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Problem Solver

Printout Problems Not Related to Print Quality

Incorrect or garbled characters
Incorrect margins
Inverted image
Blank pages print
Printout has smears on the bottom edge
Printing is too slow

If one of the following problems has occurred, try the solutions listed for the problem.

Caution:

Do not move the print head by hand, as this may damage the printer. Always press the maintenance button to move the print head.

When replacing ink cartridges, be careful not to touch the cartridge sensor shown below.

If you want to replace the black ink cartridge, open the ink cartridge clamp, and then lift the cartridge out of the printer and dispose of it properly.

If you want to replace the color ink cartridge only, press the maintenance button again without opening the black ink cartridge clamp. The print head moves to the color ink cartridge replacement position. Open the ink cartridge clamp and lift the cartridge out of the printer.

Warning:

If ink gets on your hands, wash them thoroughly with soap and water. If ink gets into your eyes, flush them immediately with water. If discomfort or vision problems remain after a thorough flushing, see a doctor immediately. Do not take the used cartridge apart or try to refill it.

Remove the new ink cartridge from its protective bag. Next, remove only the yellow tape seal from the cartridge.

Place the ink cartridge into the ink cartridge holder. Do not apply excessive force to the cartridge.

Close the ink cartridge clamp until it locks into place. If you are replacing both cartridges, press the maintenance button to switch to the color ink cartridge replacement position, and then replace the cartridge as explained above.

When you are finished replacing cartridges, close the printer cover.

Press the maintenance button. The printer moves the print head and begins charging the ink delivery system. This process takes about thirty seconds to complete.

When the ink charging process is finished, the printer returns the print head to its home position, the power light stops flashing and remains on, and the error light goes off.

Incorrect or garbled characters

Try one or more of these solutions:

Make sure that you are using the appropriate printer driver for your printer.

Select your printer as the default printer in Windows.

Users of Windows Me, 98, and 95 can clear any stalled print jobs from the spool manager.
Using EPSON Spool Manager

Turn off the printer and computer. Make sure that the printer's interface cable is securely plugged in.

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Incorrect margins

Try one or more of these solutions:

Check the margin settings in your application. Make sure that the margins are within the printable area of the page.
Paper

Check the settings on the Page Layout menu (Windows) or in the Page Setup dialog box (Macintosh). Make sure the settings are appropriate for the paper size you are using.

For Mac OS X, always match the Format for setting in the Page Setup dialog box and the Printer setting in the Print dialog box. Otherwise, the data may not be printed correctly.

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Inverted image

Clear the Flip Horizontal check box in the printer software, or turn off the Mirror setting in your application. For instructions, see online help for the printer software or for your application.

Macintosh users can refer to Making Advanced settings for details.

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Blank pages print

Try one or more of these solutions:

Make sure that you are using the appropriate printer driver for your printer.

Windows users can make sure that their printer is selected as the default printer.

Check the settings on the Page Layout menu (Windows) or in the Page Setup dialog box (Macintosh). Make sure the settings are appropriate for the paper size you are using.

Run the Head Cleaning utility to clear any clogged nozzles.
Cleaning the Print Head

After trying one or more of these solutions, run a printer operation check to check the results.
Running a printer operation check

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Printout has smears on the bottom edge

If the paper is curled toward the printable side, flatten it or curl it slightly toward the opposite side.

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Printing is too slow

Try one or more of these solutions:

Make sure that the Media Type setting in your printer software is correct.

Media Type Settings

Select Text as the Quality Type setting on your printer software's Main menu (Windows) or Automatic as the Mode setting in the Print dialog box (Macintosh), and then move the slider to Speed.
For Windows users, Quality Type
For Macintosh users, Using the Automatic mode

Close any applications that you are not using at the moment.

If you upgraded from Windows 95 to Windows 98, uninstall the printer software using Add/Remove programs in the Control Panel, and then install the software again.

For printer models that use the parallel port, you can enable DMA transfer if your computer supports ECP mode.
Enabling DMA transfer

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