HP 51633M Printhead And Interconnect Care, Inserting and Removing the Print Cartridge, Wiping

3. PRINTHEAD AND INTERCONNECT CARE

3.1 Inserting and Removing the Print Cartridge

The print cartridge should stay in the carriage at all times except when the operator is

?Replacing it

?Cleaning it

?Storing it

	The print cartridge should never be:
	?	Shaken
Watch Out!	?	Dropped

?Hit against the palm of one’s hand or any other hard surface (e.g. a table)

Shaking the print cartridge does NOT “mix” up the ink and hitting the cartridge against a hard surface does NOT clear the nozzles. Both of these actions actually hurt the print quality because they allow bubbles to form near the ink firing chambers. These bubbles prevent the nozzles from firing causing white streaks in print and images.

3.2 Wiping

The secret to good print output is the maintenance of the printhead. During printing, ink can build up on the printhead causing black or colored spray in the text. Paper fibers and dust can also build up on the printhead degrading the print quality. Proper printhead maintenance will allow the cartridge to produce good print quality its whole life. A cotton TexWipe® and de- ionized or distilled water is one of the best ways to wipe ink and other build- up off of the printhead. A TexWipe® is a 100% cotton, high-density cloth with no chemical additives. Contact information to order TexWipes is located at the end of this document. Something comparable is adequate to wipe the nozzles. A good choice of wipe would have the following qualities:

?Soft

?Fiberless

?No chemical additives

?Moist with De- ionized or Distilled Water

A cloth should NOT be:

?Abrasive

	? Dry
Watch Out!	? Made of small fibers that can be left behind on the cartridge’s nozzle
	plate

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