EPSON Stylus COLOR 740
Cleaning the Print Head
If your printed image is unexpectedly light or faint, or dots are
missing from the image, you may need to clean the print head.
This unclogs the nozzles so they can deliver ink properly.
Cleaning the print head uses ink, so clean it only if print
quality declines. You can clean the print head in either of the
following ways:
With the Head Cleaning utility in your printer software
(when connected to a local port, not over a network)
Using the printer's control panel buttons
Using the Head Cleaning Utility
Follow these steps to run the Head Cleaning utility:
1. Make sure the printer is turned on but not printing, and the
B black and A color ink out lights are off.
2. Start an application and open a document.
3. Access the printer settings dialog box as described in the
Printer Basics book.
4. Click the
tab (Windows) or the
Utility
(Macintosh). You see the Utility menu.
5. Click the
Head Cleaning
6. Follow the instructions on the screen to clean the print
head. Cleaning takes a couple minutes, during which the
printer makes some noise and the P power light flashes.
When the P power light stops flashing, run a nozzle check
to test the results and reset the cleaning cycle.
Caution:
Never turn off the printer while the
flashing, unless the printer hasn't moved or made
any noise for more than 5 minutes.
7. Make sure paper is loaded in the printer and click
(Windows) or
nozzle check pattern
(Macintosh). Then click
prints on your printer; see "Examining the Nozzle Check
Pattern" below for details.
8. If the nozzle check pattern is complete, click
If the pattern is missing dots, click
cleaning cycle. If you don't see any improvement after
cleaning two or three times, check the print quality
solutions in the Printer Basics book.
14 - EPSON Stylus COLOR 740
Utility icon
icon.
P
power light is
Print
Confirmation
. The nozzle check pattern
Next
.
Finish
to run another
Clean
Using the Control Panel
Follow these steps to clean the print head:
1. Make sure the printer is turned on and not printing, and
that the B black and A color ink out lights are off.
2. Press the R cleaning button and hold it down for three
seconds. Cleaning takes a couple minutes, during which the
printer makes some noise and the P power light flashes.
Caution:
Never turn off the printer while the
flashing, unless the printer hasn't moved or made any
noise for more than 5 minutes.
3. After the P power light stops flashing, print a page to test
the print quality and reset the cleaning cycle.
If you're connected directly to the printer, run a nozzle
check. Go to step 4.
If you're using DOS or printing over a network, open an
application and print a document containing black and
color data. Then go to step 8.
4. Start an application, open a document, and access the
printer settings dialog box.
5. Click the
tab (Windows) or the
Utility
(Macintosh). You see the Utility menu.
6. Make sure paper is loaded in the printer and click the
icon, then click
Nozzle Check
pattern prints on your printer; see "Examining the Nozzle
Check Pattern" below for details.
7. If the nozzle check pattern is complete, click
8. If the pattern is missing dots, click
cleaning cycle.
9. If you don't see any improvement after cleaning two or
three times, check the print quality solutions in the Printer
Basics book.
Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern
Examine the nozzle check pattern you print. It should look
something like this, with the lower pattern colored magenta,
cyan, and yellow:
7/98
P
power light is
Utility icon
. The nozzle check
Next
.
Finish
to run another
Clean