Chapter 4
Printhead
Maintenance
Page 4-1
4.1 General
Maintenance
In order to obtain good print quality, the print heads must be properly maintained. During
printing, ink and paper dust can build up on the face of the ink pen(s) resulting in poor
print quality. As a result, each ink cartridge must be properly cleaned and/or replaced
when warranted.
The general procedure for cleaning an ink cartridge is to wipe the nozzle plate with a
moist cotton cloth (
can be purchased through Buskro with p/n 800900
). Only distilled or
de-ionized water should be used to avoid mineral deposits from building up on the pen.
Although cloths can be purchased from Buskro, any cloths with the following
characteristics are acceptable:
•
Soft (to avoid printhead scratching)
•
Fibreless (to avoid small fibres from blocking the nozzles)
•
No chemical additives
Note:
Never use industrial paper towels, toilet paper, or sponges to wipe the ink pens.
This can result in permanent damage to the ink pens.
4.1.1 Ink Pen Cleaning
There are two main methods of cleaning the ink pens. Each individual ink pen can be
removed from the stall and wiped, or the entire print head assembly can be tilted to wipe
multiple pens simultaneously. The method used depends on the preference of the
operator. When cleaning the print head, the following must be considered:
1.
Use a soft, fibreless cloth.
2.
The cloth must be moistened with de-ionized or distilled water before
wiping.
3.
Wipe the cartridges in the direction of the nozzle rows (
4.
Wipe the cartridges with the cartridge pointing down (printhead down).
5.
Do not apply heavy pressure while wiping. A gentle wipe is sufficient.
Buskro Ltd.
Apollo Ink Delivery System
