Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Cleaning a Printer and Replacing Consumables
All types of printers can be cleaned on the outside with a cloth dampened with a spray
cleaner for PCs. This won't make the printer perform any better, but it will make for a
nicer offi ce environment.
The only parts inside an inkjet printer that need cleaning are the inkjets, and these aren't
cleaned by hand—a utility built into the printer cleans them. The ink in an inkjet printer is
liquid; if the printer isn't in frequent use, the ink dries out and bits of dried ink remain in
the nozzles. The cleaning procedure fl ushes out any dried-up ink. It uses some ink to do so,
so don't clean the inkjets unless the print quality has declined.
On most inkjet printers, there are two ways to activate the cleaning utility: pressing
a sequence of buttons on the printer itself, or using the cleaning utility in the printer's
software. For example, Figure 5.3 shows the Toolbox utility for an HP printer; there are
commands for cleaning and aligning print cartridges and printing test pages.
FIGURE 5.3
Software utilities for cleaning print heads for an inkjet printer
Laser printers use toner rather than ink. Because toner is a dry substance (a mixture of
plastic resin and iron oxide), it doesn't clog things the way liquid ink does. However, toner
is a loose powder that can scatter over clothing and the work area if the cartridges aren't
handled with care. Clean up any spilled toner with a vacuum designed for electronics or
with a damp paper towel. If it gets on clothing, you can get it out with a magnet, because
toner is half iron. Don't use a regular vacuum cleaner: general-use vacuums don't have fi ne