Step by Step Guide: How to Clean Printer Heads?

To maintain a high standard of printing quality, it is important to perform regular printer maintenance, regardless of the model or age of your machine. All machines require proper care to prevent breakdowns, and this is especially true for inkjet printers.

If you use branded, compatible, or reused cartridges, there is a chance that the ink will dry out and clog the nozzle.

This can cause further problems if not addressed properly, and could even damage your printer. so in this article, we will talk about how to clean printer heads.

Table of Contents

How to Clean Epson Printhead?

Not sure how to clean your Epson printhead? So don’t worry these instructions will guide you through the process.

Most modern printers have similar cleaning functions, so this guide will be helpful even if your printer isn’t an Epson.

If you see that the low ink light is either flashing or on permanently, there is no need to run a nozzle check. This means that your ink cartridge needs to be replaced because you are currently out of ink.

To start the cleaning process when the ink light is off, hold down the ink button for three seconds. The printer is working as intended when the power and ink light start flashing. It’s crucial not to turn the printer off while the cleaning process is underway, as this could damage the machine.

If the flashing stops, check the print head again to make sure it’s clean.

If the problem persists, repeat the process. It may be helpful to leave the printer overnight for the ink to settle before trying again.

Clean a Printhead from a Computer

Depending on your printer make, you can clean the printhead right from your computer – it’s easy and quick to do. Just be sure the paper tray is loaded first. These instructions may vary slightly.

For Windows

Start the start menu search, or choose, the Control Panel.
Choose Devices and Printers and right-click your printer model.
Next go to the drop-down menu, you’ll need to click, Properties.
Select the Maintenance tab. Here you’ll be able to find Tools, where you can choose, Clean Ink Cartridges, Clean Heads, or something similar.
Follow these instructions and leave until it has finished the cleaning process.

For Mac

Start the Apple menu in the top left corner and press System Preferences from your drop-down menu.
When you Printers & Scanners and press your model.
Click Options & Supplies and select the Utility tab.
Start Printer Utility and press the Deep Cleaning function.
Then take some rest at the printer after completing the cleaning process.

Related Post: How to Add a Printer to Mac?

Manually Clean a Printhead

To clean a print head manually, you’ll need water and a lint-free cloth or paper towel. Follow these steps to clean your print head:

You should try the printer off and unplugged to prevent damage to the device and yourself.
Unpack the printer, locate the cartridges and separate these.
Separate the tray in your printers cartridges sit in – this is the printhead unit. May be it will have several holes in the bottom.
No doubt some printer models, such as an HP, will have the printhead on the cartridge, in this situation; it won’t have a tray to clean.
Lightly clean with a soft cloth and water.
Use a soft brush to lightly cover the foil and electrical contact area with a damp cloth until no new ink appears on the cloth. Then, remove any dried ink debris from the printhead contacts, edge, and ramps. Finally, clean the electrical contacts inside the printer too.
If you’ve removed the print head then, you should soak it in a bowl of shallow water for around five minutes. This will loosen any dried ink. Clean the print head unit on a paper towel to remove any ink and moisture. Remember that it is completely dry before inserting back into the printer.
After you’ve cleaned your printer and everything is back in its place, it’s time to check the quality of your printing with a nozzle check.

If you have been unhappy with your printouts as of late and find that your printhead needs to be cleaned, follow these tips to get the job done quickly and efficiently.

In some cases, you may just need to replace your ink cartridges – which we have a range of both branded and compatible options available to fit every budget.

How to Perform a Nozzle check?

You can clean your printer’s nozzle by running a nozzle check from your printer’s control panel on the machine or via your computer’s utility settings.

Printer’s Control Panel

You’ll need to access the maintenance screen by finding the setup page through the printer’s home button.
Before you print, please check that you have selected the correct print head nozzle and that there is paper in the loading tray.
You’ll know it’s time to clean the printhead when you start seeing blotchy lines on your CMYK color chart. If you see any gaps in the lines, that’s another sign that it’s time for a cleaning.

Computers Utility Settings

To open the printer utility, you will need to locate it first. This can be done by finding the System Preferences or Settings option in your task menu. Once you have found it, simply click on it to open the utility.
To open Printers & Scanners, select your printer and open the Printer Utility.
To clean the printhead, you’ll need to select Nozzle Check and see if the printout contains any gaps or blotches in the lined color chart.

Conclusion

In the event, you do not desire to spend money on a new printer; you ought to know it is possible to fix your printer to be able to make it work once more.

There are two ways to fix your printer when it is not printing properly. You can either clean the printer heads in your printer or replace the printer heads.

Cleaning the printer heads is one of the most common ways to fix a non-printing printer. This is the simplest way to fix a printer, but it may not work in all printers.

To clean a printer head, we provide you a proper guide to clean it. We hope you enjoyed our article about how to clean printer heads.

When your printer is not printing correctly, it could be due to a number of different reasons. With this information, you will be able to make sure that your printer is working at its optimum level.