Most of us use printers almost every day. It’s amazing how far the technology has come from the old tractor feed dot matrix printers. Back then all you had to worry about was the ink ribbon running out. These days our printers can make high quality photo prints. This means the technology is much more complex and the ink jet nozzles are smaller and more delicate than ever before.

So it stands to reason that occasionally an inkjet will get clogged up. It will be obvious; your print will be blotchy or not print in a color. There are a few options for fixing a clog; here are a few tips on how to clear and prevent getting a blocked printer head.

  • To prevent a printer head from jamming up it’s a good idea to use a bit of preventative maintenance. Periodically use the clean function on the printer. This will exercise every one of the printer inkjet ports. This keeps the ink from drying out in the less used nozzles.
  • If the printer head is already blocked then the first step should be just like above. Run the clean cycle on the printer then print out a test page. If this works then you’re set. If not you’ll need to take a few stronger measures.
  • Print a test page again. What isn’t printing? If it’s only 1 particular color then you can address that individual port. There’s no need to run multiple cycles and waste the other ink colors.  Simply open up a paint file, draw a large shape and fill it with the blocked color. Print out a couple copies of the file until the blockage disappears.

If neither of these options work then you’ll need to remove the printer cartridge and clean it.  Pop out the cartridge and swab a commercial cleaner on the nozzles. Let it set a few minutes. Wipe off the inkjet nozzle, reinstall and print out a test page to make sure everything is back in tiptop shape.

Related posts:

  1. Ink Cartridges Have Come a Long Way
  2. Add Printer Ink to Your Grocery List
  3. How to Know When to Change Your Printer Cartridge

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