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The print head is clogged, but the “Clean Print Head” button and a damp cloth didn’t solve the problem.
- Your print head may not be salvageable, but you’ve got nothing to lose by trying. Put the end of the cartridge where the ink comes out in a small bowl containing about ½ cup of very hot water. Hold it there for 3 or 4 minutes. You should see some printer ink start to bleed out. Then carefully wipe the copper circuits and the metal contacts which touch the printer with alcohol. Run it through another “Clean Print Head” cycle and try printing again.
The print is wavy or slanted.
- You probably need to replace your ink cartridge. Most likely, the resistors which control the current to the individual nozzles in your cartridge have worn out (either due to age or from overheating, if you let the ink run out). You can’t refill this cartridge -- you must replace it.
The new (or newly-refilled) cartridge isn’t working.
- Sometimes the print head’s ink chamber needs to be filled with ink when you are using a brand new cartridge -- this happens when an air pocket blocks the flow of ink from the bottom of the cartridge. The simple way to solve this problem is as follows: Wrap the cartridge in a cloth and then in a plastic grocery bag, making sure the print head is facing the bottom of the bag. Swing the bag around and around in a big circle, to create a centrifugal force which will push the ink into the chamber.
- Sometimes the stickers or seals that the manufacturer puts on the cartridge can block the all-important vents on the cartridge. If this is the case, use a pin to re-establish the ventilation to all of the ink tanks or chambers. Be sure to run a cleaning cycle after doing this.
- If your printer prints a few pages on your new cartridge and then stops, try unplugging the printer and waiting a few minutes before plugging it in again. Occasionally, the printer will not recognize the newly refilled cartridge as full, but will think that it’s out of ink when it really isn’t. Unplugging the printer clears its memory, so that this problem is solved.
Troubleshooting tips, page 1
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