Once the second clean is complete, power off the printer. If gaps are still present, perform another head clean (without printing a nozzle check between the cleans). If there are gaps or faint print on your printout click Clean.If the nozzle check is complete, click Finish.If the nozzle check prints correctly (showing no breaks in the pattern), but the text is still broken you may need to run the Print Head Alignment utility - see How do I use the Print Head Alignment utility in Windows? for assistance.If there are gaps or the print out is faint, click Clean, and then Finish when the procedure is complete. Compare the print out with the next window. You can also access the print Nozzle Check option from the Maintenance or Utility menu. This procedure will confirm the effectiveness of the head clean. Doing so may damage the printer.Ĭlick Print Nozzle Check Pattern. Never turn off the printer while the On light is flashing. This will launch the utility.Ĭlick Start and wait for the printer to finish the first cleaning cycle. This will display the Printing Preferences window.Ĭlick on the Maintenance (or Utility) tab.Ĭlick on Head Cleaning.Right-click on the icon for your printer and select Printing Preferences. Open the Devices and Printers or Printers and Faxes folder.įor detailed instructions on this step see How to open the Devices and Printers folder in Windows. To clean the print head in the event of poor print quality, use the utility in the Epson printer driver.

Replace the appropriate ink cartridge first. When ink is expended you cannot clean the print head. When ink is low you may not be able to clean the print head.Use the Nozzle Check utility first to confirm that the print head needs to be cleaned.

Clean the print head only if print quality declines, for example if the printout is blurry or the color is incorrect or missing.

The amount used depends on the number of head cleans required. This process will require you to load several sheets of A4 plain bond paper into the printer, and will consume some ink from the cartridges. This article explains how to use the head cleaning utility in Windows.

One or more colours are missing from the print.

The printer appears to be printing, but only produces blank pages.

Head cleans may be required if you are experiencing poor print quality, such as:

Epson ink test