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Universal Cartridge and Printhead Cleaner Instructions

If a cartridge has been unused, left empty or stored for a long period of time, the nozzles may become clogged with dried ink residue. Nozzles and printheads are extremely delicate and sensitive and can be damaged easily if any material other than a specifically formulated solvent is used to clean them.

DEEP CLEANING PROCEDURE - Allow the print heads to soak in the Universal Cartridge & Printhead Cleaner (or as an alternate tap hot water) to refresh the print nozzles and help restore print quality for about 10 minutes (Overnight if severly clogged); then blot onto a paper towel that has been folded to 3 or 4 thicknesses. Repeat if necessary, until you see a clear blot of each of the colors that are in the cartridge. The Cartridge & Printhead Cleaner will loosen the dried ink and the capillary action of the paper towel will pull the dried ink soultion through the printhead and into the paper towel.

This Cartridge & Printhead Cleaner offers an inexpensive cost method for cleaning print heads and priming print cartridges for refills. This is useful for those who have mono printers who wish to refill their existing black cartridge with a single color to enable color printing. The Cartridge & Print Head cleaner is simply injected into the cartridge in the same fashion as you would inject the ink and then withdrawn back out until all ink is removed.

There are several ways to utilize the cartridge & print head cleaner:

  1. Some cartridges require the interior to be cleaned prior to refilling. The instruction manual will specify if your cartridge requires this cleaning procedure. To clean the interior of your cartridge: Inject up to 8ml of print head cleaner into the cartridge. Install your cartridge back into the printer and print 5 test pages from print test page.
  2. Uneven printing, skipping, or no print at all may suggest clogged print nozzles. If a cartridge has been left empty or unused for an extended period of time, its nozzles become blocked with old dried ink. To soak the print head: Allow the print head to soak in 1/4" of print head cleaner for one hour. Dab the print head dry against a soft paper towel, then print 2-3 test pages from print test page.
  3. To prepare a stored cartridge for printing: Apply a small amount of Cartridge and Print Head Cleaner onto a paper towel. Allow your cartridge's print head to rest on the saturated paper towel for no more than 2 minutes. Dab the print head dry against a soft paper towel, then print.
  4. Prior to every third refill, inject 1/2 - 2ml of Cartridge and Print Head Cleaner into your cartridge. Doing so will prolong the sponge life and prevent it from collecting excess ink.