Cleaning and Maintaining Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers are relatively inexpensive and easy to operate.
But sometimes you do have problems with them. Here are a few
problems you may experience and some possible solutions.
Inkjet printers work better with regular use. Many people, desiring
to save ink, never print in color. Then ink dries up in the nozzles
and they end up with a useless cartridge full of ink. The same
will happen with black ink if the printer is never used.
Clean Your Printer
Have you ever seen white lines running through your image like a
Venetian blind? It's likely that your printer needs cleaned. Relax -
it's not as difficult as it sounds. Cleaning printers does not
involve rags, cotton swabs, and cleaning solutions. Instead, you
need to run a
software program that controls the printer. While the exact
instructions may vary from printer to printer, here are some
instructions that may lead you to your printer's cleaning utility.
1. Click the Start Button
2. Click Settings (In Windows XP, click Control Panel.)
3. Click Printers
4. Double-Click the icon for your printer.
5. In the Print Manager Box, click the Printer Menu and choose
Properties.
6. Look for a Tab labeled Cleaning, Utility, Maintenance, or
something similar and click on it.
NOTE: Hewlett-Packard Printers have a Toolbox program that is
found in the Start menu under Programs. Find the name of the printer
and then click on the Toolbox Icon. You'll find your cleaning and
cartridge alignment properties there. You don't need to clean your
printer often - only if you notice a problem. Printers automatically
clean the print heads when they start up, or sometimes even in the
middle of a print. Aligning the Cartridge
Cartridge alignment settings are usually on the same screen as
the cleaning utilities. You should align the cartridge anytime you
change ink cartridges. The printer prints a sample sheet of vertical
and horizontal lines, and you must tell the computer which looks the
best. On some computers you type in the number of the set of lines
that looks best, on other computers you click a button next to the
matching number. Shut Down Properly
It is important to shut down your inkjet printer using the power
button on the printer. DO NOT SHUT IT OFF AT THE POWER STRIP. When
the printer is powered down correctly, the cartridges rest against a
rubber head to prevent them from drying. If the computer is turned
off by the power strip, the heads are not protected from the air and
ink dries in the nozzles more quickly. You know what it's like when you have
a spray can that's partly clogged - the spray comes out in rough
spurts instead of a smooth spray. The same thing happens with your
printer. Refilling Ink
The most frequently asked question I get about inkjet printers
is: "Should I buy a refill kit and refill my cartridges?" Your
printer manufacturer says NO - you should only buy cartridges from
the manufacturer. But then again, they want to make money. By
some reports, ink jet ink is worth up to $3,000 per gallon. I went
the refill kit route once. I won't do it again. It was messy and
less than effective. I had a lot of hassles with the printer. The
refill kit had enough ink to last me for years, but the ink expired
in just 6 months. As an expert explained it to me, each printer has
a certain viscosity (oiliness) that it expects in the ink. As the
ink ages, it loses it's viscosity and tends to clog the nozzles.
While I no longer refill my cartridges, I seldom buy cartridges from
the manufacturer either. I have found that many competing companies
produce good cartridges with good quality ink for less money. The
only thing missing is the brand name of the manufacturer.
You can also try taking your ink cartridges to professional discount
ink companies that will refill them for you. Sometimes this
works satisfactorily, but you will need to make that judgment based
on the performance of the refilled ink in your printer.
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