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Cleaning the Printhead and Platen Roller
Inconsistent print quality, such as voids in the bar code or graphics, or light print may indicate a dirty
printhead. Media movement problems may indicate a dirty platen. For optimum print quality, perform
the following cleaning procedure after every roll of ribbon.
NOTE: If print quality has degraded and you have not changed to a different type
of media or ribbon, it should not be necessary to change the burn temperature or the
toggle pressure.
To clean the printhead and platen roller, refer to Figure 14 and perform the following steps:
1. Open the printhead assembly (C) by lifting the printhead lock lever (D) upward away from the
locking pin (E), and remove the media and ribbon.
2. Brush, vacuum, or air blow any accumulated lint and paper dust away from the rollers. It is good
practice to clean the various media, ribbon, and door-open sensors at this time. See Figure 13.
3. Use a cleaning swab saturated with alcohol and wipe the print elements from end to end. The
print elements form the grayish/black strip (1) just behind the chrome strip on the underside of
the printhead. Allow a few seconds for the solvent to evaporate.
4. Use a lint-free cloth moistened with alcohol to clean the platen roller (2) and other rollers. Rotate
the rollers while cleaning.
5. Reload the ribbon and/or media, latch the printhead, and continue printing. (Turn the printer ON
if previously turned OFF.)
34 170PAX2-Series User’s Guide
Care & Adjustments
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Figure 13. Sensor Locations (Right-Hand Unit Shown)