I refilled the ink tanks after they were expended, but my nozzle check pattern still prints with gaps. What should I do?

• The ink tubes may need to be filled with ink. Flush the ink tubes as instructed below.

  Power Cleaning Using the Product Control Panel

  You can run a Power Cleaning using the control panel on your product.

  Note: After a Power Cleaning, you must turn off the product and wait at least 12 hours before running another Power Cleaning.

  1. Make sure there are no errors on the LCD screen and the output tray is extended.
  2. Visually check the ink levels and make sure each ink tank is at least one-third full.

     Caution:
     If you run a Power Cleaning when the ink levels are low, you may damage the product.

  3. Press the  home button, if necessary.
  4. Select Maintenance > Power Cleaning.
  5. Follow the instructions on the LCD screen to run the Power Cleaning. A confirmation is displayed when Power Cleaning is complete.
  6. When the Power Cleaning is finished, run a nozzle check.

  If the print quality did not improve, turn off the product and wait at least 12 hours before running another nozzle check. Run Print Head Cleaning or Power Cleaning depending on the printed pattern.

  If the print quality does not improve after running the Power Cleaning utility multiple times, contact Epson for support.

  Cleaning the Print Head Using a Computer Utility

  You can clean the print head using a utility on your Windows or Mac computer.
  1. Make sure there are no errors on the LCD screen and the output tray is extended.
  2. Load a few sheets of plain paper in the product.
  3. Do one of the following:
     • Windows: Access the Windows Desktop and right-click the icon for your product in the right side of the Windows taskbar, or click the up arrow and right-click .
     • Mac: In the Apple menu or the Dock, select System Preferences. Select Print & Fax, Print & Scan, or Printers & Scanners, select your product, and select Options & Supplies. Select Utility and select Open Printer Utility.
  4. Select Print Head Cleaning. You see a window like this:
     
     
  5. Click Start to begin the cleaning cycle.The  power light flashes throughout the cleaning cycle and stays on when the cleaning cycle is finished.

     Caution:
     Never turn off the product or open the scanner unit during a cleaning cycle or you may not be able to print.

  6. When the cleaning cycle is finished, you can check to see if the nozzles are clean; click Print Nozzle Check Pattern and click Print.
  7. Check the printed pattern to see if there are gaps in the lines.

     Print head is clean

     
     
     

     Print head needs cleaning

     
     
     

     Print head needs Power Cleaning

     
     
     
     • If there are no gaps, click Finish.
     • If there are gaps or the pattern is faint, click Clean to clean the print head again.
     • If almost the entire pattern is missing, click Finish and perform a Power Cleaning.

  If you don’t see any improvement after cleaning the print head up to 3 times, turn off the product and wait at least 12 hours. Then check the print head nozzles and try cleaning the print head again, if necessary. If quality still does not improve, run a Power Cleaning.