How do I align the print head?

• See below.

  Aligning the Print Head

  If your printouts are grainy or blurry, you need to align the print head. The thickness of your print media determines the alignment options you select. You can store separate alignment values for each type of media you use for quick selection.

  Before aligning the print head, make sure you have correctly loaded the media you plan to print on and that the correct setting name is selected from Custom Paper Setting. Also check that the print head nozzles are not clogged.

  1. On the product control panel, press the left or right arrow button to select the tab and press the OK button. The Paper menu appears.
  2. Press the up or down button to select Custom Paper Setting and press the OK button.
  3. Press the up or down button to select the paper type you want to set alignment values for and press the OK button.
  4. Press the up or down arrow button to select Head Alignment and press the OK button.
  5. Press the up or down arrow button to select one of these adjustment methods and press the OK button:
     • If you are printing bidirectionally on your media, select the Manual(Bi-D) setting. If the print quality has not improved, repeat the steps here and select the Manual(Uni-D) setting.
     • If you are printing unidirectionally on your media, select the Manual(Uni-D) setting.
  6. Press the OK button to print an alignment test pattern.
     
     

     Note: When paper is loaded in the auto take-up reel, the paper is not automatically cut after printing the alignment pattern. If the alignment pattern is hard to see, press the  cut/feed media button then press the down arrow button until the alignment pattern is easily visible. After checking the printed pattern, press the up arrow button to rewind the paper then press the  back button to return to the menu.

  7. Examine the alignment test pattern to select the pattern number with the least visible white lines, as in pattern 3 shown here.
     
     
  8. Take the average number for each row and color in the alignment patterns, as shown in the example below:
     
     
  9. If the product control panel displays C1, press the up or down arrow button to select the number of the best pattern in C1 and press the OK button. Repeat this step for all the color patterns. After you select the final color pattern number, the control panel returns to its ready status.
  Related tasks
  Loading Media
  Checking for Clogged Print Head Nozzles
  Related references
  Maintenance Menu Settings