Maintenance
Print Head Maintenance
You need to perform print head maintenance if white
lines appear in your print outs or if you notice the print
quality has declined.
Maintenance Operations
You can perform the following printer maintenance
functions for maintaining the print head in good
condition to ensure the best print quality. Carry out
appropriate maintenance depending on the print
results and situation.
Automatically detecting clogged
nozzles
The printer has functions that allow it to automatically
detect the position of clogged nozzles in the print head
and perform cleaning without having to print a nozzle
check pattern.
Note:
❏
This function does not guarantee 100% detection of
clogged nozzles.
❏
A small amount of ink is consumed when detecting
clogged nozzles.
❏
Ink is consumed when performing automatic
cleaning.
You can set the following two items on the Printer Setup
menu.
U
Auto Nozzle Check
When this is set to On, the status of the nozzles is
checked at the following times. When clogged nozzles
are detected, cleaning is performed automatically the
number of times set on the control panel.
❏
When printing starts (periodically or every job)
❏
Before and after head cleaning
c
Important:
Even if
Auto Cleaning Setting
from
Auto Nozzle
Check
is set to
Off
, an auto nozzle check is always
performed at the following times.
❏
After initial ink charging
An auto nozzle check is performed after ink
charging to check the status of the nozzles. If
clogged nozzles are detected, auto cleaning is
performed once.
❏
Before changing the type of black ink
Since black inks cannot be changed correctly if
nozzles are clogged, an auto nozzle check is
performed. If nozzles are clogged, auto cleaning
is performed (up to three times) until the
nozzles are cleared regardless of the
Auto
Clean Max Repeat
setting.
Timer Cleaning
After the set time has passed from the end of the
previous print job, auto cleaning is performed when the
following operations are performed. If the nozzles are
not clogged, cleaning is not performed.
❏
The printer is turned on.
❏
The printer returns from sleep mode.
Checking for clogged nozzles using
the printed check pattern
The following two methods are available.
On-Demand Nozzle Check Pattern
We recommend printing a nozzle check pattern and
performing a visual inspection before printing when the
printer has not been used for an extended period or
when printing important print jobs. Visually inspect the
printed pattern and clean the print head if you notice
faint or missing areas.
U
“Checking for clogged nozzles” on page 126
SC-P9000 Series/SC-P7000 Series/SC-P8000 Series/SC-P6000 Series User's Guide
Maintenance
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