Cleaning the Print Head

Today, much less printing is done than a few years ago. Many documents and information are now available in digital form or on smartphones. Thanks to LTE and powerful smartphones, the desired information can easily be searched on the go without being printed at all.

Why does the print head dry out?

Printers are being used less and less. This can be problematic, especially for inkjet printers. When printing, the ink is sprayed onto the paper through the nozzles located on the print head. The print head contains a different number of ink nozzles depending on the manufacturer. Depending on the printing process - in this example, the "Drop on Demand" process - the ink is heated using a small heating element. The water and solvents in the ink vaporize explosively.
Since ink is normally liquid and consists of water and solvents in addition to color pigments, the ink residue left in the print head can dry out due to contact with the surrounding air (the water and solvents evaporate) and may even crystallize, leading to clogs.

Particularly for printers with permanent print heads (built-in print heads), it's essential to ensure the ink doesn't dry out by correctly shutting down the inkjet printer instead of disconnecting it from the power source (power strip). Printers that use cartridges with disposable print heads offer practical methods to clean the print heads again. In an emergency, you can simply buy a new cartridge, and the problem is solved.

Did you know: Depending on the printer model, an ink cartridge may be empty after just 40 to 100 print head cleanings.

Dried out print head - stripes in the printout

If the print head is clogged, the best case scenario is that the printout only has stripes. In the worst case, the print head is completely clogged, and no ink at all reaches the paper.

If the printout only has a few stripes, cleaning through the printer driver dialogue is usually enough. The control program for your printer offers a corresponding setting. It is usually called simply "Clean print head" or "Perform print head cleaning." Some multifunction devices with built-in menus also offer an easy option to clean the print head without using a PC.

The important factor is what type of print head you are dealing with:

• A print head that is in the printer and can be replaced.
• A disposable print head that is attached to the ink cartridge.
• A permanent print head that is built into the device.

The print head that is in the printer and can be replaced, as well as the disposable print head, can easily be removed from the device and cleaned. The permanent print head, which must be removed, would need to be readjusted afterward. This is essentially a repair.

If the dirt is severe, you can place disposable print heads and removable print heads in a bowl of lukewarm water for some time. Be sure that the bowl only contains enough water to cover the ink nozzles.

If the printer has a permanently installed print head, cleaning cartridges are often available that are inserted in place of the regular ink cartridges, eliminating the need for removal.

After reinstalling the print heads, you can perform a print head cleaning, and the printer should print cleanly again.

There are even special print head cleaning fluids or products such as isopropanol (which can be bought at a pharmacy). Whether it is worth the effort for disposable print heads is something each person must decide for themselves.

Cleaning the print head through the printer menu

During print head cleaning, the printer blows extra ink through the nozzle to remove any residue as efficiently as possible or to flush the print system.

The printer does not differentiate between how clogged the nozzles are. Frequent cleanings can consume significant amounts of ink. Depending on the cartridge type, it can happen that the cartridge is empty after only 40 to 100 print head cleanings.

The ink used for cleaning ends up in a waste ink container. Unlike laser printers, waste ink containers in inkjet printers are not plastic containers but sponges or felts located at the bottom of the device.

When the print head keeps drying out

If you constantly have to perform print head cleanings, it may be because you rarely use your printer or because it is being "improperly" shut down.

If the device is not shut down correctly but is simply unplugged from the socket and is no longer able to perform self-cleaning, the print heads will likely become clogged after a while.

The location where the printer is set up also plays a significant role. Some ink components, such as solvents (e.g., isopropanol), evaporate very quickly if the printer is placed in a warm environment or exposed to constant sunlight.

In these circumstances, ink dries out quickly, and cleaning becomes necessary. It might also be worth considering buying a printer that uses disposable print heads or, even better, a laser printer.

If necessary, you can replace the entire ink cartridge with an integrated print head. By purchasing new ink cartridges, you will also get perfect new print heads, so you don’t need to worry about print quality anymore.

Due to the low prices for laser printers, including color laser printers, it can make sense to purchase such a device, even for small print volumes. Even the cheapest laser printers have page costs that are significantly lower than those of most inkjet printers.

Since laser printers print with toner powder—and powder, as is well known, does not dry out—the issue of a "dried-out print head" will be a thing of the past.