alignment sheet and repeat this step.

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