We have learned that extended periods of non-use may cause the ink to dry up leading to the need to replace the printhead.
There are three things to consider to give your printer the best chance of maintaining a healthy and clean printhead over an extended period of shutting down like the covid-19 stay-at-home order, or summer breaks. The printer runs a maintenance cycle as needed to ensure the printhead does not dry out and stop working.
1. DO NOT SHUT DOWN THE PRINTER OR UNPLUG IT! Keep the printer on and it will go into sleep mode. We suggest putting a sticker or paper on the printer or wall outlet saying so. This will ensure cleaning crews know to plug the printer back in and turn the power back on if they must move it for any reason.
2. Establish 25% or higher ink for each color. If you have a low cartridge and it runs out of ink during a shutdown period, the maintenance cycles will not run and you may be required to replace the printhead once you return and try to print.
3. Establish 25% or higher remaining capacity on your maintenance cartridge. This can be checked by running a status print from the menu. Just press the menu button and scroll until you highlight “Test Print”. Now press the right arrow to expand the “Test Print” menu. Scroll to highlight “Status Print” and press the right arrow again. Highlight “Yes” and press the “OK” button on your printer. The resulting print should show your maintenance cartridge capacity.
Following these guidelines will give your printer the best chance to remain healthy and avoid costly service part purchases once you return to your building. Ink and maintenance cartridges can be purchased if needed from our website at shop.pss.co. This is not an attempt to get supply orders. Printheads are $560.00 and we want to save you that cost by ensuring the printer has the necessary capacities for it to run the maintenance cycles. Here at PSS, we partner with you for student success. Your success is our priority, so call us anytime at 1-800-485-9722, or email us at info@pss.co with questions or concerns!