Brother Gt3 Manual

							 
 
GT-3 Series 
7. Troubleshooting
111
7-2-4. Changing the Print Direction 
When there are large gaps between the Print Heads and printed medium, or when printing on very high absorbent material, 
horizontal stripes and color graining can appear on the printed image. You can solve this problem using one-way 
Uni-Directional  print. If you adjust to a larger gap then we recommend this mode is used. Keep the clearance between the 
Clearance Sensor and the surface of the Print Heads  should be app. 2 mm by adjusting the Platen Height.   
If you already know that a print data will be printed in uni-d irectional printing before you print, you can set with the Printe r Driver. 
This setting is available when the printer’s setting is [ Auto  ]. See “4-3. Setting the Printer Driver Condition” and “4-3-14.  Setting 
Print Direction as Uni-Directional”.   
(1)  Select [ Print Direction ] with Up/Down Bu tton from the menu and press the OK Button.   
(2)  Select [ Always Uni- ] when you print  one-way Uni-Directional printing. Select [ Always Bi- ] when you print by-directional 
even if the Printer Driver setting is Uni-Directional Printing with Up/Down Button and then press OK Button. This setting is 
always available until you change the setting.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
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z   Uni-Direction Icon is on the Display of the Control Panel. 
z   The default setting is Auto, which follows the Printer Driver setting. (Check-OFF Uni-Directional Printing) 
z   The printer setting is prior to the Printer Driver setting. Even if the checkbox Uni-Directional  Printing is checked, when the 
printer setting is  Always Bi-  then the print is Bi-Directional.   
 
 
7-2-5. Changing the Auto Cleaning Setting 
GT-3 automatically cleans its Print Heads every 24 prints . However more frequent Print Heads cleaning needs to be done 
depending on the environment. In this case, change t he Auto Head Cleaning frequency as follows. 
 
This setting is available with Color / White separately.   
(1)  Select [ Printer Setting ] with Up/Down Bu tton from the menu and press the OK Button.   
(2)  Select [ Auto Cleaning ] and press the OK Button.  The following display appears. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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(3)  Press the Up/Down Button to select the frequency from 1 to 24, and then press the OK Button.  The Auto Cleaning will be executed at  every number of prints you have set. 
 
Cleaning the Print Heads frequently may  hasten the Wiper Cleaner consumption.  
						

							 
 
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7-2-6. Cleaning the Print Head Nozzles 
Use the Nozzle Cleaning Kit to clean the Head Nozzles (in the red square in the photo below). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pay careful attention in cleaning the clean Print Head Nozzles, wh ich are both delicate and expensive. The Print Head Nozzle 
should be cleaned only when it is needed as follows in “7-2-1 . Procedure for Solving the Print Quality Problems”. 
(1)  Make sure your printer is in either [ Standby ] or [ Ready ] mode. 
(2)  Select [ Maintenance ] from the menu and press the OK Button.   
(3)  Select [ Nozzle Cleaning ] with the Up/Down Button from  the menu and press the OK Button. The Platen will be loaded 
and the Carriage and the Wipers will be moved to the cleaning position. The following message appears. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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(4)  Turn off your printer.   
(5)  Open the Front Cover with both hands  until it is locked with the stopper.   
(6)  Open the Nozzle cleaning Kit. Put on the gloves and wet a Clean A pplicator (white grip with round form) with full of Wash 
Liquid. 
   z   Nozzle Cleaning Kit is available for CMYK / White inks.   
z   Use Clean Applicators in Nozzle Cleaning Kit (white grip wi th round form), not in Maintenance Cleaning Kit (green grip 
with flat form).   
z   Wet a Clean Applicator only with Wash Liquid, do not rub t he Print Head with other liquid (e.g. water). Print Head may 
be seriously damaged.   
  
 
fully wet with Wash Liquid 
  
						

							 
 
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(7)  Wet the surface (nozzle plate) of the Print Head with Wash Liquid. Then rub softly the nozzle plate to remove ink and 
debris (clogged ink) from the nozzle plate until the nozzle pl ate is clean. Use a soft, clean and lint-free cloth to loosen and  
remove the dirty ink and debris from the Clean Applicator  to keep its surface clean and wet again with Wash Liquid. Use 
one Clean Applicator for each color.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  The W3 and W4 Nozzles Plates of GT-381 are hard to be seen  from the stop position. Move the Carriage to the left by 
your hand to the position where you can clean the Nozzles easily.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pay attention not to touch or stain  the Clearance Sensor in cleaning.   
Clearance Sensor 
W3 and W4   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(8)  Check and clean around the Caps and Wipers. You can use  both Clean Applicator (round form with white grip) and 
Clean Stick (flag form with green grip). (See 6-1-2. Repl acing the Wiper Cleaner and Cleaning the Caps / Wipers). Wipe 
off the front/back of the Clearance Sensor and around the Platen with a soft wet cloth with water.   
(9)  Push the Stop Lever to release the lock when you close the Front Cover with both hands.   
(10) Turn ON the printer, and initialization will start and the Carriage will move to the original position (on the Maintenance  
Unit).   
						

							 
 
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(11) Execute Powerful Cleaning of all the Print Heads to remove the air bubbles in the nozzles. Print Nozzle Check Pattern to confirm the print quality. (See 7-2-3. Checking Print Qualit y with Nozzle Check Pattern). Execute Head Cleaning if 
necessary.  
 
7-2-7. Replacing the Print Head 
The print heads can be replaced the following steps. Please make c ontact to your dealer or Brother. for further information.   
  
Color Maintenance Cartridge (option) is necessary  to clean the Tubes with Maintenance Solution.   
CMYK Print Head:   
(1)  Make sure your printer is in either [ Standby ] or [ Ready ] mode. 
(2)  Prepare Color Filter Cartridge*, Color Maintenance Cartridge (option*) and Maintenance Solution*. Confirm the room of 
the Waste Ink Tank (200 ml or more).    (* See 1-3-5. Consumable Requirements and Options for part code.) 
(3)  Remove the Ink Cartridge whose Print Head will be replaced  and insert Color Filter Cartridge. Select [ Maintenance ] and 
[ Color Tube Cleaning ], select the Print Head  to be replaced and press the OK Button.   
(4)  Clean the Tube and the Print Head. Remove the Color Filter  Cartridge and insert Color Maintenance Cartridge. Fill the 
Bottle with the Maintenance Solution of 250 ml or more  and insert the Tube to the bottom of the Bottle.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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(Continued on the next page)  
						

							 
 
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(5)  Select [ Maintenance ] > [ Color Tube Cleaning ] from the menu and select the Print Head to be replaced and press the 
OK Button. Color Tube Cleaning then starts. 
 
The Color Maintenance Cartridge will not produce air bubbles.   
(6)  After Color Tube Cleaning is finished, with Maintenance Solution filled, select [ Maintenance ] > [ Head Replacement ]  and press the OK Button.   
(7)  Select the Print Head to be replaced and press the OK Butt on. The following message will be on the Display (ex. Black). 
Replace to the Filter Cartridge and wash away the Maintenance Solution inside the Tube.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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(8)  After washing out the Maintenance Solution, follow the indications on the Display and press the OK Button. The Carriage will move to the Flushing Plate position. follow the i ndications on the Display and turn OFF the printer.   
(9)  Open the Front Cover with both hands  until it is locked with the stopper. 
(10) Open the new Print Head. Put the glov es on your hands not to touch the electronic parts and remove the fitting and the 
cover. The fitting on the Print Head (see the a rrow below) will be used during the operation.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(11) T ate static electricity (e.g. Covers ). Better to put on the Wrist 
Strap.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ake off the gloves and touch some metallic part to dissip
Fitting  
						

							 
 
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(12) Remove the plastic cover on the Carriage PCB. Disconnect the white cable (left) and remove the four claws on the both 
edges (right).   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(13) Remove the silicone tubes that are at tached the screws under the Carriage PCB (left), and remove the holes of the cover 
(right), and remove the plastic cover.   
(14) Pull out the black tabs at the both edges of Flat Cable of  the Print Head to the front side of the printer, and remove the  Flat 
Cable (the following example: Magenta).   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
						

							 
 
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(15) Put on the gloves again. Rotate the Tube Connector (the white part over the Print Head) by 90 degrees (left), lift it straight 
up slowly and remove the Tube from the Print Head (right). Connect the fitting that you removed in step (10) to the Tube. 
Do not force to pull out the Tube from the Print Head, or t he junction may be damaged. Rotate the Tube little by little and 
move it straight up slowly.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(16) Rotate the Lever to your  side that fixes the Print Head.   
 
(17) Lean the Print Head backward to the inside of the Carriage (left), hold the Knob and pull up the Print Head and remove it 
from the printer (right). Keep the surface of the Print Head (Nozzles) safe, do not touch to other parts or the Print Head 
may be seriously damaged.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(18) Mount the new Print Head on the printer. Fit  the V-shaped groove to the Positioning Pin (right).   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fitting 
Tube Connector 
Lever 
V-shaped groove
Surface of Print Head (Nozzl Positioning Pin 
es)  
						

							 
 
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(19) Hold the knob of the Print Head (left) and push it downward so that the V-shaped groove can fit the Positioning Pin. Push 
down the Print Head to fix the corner of the Print Head by the Flat Spring (right).   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(20) Rotate the Lever to fix the Print Head. 
(21) Remove the protection film.   
 
(22) Remove the Fitting that inserted in the step (15), connect the Tube to the Print Head and fix the Tube by rotating the Tube  Connector by 90 degrees.   
(23) Take off the gloves and connect the Flat Cable to the Carriage PCB. Put the Flat Cable with the terminal (metal) side on 
the top (left), insert straight into the connector and  fix it by pushing the tabs of both sides (right). 
 
Do not insert the Flat Cable at an angle. The electric current may not be stable and increase the Print Head temperature. 
which causes machine errors, mis-firing, and give serious dam age to the Print Head. Do not repeat the insertion, or the 
terminal (metal) may be damaged and cause serious mis-firing.   
 
Positioning PinFlat Spring 
Positioning Pin 
Flat Spring 
Print Head 
Slide the Print Head into the Fl
Spring from the right to the left.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  at 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
						

							 
 
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(24) Mount the Plastic Cover over the Carriage PCB. Put it on the Carriage PCB in curl (left), and make the Condenser (big 
black part on the Carriage PCB) go through t he hole of the Plastic Cover (right).   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(25) Put the Plastic Cover so that the fold at the  back should cover the metal plate under the Carriage PCB.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(26) Put the two screws through the holes on the front side of  the Plastic Cover (left), and apply the silicone tubes to the 
screws that were remov ed in the step (13).   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(27) Pu  and connect the Harness.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(28) Push the Stop Lever to release the lock when you close the Front Cover with both hands.   
(29) Turn ON the printer. 
(30) Remove the Filter Cartridge and insert the Ink Cartridge.   
(31) Select [ Maintenance ] > [ Initial Cleaning ] from the menu and load the ink.   
(32) Execute the Normal Cleaning for  all the Print Heads so that the surface of the Print Head may be dried.   
(33) Print Nozzle Check Pattern to confirm if the replaced  Print Head works OK. (See 7-2-3. Checking Print Quality with 
Nozzle Check Pattern). 
silicone tubes 
t the claws on the Plastic Cover  that were removed in the step (12) (left), 
						

							 
 
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(34) Print the Standard Check Pattern to check the alignment if the Print Head is placed properly. 
 
If the Print Heads do not align properly, the printer cannot  make correct r colors. See the example below: Cyan Print 
Head does not align (shifted forward). C heck (17) and (18) in former page. 
    
Cyan moves up and Yellow and 
Magenta seems to move down. 
 
(35) If the quality is OK go on to the next section 7-2-8. Adju
stment after the Print Head has been replaced to complete the 
adjustment after the Print Head replacement. 
ance. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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(1)  Make sure your printer is in either [ Standby ] or [ Ready ] mode. 
(2)  Prepare White Filter Cartridge*, White Maintenance Cartri dge (option*) and Maintenance Solution*. Confirm the room of 
the Waste Ink Tank (500 ml or more). (* See 1-3-5 . Required Consumables and the Options for part code.) 
(3)  Remove the Ink Cartridge whose Print Head will be replac ed and insert White Filter Cartridge. Execute White Tube 
Cleaning by referring 6-2-2. White Tube Cleaning.   
(4)     the Carriage PCB by referring the steps (6) to (13) in 
(5)    he back side of the printer, and remove the 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
If you still see the problem in print quality, contact your Brother dealer for assist
White Print Head:   
After White Tube Cleaning is finished, reColor Print Head operations.   
Pull out the black tabs at the both  Flat Cable (the following example: W2).  move the Plastic Cover on
edges of Flat Cable of the Print Head to t
 
White Print Heads are in the backside, the 
opposite side of CMYK Print Heads, confirm 
the operation by looking form the left side of 
the printer. Pay attention to the surface of the 
Print Head (Nozzles) not to hit the other parts 
in removing / mounting or the Print Head may 
be seriously damaged.