How do i clean the print head please - Lexmark X4650 InkJet Printer

Cleaning the Print Head

Using the Head Cleaning utility
Using the control panel buttons

If you find that the printout is unexpectedly faint or some dots are missing, you may be able to solve these problems by cleaning the print head, which ensures that the nozzles are delivering ink properly.

You can clean the print head from your computer using the Head Cleaning utility in the printer software or from this product itself by using the control panel buttons.

Note:

• Print head cleaning uses both color and black inks. To avoid wasting ink, clean the print head only if the copy quality drops (for example, blurred printout, incorrect or missing color.)

• Use the nozzle check first to confirm that the print head needs to be cleaned. This saves ink.

• When the Error light is on and a message appears on the LCD panel to prompt you to replace the ink cartridge or to indicate the ink is low, you cannot clean the print head. In this case, replace the appropriate ink cartridge first.

Using the Head Cleaning utility

Refer to the appropriate section below to use the Head Cleaning utility.

For Windows

Follow the steps below to clean the print head using the Head Cleaning utility.

Make sure that A4 or Letter size paper is loaded in the sheet feeder.

Make sure that this product is on and the ! Error light is off.

Access the printer software.Accessing the Printer Software for Windows

Click the Maintenance tab, then click the Head Cleaning button.

Follow the on-screen instructions.

Head cleaning... appears on the LCD panel while this product performs the cleaning cycle.

Caution:Never turn off this product while Head cleaning... appears on the LCD panel. Doing so may damage this product.

When Head cleaning... disappears from the LCD panel, click Print Nozzle Check Pattern in the Head Cleaning dialog box to confirm that the print head is clean.

Good: print head does not need to be cleaned yet.

Not Good: print head needs to be cleaned.

If the nozzle check page does not print satisfactorily, you may need to repeat the head cleaning and print the nozzle check pattern again. See Cleaning the Print Head.

Note:

• If the copy quality has not improved after repeating this procedure four or five times, turn this product off and leave it alone overnight. Then, perform the nozzle check again and repeat the head cleaning if necessary.

• If the copy quality still has not improved, one or both of your ink cartridges may be old or damaged and may need to be replaced. To replace an ink cartridge before it is empty, see Replacing an Ink Cartridge. If the copy quality remains a problem after replacing the ink cartridges, contact your dealer.

• To maintain good copy quality, we recommend copying a few pages at least once every month.

Hi,

You need to clean the print head and insert the cartridge and check, whether it is working at fine because a dirty printer header will not allow the right formulation of the basic cyan, magenta, and yellow to print and comes up with the yellow color and not red.
If you still face the problem after cleaning print head then you need to check for a clogged nozzle. Clean the nozzle and then try printing it will work fine now.
To clean the print head from the Utility section found in the printer driver, clean the print heads by performing a head cleaning followed by printing a nozzle check pattern. Furthermore, you can clean the print head by Using a cotton Q-Tip & Isopropyl Alcohol and gently rub the print head with alcohol.

Hope this helps.

If you still have any queries, please feel free to ask us.

Shane

Use the printer's utility program to self-clean the printer. This process may need to be repeated as many as 5 to 10 times. Often this will resolve the problem.

Turn the printer off, preferably overnight, if the self-cleaning utility has not worked. The ink may need to soften before the self-cleaning utility will be successful. Turn the printer on and try the self-cleaning utility again several times.

Determine from the owner's manual where the print head is located. Epson printers, for example, are usually in the printer. Many other brands place the print head in the cartridge.

Remove the cartridge. For models where the print head is in the printer, drop seven to 10 drops of isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) down the ink receptacle area. This is the hole where the ink flows into the head from the cartridge. Run a few self-cleaning utilities. If necessary, allow to sit a few hours or overnight and repeat the self-cleaning utility.

Soak the cartridge print head in hot water if the print head is in the cartridge. Allow to soak overnight. Dry the print head area with a paper towel. Repeat the self-cleaning utility.

Place the cartridge print head in isopropyl alcohol if the hot water soak did not unclog the print head. Leave the print head covered in alcohol overnight. Use a damp paper towel to wipe off the print head area. Dry carefully. Try the self-cleaning utility again.

Purchase a new cartridge if the alcohol soak did not unclog the print head in the cartridge. This will provide new print heads that won't be clogged. Contact a service technician for repair of print heads in the printer if the alcohol did not unclog the print head.

Hi there,
When printing becomes faint or colors are incorrect, even if ink remains in the ink tanks, the print head nozzles are probably clogged. Follow the procedures below to clean the nozzles.

Step 1 : Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern.
If white stripes are noticeable
Step 2 : "Aligning the Print Head"
If print quality is poor
Step 2 : "Print Head Cleaning"
if the problem remains
Step 3 : Print Head Deep Cleaning"
if the problem still remains
Step 4 : Replacing Ink Tanks.

Note : * If the ink tank replacement does not resolve the problem, contact the Customer Care Center.
* You will be alerted if low ink warning is enabled.
* When the Maintenace button on the operation panel is pressed, the maintenance mode is shown. Numbers and functions that can be selected on the maintenance mode as follows :
01 : Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern
02 : Print Head Cleaning
03 : Print Head Deep Cleaning
04 : Aligning the Print Head
05 : Reset the ink counter.
06 : "Display" or "Not Display" remaining ink volume.
07 : Date and order setting.

Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern : Print the nozzle check patterb to determine whether the ink ejects properly from the print head nozzles and to verify print head alignment. Use this function when printed results are blurred or the color is incorrect,
1) With the printer on, load a sheet of Letter paper in the printer.
2) Print the Nozzle Check Pattern.
a) Press the Maintenance button,
b) The Maintenance icon and 01 appear on the LCD.
c) Press the OK button. The nozzle check pattern is printed.
3) Examine the nozzle check pattern output by the printer.
a) Lines missing in this pattern indicate that the print head of black ink requires cleaning. Perform the Print Head Cleaning.
b) White stripes in this pattern indicate that the print head of color ink requires cleaning. Perform the Print Head Cleaning.
c) Uneven patterns indicate that the print head requires alignment.
Perform Aligning of Print Head.
d) Noticeable white stripes in this pattern indicate that the print head require alignment.
Perform Aligning of Print Head.

Print Head Cleaning : Clean the print head if you suspect that the nozles might be clogged. Cleaning the print head consumes ink, so perform print head cleaning only when necessary.
1) Ensure that the printer is on.
2) Start print head cleaning.
a) Press Maintenance button.
b) Press right arrow once to display 02 on the LCD.
c) Press the OK button.
Important : Do not perform any other operations until the print head cleaning finishes. This takes about 50 seconds.
Note : After the print head cleaning finishes, print the nozzle check pattern to verify that the print head nozzles are clean.
If the problem persists, perform printhead deep cleaning.

Print Head Deep Cleaning : If print quality does not improve by standard print head cleaning, try print head deep cleaning, which is more powerful process. Print head deep cleaning consumes ink, so perforn this procedure only when necessary.
1) Ensure that the printer is on.
2) Start Print Head Deep cleaning.
a) Press Maintenance button.
b) Press right arrow twice to display 03 on the LCD.
c) Press the OK button.
Important : This process takes one or two minutes to complete so simply wait until the Power lamp stops flashing.
Note : After printhead deep cleaning finishes, print the nozzle check pattern to verify that the printhead nozzles are clean.
If the printhead is still not clean after the second deep cleaning, replace the ink tank.
If ink tank replacement does not resolve the problem, the print head may be worn out. Contact the Customer Care Center.

Hope this helps.
Please rate my response.
Thanks.

Have a good day.

Hi, To ensure this is only an issue with the black, I recommend printing off a nozzle check. This will show you if this problem is effecting any of the other colours.
To print a nozzle please refer to chapter 12 page 115 of the manual,
If colours are missing I recommend cleaning the print head. You have two options for cleaning the print head a normal clean and a deep clean, start by doing a normal clean if required try doing a deep clean.
You can download the manual here:
http://www.fixya.com/support/p360568-canon_multipass_mp390_all_in_one_inkjet/manual-10203#

The following a step by step instructions for the printer issue:
Confirm the ink tank(s) are properly installed
Perform print head alignment
Perform Print Head Cleaning - iP4500
If the prints are faint or streaks are printed, the print head nozzles may be clogged. Those phenomena can be improved by performing print head cleaning or print head deep cleaning. Also, you can check the cleaning results by printing the Nozzle Check Pattern after cleaning.
Remove tape from the ink tank and make sure the air hole is clear
Your feedback is very important to us, please do not forget to rate my service for the site to continue helping everyone and improve on it.
I thank you for the opportunity to help and please do not hesitate in contacting me for any further questions…god bless

You need to conduct the following steps:
Printing the Nozzle Check Pattern
The nozzle check pattern shows if each print head nozzle is operating properly.

You can also print the nozzle check pattern from your computer.

1. Load A4- or letter-size plain paper in the Auto Sheet Feeder (ASF) or cassette.
2. Press <Feed Switch> button to select the paper source.
3. In either COPY, PHOTO, or FILM menu screen, press <Menu> button.
4. Press the left or right arrow to select [Maintenance/Settings], then press <OK>.
5. Use left or right arrow to select [Maintenance] and press <OK>.
6. Use up or down arrow to select [Nozzle Check] and press <OK>.
7. When prompted to print a nozzle check pattern, use the up arrow to select [Yes] and then press <OK>.
   The machine prints a nozzle check pattern

Print Head Cleaning / Head Refreshing
If the printed nozzle check pattern is broken, missing, or a specific color is not printed, clean the print head.
MEMO:
a. Cleaning the print head consumes a small amount of ink. Cleaning too often reduces the amount of ink in the ink tanks.
b. Print head cleaning is performed when you connect the power cord. Your machine may perform print head cleaning periodically to avoid clogging.

1. In either COPY, PHOTO, or FILM menu screen, press <Menu> button.
2. Press the left or right arrow to select [Maintenance/Settings], then press <OK>.
3. Use left or right arrow to select [Maintenance] and press <OK>.
4. Use up or down arrow to select [Print Head Cleaning] or [Head Deep Cleaning] as necessary and then press <OK>.

When prompted to clean the print head, use the up arrow to select [Yes and then press <OK>.

IMPORTANT:
If normal print head cleaning does not improve print quality, perform deep print head cleaning.
Print Head Alignment in Windows
If colors mix or streaks appear in the nozzle check pattern, perform the print head alignment.
The print head alignment can be performed either automatically or manually.
If the automatic print head alignment does not resolve the problem, perform the print head alignment manually.

Your feedback is very important to us, please do not forget to rate my service for the site to continue helping everyone and improve on it.
I thank you for the opportunity to help and please do not hesitate in contacting me for any further questions…god bless

Solution: Perform the print head cleaning procedure MP750 / MP780

Print Head Cleaning / Head Refreshing If the printed Nozzle Check Pattern is broken, missing, or a specific color is not printed, clean the print head.

1. Press the <Menu> button on the printers operation panel repeatedly until [MAINTENANCE] appears in the LCD.
   
   
2. Press the left [<] or right [>] arrow buttons to select the cleaning setting you want. Select [HEAD CLEANING] or [HEAD REFRESHING] for deep print head cleaning.
   
   Note: [HEAD REFRESHING] uses more ink than [HEAD CLEANING], so perform [HEAD REFRESHING] only when necessary.
   
   
3. Press the <OK> button.
   
   
4. Print a Nozzle Check Pattern and perform at least two Head Refreshings if the pattern is not correct.
   

Now if you mean not printing the letters correctly go to this site and download the drivers and reinstall them. Also you will find manuals on HOW TO sort of thing:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=SupportDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=238&modelid=10444#DownloadDetailAct

hope this helped, please leave rating

Cleaning your head might resolve your problem. Perform the below steps to clean the head:

Print Head Cleaning / Head Refreshing If the printed nozzle check pattern is broken, missing, or a specific color is not printed, clean the print head (Cleaning) or print head deep cleaning (Deep Cleaning). Note:

1. Cleaning the print head consumes a small amount of ink. Cleaning too often reduces the amount of ink in the ink tanks.
   
   
2. Print head cleaning is performed when you connect the power cord. Your machine may perform print head cleaning periodically to avoid clogging.
   

Overview:
Step1:
Print the Nozzle Check Pattern.
To check whether the print head nozzles are clogged, print the Nozzle Check Pattern.
If the print quality is poor, perform print head cleaning.
Step 2:
Perform print head cleaning.
This unclogs the print head nozzles
Print the Nozzle Check Pattern again.
To check whether the print head nozzles are clogged, print the Nozzle Check Pattern.
If the print quality is still poor, perform two print head cleanings.
Print the Nozzle Check Pattern again.
Step 3:
Perform deep print head cleaning.
This is a more powerful cleaning.

Displaying the Maintenance screen

1. Ensure that the printer is powered on.
   
   
2. Press the <Menu> button.
   
   
3. Press the left or right cursor to select [Maintenance/settings], then press <OK>.
   
   
4. Press the left or right cursor to select [Maintenance], then press <OK>.
   

Print Nozzle Check Pattern

1. Press the Open button to open the output tray.
   
   
   
   
2. Load letter-sized plain paper in the auto sheet feeder (ASF) or the cassette.
   
   
3. Display the Maintenance screen on the printer.
   
   
4. Press the up or down cursor to select [Nozzle check], then press the <OK>.
   
   
   
   
5. Press the up or down cursor to select [Yes], then press <OK>. (The nozzle check pattern is printed.)
   
   
6. Confirm the nozzle check pattern.
   

< 1 > The normal nozzle check pattern
< 2 > The abnormal nozzle check pattern
< 3 > Some black ink lines are broken.
< 4 > White lines are present in the color ink pattern.
< 5 > Both black and color inks are not present.

Note:

1. When all patterns are printed normally, press the up / down cursor button to select "All A" and press the OK button.
   
   
2. When any patterns are printed abnormally, press the up / down cursor button to select "Also B" and press the OK button.
   

Print Head Cleaning:

1. Display the Maintenance screen on the printer.
   
   
2. Press the up or down cursor to select [Cleaning], then press <OK>.
   
   
   
   
3. Press the up or down cursor to select [Yes], then press <OK> to start print head cleaning.
   
   Note:
   Do not do any other operations until print head cleaning is completed.
   
   
   
4. Print the nozzle check pattern and check the print head status.
   

Deep (Print Head) cleaning:

1. Display the Maintenance screen.
   
   
2. Press the up or down cursor to select [Deep cleaning], then press <OK>.
   
   
   
   
3. Press the up or down cursor to select [Yes], then press <OK> to start print head deep cleaning.
   
   Note:
   Do not do any other operations until print head deep cleaning is completed.
   
   
   
4. Print the nozzle check pattern and check the print head status.
   
   Note:
   If the printed result does not improve even after doing print head deep cleaning, turn off the printer. Then, after 24 hours or later, do print head deep cleaning again. (After a given time interval, ink could dissolve itself, resulting in ink unclogging.)
   

I hope this information allows you to resolve this issue. If you need further assistance, please post back with a comment to this thread.
If I've managed to answer your question or solve a problem, please take just a moment to rate this post....thanks!

Please click the below mentioned link to download a word document containing clean print head procedure:

Canon iP4500- Clean Print Head

Thank you