I cleaned the print head three times, but my printout still has white or dark lines running through it. What should I do?

  • If you still see white or dark lines or missing nozzles in your printouts, even after cleaning the print head several times, you can run a Power Cleaning.

    If you do not see improvement after running a Power Cleaning, turn off the product and wait at least 12 hours before running another Power Cleaning.

    Caution:
    Running a Power Cleaning consumes a lot of ink, so you should run it only if necessary. Make sure each ink tank is at least one-third full before running a Power Cleaning, or it may damage the product. Power Cleaning may cause the ink pads to reach their capacity sooner. When an ink pad reaches the end of its service life, the product stops printing and you must contact Epson for support.

    Caution:
    Power Cleaning may cause the ink pads to reach their capacity sooner. When an ink pad reaches the end of its service life, the product stops printing and you must contact Epson for support.

    Related concepts
    Print Head Nozzle Check
    Related tasks
    Checking Ink Levels on Your Product
    Refilling the Ink Tanks
    Loading Paper in the Sheet Feeder

    Power Cleaning Using a Computer Utility

    You can run a Power Cleaning using a utility on your Windows or Mac computer.

    Note: After running a Power Cleaning, you must turn off the product and wait at least 12 hours before running another Power Cleaning.

    1. Make sure no product lights are indicating errors.
    2. Load a few sheets of plain paper in the product.
    3. Do one of the following:
      • Windows: Access the Windows Desktop and right-click the icon for your product in the right side of the Windows taskbar, or click the up arrow and right-click . Select Printer Settings and click the Maintenance tab.
      • Mac: In the Apple menu or the Dock, select System Preferences. Select Print & Fax, Print & Scan, or Printers & Scanners, select your product, and select Options & Supplies. Select Utility and select Open Printer Utility.
    4. Select Power Cleaning. You see a window like this:

    5. Follow the on-screen instructions to run a Power Cleaning.
    6. When Power Cleaning is finished, run a nozzle check.

    If the print quality did not improve, turn off the product and wait at least 12 hours before running another Power Cleaning.

    If the print quality does not improve after running the Power Cleaning utility multiple times, contact Epson for support.

    Related concepts
    Print Head Nozzle Check
    Related tasks
    Checking Ink Levels on Your Product
    Refilling the Ink Tanks
    Loading Paper in the Sheet Feeder
Published:  Oct 19, 2017 Was this helpful?​ Thank you for the feedback!
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