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Routine Maintenance
Cleaning Procedures
10/21/05 S4M User Guide 13290L-001 Rev. A
Clean the Printhead and Platen Roller
You can minimize printhead wear and maintain print quality with regular preventive measures.
Over time, the movement of media or ribbon across the printhead wears through the protective
ceramic coating, exposing and eventually damaging the print elements (dots). To avoid
abrasion:
• Clean the printhead frequently, and use well-lubricated thermal transfer ribbons with
backings optimized to reduce friction.
• Minimize printhead pressure and burn temperature settings by optimizing the balance
between the two.
• Ensure that the thermal transfer ribbon is as wide or wider than the label media to prevent
exposing the elements to the more abrasive label material.
For best results, clean the printhead after changing every roll of ribbon. Inconsistent print
quality, such as voids in the bar code or graphics, may indicate a dirty printhead.
Figure 27 • Cleaning the Printhead and Platen Roller
Note • The printer can remain on while you are cleaning the printhead. In this way, all label
formats, images, and all temporary parameter settings stored in the printer’s internal memory
are saved. In addition, keep the peel engaged while cleaning the platen roller (media must be
unloaded to do this) to reduce the risk of bending the tear-off/peel-off bar.
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Printhead assembly
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Platen roller
Caution • Observe proper electrostatic safety precautions when handling any
static-sensitive components such as circuit boards and printheads.
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