Filter
Top Products
1:“
—.
L
r
L
~
:
L
i-
L
f ;
L
“-.
!
;
E
.,
;.
,..
,,
.
;j,
,;..
...
:..
,:,,..,
..
,
..
i
.:
..”
.,,
:.
,.
chapter 5
MAINTENANCE
AND TROUBLESHOOTING
SubjeetscoveredinChapter5 include–
●
●
●
●
Cleaning the printer
Replacing the ribbon
Replacing the print head
Troubleshooting
Dust and heat willmake any mechanismwear more quickly. The best
maintenanceis preventive,and the first stepiscorrect location of the printer.
This iscovered in greater detail in Chapter 1,but in generalan environment
comfortable for humans is best for both the computer and the printer.
CLEANING THE PRINTER
Cleaning the printer regularly will prolong its servicelife. Use a damp
cloth on the exterior everyweek or so. For stubborn dirt, you may moisten
the cloth with alcohol or water containing a mild detergent, but be careful
not to spillany liquid into the interior of the printer.
Use a soft brush to removepaper dust and lint from the interior. A small
vacuum cleaner can also make this task easier, but be very careful not to
bend or injure any electronic parts or wiring. The printer coniains delicate
electronic parts, so only clean those places where you have easy access.
REPLACING THE RIBBON
The printer uses an endless-typeribbon cartridge in which the ribbon
is recycledautomatically. When the print becomesfaint, it is time to replace
the ribbon cartridge.
To remove the old cartridge, take off the top cover, grasp the ribbon
cartridge by the two arms at the front and lift straight up. To fit the new
cartridge, guide the ribbon between the print head and platen, then press
down until the cartridge snaps into place. See Figure 5-1.
REPLACING THE PRINT HEAD
The dot matrix print head has a life of about 200 million dots, or years
of normal use. When printing is too light even after replacing the ribbon,
47