The development of technology, in addition to progress, also poses certain problems for consumers. Everyone buys this or that device in order to make their life easier, but this does not always work out, since they require some care. For example, not all buyers of the HP Deskjet printer know how to clean it. Nevertheless, you need to know this in order to prevent malfunctions and not to face repair. In today's article, we will look at how to properly dust various printer elements.
How to understand when it’s time to clean equipment?
The issue of cleaning is relevant for printers that use water, pigment, and sublimation inks, and when there are certain indicators that indicate that it is time to start servicing the device. How to understand that the technique requires care? Attention should be paid to the signs. These are reduced print quality, streaks and omissions on the printed file, less vibrant or incorrectly transmitted colors. But just in case, you must also make sure that the paint supply hose is not pinched or bent. If everything is in order, then you need to figure out how to clean your HP inkjet printer.
Causes of Clogging
A clog in the printer nozzles can occur for several reasons. For example, this happens if the device was used very intensively, used paint of poor quality or carried out independent refueling. It is also worth mentioning that before manual cleaning of the printheads, it is worthwhile to carry out several cartridge cleaning programmatically.
How to clean the HP printer using the standard software?
Before embarking on a mechanical cleaning of the heads, it is also worth trying the method provided by the manufacturer complete with the printer itself - cleaning the cartridges using the built-in software. In most cases, along with all the documentation for the device, there is a company disk with it, and if it was not there or you cannot find it, the HP Solution Center utility can be downloaded from the company's official website. To automatically clean the HP Deskjet printer, you must run the program. Next, open the menu and find there "Printer Toolbar", and from there run the cleaning application. This is essentially the easiest preventative way to clean your HP printer cartridge. If the device has not been serviced for a long time, you can repeat this procedure several times.
There are times when this method is not enough, because during such cleaning the nozzles of the print head are not affected. And then it is already necessary to start cleaning the head with your own hands or take the printer to the service.
Print head cleaning
Of course, the easiest and safest way is to give the equipment to qualified masters, but by following the instructions on how to clean the HP printer head and acting carefully, you can save time and money by performing the procedure yourself.
What is required:
- plastic dishes with a flat bottom (a disposable plate is perfect);
- dense, well absorbing rag;
- A special kit for cleaning the printer, which can be purchased at almost any hardware store or ordered online.
It is also worth noting that cleaning up old contaminants may require more time and effort, but the process itself is no different both when removing heavy contaminants and during preventative cleaning. How to clean my HP printer? First you need to moisten a piece of cloth or gauze with water and wipe the bottom of the head with it, and then another piece of cloth is wetted with a cleaning fluid, and the entire print head will be rubbed around the nozzles. In case of severe contamination, it is necessary to change the fabric in order to clean everything evenly.
Before cleaning the nozzles on your HP printer, read the instructions first. During wiping, contact of the fabric with nozzles should be avoided, since dirt from the rag can clog them, and this will greatly complicate the process. This procedure can take a lot of time, since it all depends on the printer status. So, after thoroughly cleaning the head with a cloth dampened in a special solution, it is necessary to remove the ink seals, which then need to be washed with warm water and installed again after drying. What follows is the most difficult. This is cleaning the head from the inside out. Thus, in addition to the print head itself, nozzles are also cleaned. To do this, put the fabric under the head and drip the ink intake fittings with a cleaning fluid warmed up to 55 degrees using a special syringe. This process must be continued until all ink is washed off the print head.
Now you know how to clean the HP printer head. This is not so difficult. It is only important to be careful and follow these instructions.
Daily cleaning
The instructions above described how to clean an HP inkjet printer, in particular cartridges and a head. But in addition to annual maintenance, the device also needs daily care. Few users think about this. To extend the life of the equipment, it is advisable to wipe dust off it at least once a week to prevent it from getting inside. And for prevention, you need to clean the cartridges in the automatic way described at the beginning of this article. Also, if your printer is equipped with a continuous ink supply system (CISS), this procedure will help keep it clean. But at the same time, complete annual cleaning of the print head and nozzles remains a prerequisite for maintenance.
CISS cartridge cleaning
To save money, some HP printer owners instead of buying cartridges regularly purchase a continuous ink supply system that consists of four permanent cartridges that do not need to be replaced. This system must be cleaned to prevent the printer nozzles from drying out.
How to clean an HP printer equipped with a CISS? With the same composition mentioned above, it is necessary to rinse all tanks, cartridges and connecting hoses. Empty all the tanks from the ink and drive the liquid through them in the same way as the ink refills. And since HP ink cartridges are quite expensive, the demand for CISS is very high.
Conclusion
Cleaning the HP printer yourself is a task that, at first glance, seems rather difficult. But, following this instruction, performing everything sequentially and carefully, you can achieve a good result. After that, the task of cleaning the HP printer will not be so intimidating. If you still have some concerns, then, of course, it is better to entrust this to professionals, so as not to aggravate the situation.
As stated at the beginning of the article, we acquire equipment to make our lives easier, and our task is to provide her with proper care in order to maximize her life.