SECTION 4
MAINTENANCE
18
Short-term Storage
Leave the cartridge in the Printer for short periods of time, 1 day or less.
The next time that the Printer is used, the printhead may have to be cleaned and purged
Long-term Storage
Place the cartridges in the Cartridge Storage area located at the rear of the printer, or
Place the cartridges in a Tupperware container with a damp sponge or towel to maintain humidity and
prevent the printhead from drying out.
When the cartridges are ready to be used again, the printhead will need to be cleaned.
Disposal
The cartridge may be disposed of in a normal manner.
If there should be an ink spill, use soap and water to clean up any problem areas. Abrasive soap works well to
get the ink off hands.
Cleaning the Printhead
To maintain good print quality it is important that the printheads are kept clean. During the printing process ink
spray, paper fibers, and dust can cause a build-up on the printheads. This build-up will eventually degrade the print
quality. If you begin to notice problems with the quality of the print, or to just prevent a build-up from occurring
with the printhead with a wet fiberless cloth.
Cloth should be: Cloth should not be:
D Soft
D Fiberless
D Moist with Water (Distilled is best but tap
works)
U Abrasive
U Made of small fibers
U Dry or containing chemical additives
Wipe slowly across the long-axis with the printhead
facing down (as shown). Do not apply excessive force,
as this could scratch the nozzle area.
Purging the Nozzles
If the printhead sits inactive for a period, ink may dry in the nozzles. Printing may not remove these “ink plugs”
from the nozzles. White streaks will then show up in the printed text or graphic. In order to obtain better print
quality, these ink plugs need to be forced out or purged. A Purge routine is built into the ASTROJET
