Understanding the Two Options
If you are reading this article, it is likely you are looking for more information to settle the confusion between the different types of cleanings that can be done on your Sawgrass Printer. You’ve probably wondered when you do each and what they accomplish. This will focus on the differences between the commonly used head clean, and the more involved head flush.
Performing a Head Cleaning
First, let’s discuss the head cleaning. This is a commonly used simple cleaning that can be done to help eliminate missing nozzles you see on your Nozzle check. One thing to understand is that the nozzle check is not a clean, but instead it is a diagnostic tool to check the health of your print head. The head clean is the actual cleaning that can be used if you have missing nozzles. We normally start with head cleans because it is the easiest, and gentlest, way to remove any ink that may be clogging your nozzles or lines.
With both the head clean and the head flush, you’ll specify which head you want to clean. The black and cyan nozzles are separate from the magenta and yellow nozzles. Though pushing ink through the head with these functions is normal, you don’t want to add extra stress to the print head by doing a clean or flush on a head that isn’t having issues. You can choose either head, or you can clean both if needed.
During the head cleaning your printer will say on the LCD screen that it is being performed. The head clean will generally use a small amount of ink for each clean and can be performed 2-3 times. If errors continue after that, then that would be when you will want to contact the care team to see whether the next step will be head flushes or something else.
Performing a Head Flush
The head flush is just as simple to perform as the head clean, but is a more involved process that cleans inside of the actual print head. The flush will “flood” your print head with ink to help remove any dried or congealed ink from the print head. This can be helpful for missing nozzles as well as for banding issues. Head flushes can be done up to 5 consecutive times, but most of the time you will not have to perform all 5 for issues to clear (remember if our care team asks you to do 5, then you should do all 5!). Each time you do a head flush the printer will clarify that you will want to do the flush as it says, “this will consume a considerable amount of ink” This amount is naturally about 4-5% of each cartridge. Yes, that is a significant amount of ink, but it’s NOT going to be 20-50% of a cartridge as some sources say. After each head flush, it is worth printing out another nozzle check to see if the issues have gone away.
The Difference
The easiest way for me to explain the difference is to think about it in terms of cleaning your carpets. A head clean is like vacuuming; it’s going to pick up any dirt or debris sitting on top of the carpet fibers or near the top. A head flush is more like using a carpet cleaner; it’s going to use a different process that allows the cleaning to go all the way to the bottom of the fiber to remove dirt. While a head clean will remove debris near that surface that would cause a clog; head flushes will thoroughly clean out the head and anything that may be caught.
That’s about it! Similar sounding cleans and functions, but one is more powerful than the other. If you are having any issues at all, do not hesitate to reach us at care.sawgrassink.com!
