Chapter 22: PC Care and Maintenance^583
- Using an appropriate vacuum with a soft brush attachment, clean the fusing
area of any debris; if you do not have a vacuum, at least use compressed air to
blow out any debris in this area. In either case, you should wear eye protection.
Be very careful not to snag or pull any wires in the fusing area. - The next area to clean is the transfer roller area (see the printer’s documentation
for the specific instructions on how to clean the transfer rollers). This is typically
under the toner cartridge, so you must remove the toner cartridge and set it on
some newspaper or other large sheets of paper in case the toner spills. - Laser printer cleaning kits contain a soft brush with which to clean the transfer
rollers. After brushing the rollers, use a vacuum or compressed air to clean
away any debris in this area of the printer. - Check the paper path and use a soft brush to clean the feed rollers if needed.
Replace the toner cartridge if needed and replace the cartridge and any of the
printer’s cover parts that were removed in earlier steps. - Before reconnecting the printer to its AC power source, clean the exterior. The best
cleaner is a mild liquid detergent, such as dish soap. Mix a solution of the detergent
with water, dampen a cloth with the solution, and wipe the printer clean. Never
pour or spray water or cleaners directly on the printer. If you are using a prepared
cleaner, spray or pour a small amount on the cloth and wipe the printer with
the cloth. - If you cleaned the printer’s exterior, wait a few minutes to make sure the printer
is dry before replacing the paper supply and reconnecting the printer to its
power source. - If you have laser printer cleaning sheets, run one or two through the printer,
following the instructions on the sheet pack to clean the components inside
the cartridge. You should run a cleaning sheet each time you change the toner
cartridge. If the printer is smearing or smudging the print, use a cleaning sheet
to clean out the toner cartridge and perhaps switch to a laser printer type paper.
Inkjet Printer Chapter 17 explains the inkjet printing process in detail, including how
the inkjet cartridge works to print a page. Probably the biggest problem you can have
with an inkjet printer is a clogged print head on the inkjet cartridge. Beyond that, the
inkjet printer, like the one shown in Figure 22-10, is a simple affair that is considered dis-
posable technology. Several inkjet models are now on the market that cost between $40
and $100, which is not all that much more than the ink cartridge itself. Should anything
major happen to an inkjet printer, such as the feed rollers getting misaligned or the car-
tridge gearing that moves the print cartridge side-to-side failing to operate, it is usually
less expensive to get a new printer than it is to fix it.
Many inkjet printers have a built-in print head cleaning routine. There are two types
of inkjets available, those with the print head built into the ink cartridge, such as Hewlett