EPSON Stylus COLOR 500
Paper Handling Problems |
| Printer Care |
This section describes how to prevent paper jams and ensure that paper feeds properly.
Paper jam problems
If paper jams inside the printer frequently, try the following:
■Use a higher quality paper that is suitable for ink jet printers and is not too thin, too thick, or rough. For best quality, use EPSON special coated and
■Fan the stack of paper before you load it.
■If you loaded plain paper, try turning the stack over. The printable side may have been facing down.
■Do not load too many sheets in the sheet feeder. You can load up to 100 sheets of plain paper, 70 sheets of special coated paper, 50 sheets of transparency film (with one sheet of plain paper beneath the stack), 30 sheets of
Paper feeding problems
If paper does not feed properly, the most likely causes are:
■The paper was not loaded properly. Remove it. Fan the paper, and tap it on a flat surface. Insert the stack into the printer straight up and then rest it against the paper support.
■Paper is curled or folded. Use flat, undamaged paper.
■The paper is of poor quality; use a better quality paper.
■The paper is too thin or thick; see “Printer Specifications” for paper size and type specifications.
■The paper was exposed to excess humidity, over 60%. See “Printer Specifications” for the required environmental conditions.
■The left edge guide is too tight or too loose; adjust it for the size of the paper.
■Too many sheets are loaded in the sheet feeder. You can load up to 100 sheets of plain paper, 70 sheets of special coated paper, 50 sheets of transparency film (with one sheet of plain paper beneath the stack), 30 sheets of
Cleaning the Print Heads
The printer periodically cleans its print heads automatically, so normally you should not need to manually activate a cleaning cycle. However, if print quality diminishes, you can run a cleaning cycle to enable the nozzles to deliver ink properly. To avoid wasting ink, do not run a cleaning cycle unless necessary.
You can clean one or both print heads, one at a time. (You cannot clean them both simultaneously.) Each cleaning cycle takes about one minute, during which the carriage moves and you can hear the printer recharging the print heads. The Power light flashes throughout the cleaning cycle and then stays on when the cycle is finished.
To clean the color print head, make sure the printer is turned on but is not printing. Press the Cleaning NNN button. The cleaning cycle begins. When the cleaning cycle is over, the Power light stops flashing.
To clean the black print head, press the Cleaning O button. The cleaning cycle is over when the Power light stops flashing.
After you clean the print heads, turn off the printer; then hold down the Cleaning O button as you turn the printer back on. (Continue holding it down for a few seconds after turning on the printer.) This prints a demonstration page so you can see if the print quality has improved. If the print quality is not improved, repeat the cleaning cycle. (Be sure to always print at least a few lines between cleaning cycles to reset the printer’s cleaning mechanism.)
Replacing Ink Cartridges
The printer’s Ink Out O (black) and Ink Out NNN (color) lights tell you when the ink cartridges are low on ink and when you need to replace them. If one of these lights flashes, the indicated cartridge is low on ink; if it remains on, you need to replace the cartridge. Do not replace an ink cartridge unless its Ink Out light tells you to. If you replace a cartridge before its light flashes, the sensor that tells you when ink is out will not work properly with the new cartridge.
c Caution:
■ Leave the old cartridge installed in the printer until you are ready to replace it with a new one. Attempting to print without a cartridge installed can damage the printer.
■ If you need to replace a cartridge in the middle of a print job, you must turn off the printer and then turn it back on. This erases the data received by the printer and you must resend the print job.
■ Once you install the ink cartridges, do not open the clamps or remove the cartridges except to replace them with new ones. Once you remove a cartridge, you cannot reuse it.
EPSON Stylus COLOR 500 - 14 | 6/96 | Ink Jet Printers |