Epson Stylus Pro 7880 User Manual

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The Epson Stylus Pro 7880 and Pro 9880 require little maintenance to keep 
working at their best. This chapter describes the following routine 
procedures:
Checking printer status and part life
Checking and cleaning the print head
Aligning the print head
Replacing ink cartridges
Switching the black ink cartridge
Changing the date and time
Performing additional maintenance tasks
Replacing the paper cutter blade
Replacing the maintenance tank
Cleaning the printer
Transporting or storing the printer
In addition to the features described in this chapter, you can also use the 
menu system on the printer to fine-tune a variety of printer settings. For 
more information, see page 206. 
Checking Printer Status and Part Life 
Using the control panel, you can check the amount of ink remaining, the 
total number of prints, and the status of your cutter blade, maintenance 
tank, and other printer parts. You can print out a status check (described in 
the next section), or view the printer’s status on the LCD display (see 
page 132) or a printer driver screen (see page 134). 
Chapter 6: 
Maintaining 
and 
Transporting 
the Printer
 
						

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Printing Status Information
The status check sheet shows some of the current default settings, the 
amount of ink remaining in each cartridge, the page count, and the status of 
various printer parts. 
1. Make sure paper is loaded in the printer.
2. Press the 
Menu button. 
3. Press the d button to highlight 
TEST PRINT, then press Menu. 
4. Press d to highlight 
STATUS SHEET, then press Menu. You see 
PRINT. 
5. Press   to start printing. 
The amount of ink left or the maintenance tank capacity is indicated as 
follows:
E[*****]F = 100–81% of ink or maintenance tank capacity remaining
E[**** ]F = 80–61% 
E[*** ]F = 60–41% 
E[** ]F = 40–21% 
E[* ]F = 20–11% 
% = less than 10% of ink or maintenance tank capacity remaining
Viewing Status Information
1. Press the Menu button. 
2. Press the d button until 
PRINTER STATUS is highlighted, then press 
Menu. 
3. Do one of the following: 
To check the firmware version, press Menu again. When done, 
press the l button.
To check the number of pages that can be printed with each ink 
cartridge, press d to highlight 
PRINTABLE PAGES, then press 
Menu. Press d to view the number of pages remaining for each 
cartridge. When done, press l.
Note: You can replace 
the ink cartridges, cutter 
blade, and maintenance 
tank yourself. Other 
printer parts need to 
be replaced by an 
authorized Epson service 
technician. 
 
						

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(This option must be enabled using maintenance mode on the 
printer’s control panel to display information. See page 149 for 
instructions.)
To check the amount of ink left, press d to highlight INK LEVEL, 
then press 
Menu. The status of the first cartridge is displayed, using 
the symbols described on page 134. Continue pressing d to see the 
status of the remaining cartridges. When done, press l.
To check how much of the maintenance tank has been used, press 
d to highlight 
MAINTENANCE TANK, then press Menu. The 
status of the tank is displayed, using the symbols described on 
page 134. As the tank is filled, the percentage drops. When done, 
press l.
To check the amount of ink used (in milliliters) and paper used 
(in centimeters), press d to highlight 
USAGE COUNT, then press 
Menu. When done, press l.
You can clear this setting with the 
CLEAR USAGE COUNT option. 
You can also change the units of measurement from centimeters to 
inches and feet using maintenance mode on the printer’s control 
panel. See page 149 for instructions.
To check the job history, press d to highlight JOB HISTORY, then 
press 
Menu. For the last 10 print jobs saved in the printer, you see 
the ink used (in milliliters) and paper used (in square centimeters). 
The most recent job is saved as No. 0. When done, press l. 
To check the total number of prints, press d to highlight TOTAL 
PRINTS
, then press Menu. When done, press l. 
To check the status of other printer parts, press d to highlight 
SERVICE LIFE, then press Menu. The status of the cutter is 
displayed, using the symbols described below. Continue pressing d 
to see the status of the carriage motor, paper feed motor, print head, 
cleaning unit, and pressure motor. When done, press l.
Note: The EDM 
STATUS option is for 
future enhancements to 
the printer.
 
						

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The status of the printer parts is indicated with these symbols:
E*****F = 100–81% of service life remaining
E**** F = 80–61% 
E*** F = 60–41% 
E** F = 40–21% 
E* F = 20–11% 
% = less than 10% of service life remaining
4. Press the  Pause button to exit the menu.
For more information about the Printer Status menu, see page 206.
Checking Printer Status From the Printer Driver
The Epson Status Monitor utility installed with your printer driver lets you 
check the levels of ink in the printer and the level of the maintenance 
tank(s). Follow the steps below to use the utility to check the status.
1. Do one of the following to access the printer utilities:
Mac OS X: Open the EPSON Printer Utility2 in your 
Applications folder. Select your printer and click OK.
Windows Vista: Click  , select Control Panel, select Hardware 
and Sound
, and click Printers. Right-click the icon for your 
printer and select 
Properties. Click the Utility tab.
Windows XP: Click Start and select Control Panel. Double-click 
Printers and Faxes. Right-click your printer icon and select 
Printing Preferences. Click the Utility tab.
2. Click the 
EPSON StatusMonitor (Mac OS X) or EPSON Status 
Monitor 3
 icon.
Tip: On a Macintosh, you 
can also run maintenance 
utilities by clicking the 
Utility button in the print 
job window or the  icon 
on the printer settings 
screen.
If you added a shortcut 
icon for your printer to 
the Windows taskbar, 
you can right-click it and 
select any utility you 
want to run. See 
page 121 to add the icon.
 
						

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The software check the amount of ink in the printer and maintenance 
tank(s) and displays one of these windows:
Checking and Cleaning the Print Head
If your printed image shows a color shift or horizontal lines, you should 
check the print head to see if any nozzles are clogged or deflected. If 
necessary, the printer will automatically run a cleaning cycle to clear the 
nozzles.
You can also turn on Auto Nozzle Check from the printer’s control panel. 
The printer will then check the nozzles periodically or before each print job 
and clean them if necessary. 
Running the Nozzle Check and Head Cleaning Utilities
Follow these steps to use your printer software to check the print head 
nozzles and clean them if necessary:
1. Make sure paper is loaded in the printer.
2. Do one of the following to access the printer utilities:
Mac OS X: Open the EPSON Printer Utility2 in your 
Applications folder. Select your printer and click OK.
Windows Vista: Click  , select Control Panel, select Hardware 
and Sound
, and click Printers. Right-click the icon for your 
printer and select 
Properties. Click the Utility tab.
Note: You can run a 
cleaning cycle by holding 
down the Menu button 
for three seconds. You 
can also use the printer’s 
menus to run a power 
cleaning cycle. See 
page 138 for details.
Tip: On a Macintosh, you 
can also run maintenance 
utilities by clicking the 
Utility button in the print 
job window or the  icon 
on the printer settings 
screen.
If you added a shortcut 
icon for your printer to 
the Windows taskbar, 
you can right-click it and 
select any utility you 
want to run. See 
page 121 to add the icon.
 
						

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Windows XP: Click Start and select Control Panel. Double-click 
Printers and Faxes. Right-click your printer icon and select 
Printing Preferences. Click the Utility tab.
You see a menu like the following:
3. Select the 
Nozzle Check icon.
4. Click 
Auto and follow the instructions on the screen.
The nozzle check pattern is printed and automatically read. If the printer 
finds clogged nozzles, it runs a cleaning cycle.
If the nozzles do not clear after a few cleaning cycles, run a power cleaning 
cycle, as described on page 138. 
Checking and Cleaning the Print Head Using the Control 
Panel
Follow these steps to have the printer check the print head nozzles and clean 
them if necessary. 
1. Press the 
Menu button. 
2. Press the d button until 
TEST PRINT is highlighted, then press Menu. 
NOZZLE CHECK is selected.
 
						

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3. Press Menu, then press   to start printing the nozzle check pattern.
The nozzle check pattern is printed and automatically read. If the printer 
finds clogged nozzles, it runs a cleaning cycle.
Manually Checking and Cleaning the Print Head
If you turn off Auto Cleaning, you can print a nozzle check and manually 
examine it to determine whether any nozzles are clogged or deflected. Then 
you can run a cleaning cycle by pressing and holding the 
Menu button.
1. Press the 
Menu button. PRINTER SETUP is highlighted. Press Menu 
again.
2. Press the d button until 
AUTO CLEANING is highlighted, then press 
Menu.
3. Press the d to select 
OFF, then press   to save the setting.
4. Press the 
l button twice.
5. Press d to highlight 
TEST PRINT, then press Menu. NOZZLE CHECK 
is selected.
6. Press 
Menu, then press   to start printing the nozzle check pattern.
7. After the pattern is printed, use at least a 10
× eye loupe to examine it. 
If the pattern looks good, as shown below, the print head is clean.
If any dots or segments are missing or deflected, as shown below, 
run a cleaning cycle by pressing and holding the 
Menu button for at 
least 3 seconds. Then print another nozzle check pattern to make 
sure the nozzles are clean.
Caution: Don’t run a 
cleaning cycle while 
thick media is loaded in 
the printer.
 
						

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Running a Power Cleaning Cycle
You can run a power cleaning cycle from the control panel if the normal 
cleaning process is not sufficient to clear the nozzles. However, the power 
cycle uses a large quantity of ink, so it is recommended only as a last resort. 
The cartridges need to be at least 50% full to use power cleaning. You may 
need to replace a low cartridge to run the cleaning cycle. After cleaning, you 
can reinsert the old cartridge.
1. Print a nozzle check to make sure the print head needs cleaning, as 
described on page 137.
2. Make sure the printer is ready and the red BInk light on the printer’s 
LCD display is not on or flashing.
3. Press the 
Menu button. 
4. Press the d button until 
MAINTENANCE is highlighted, then press 
Menu. 
5. Press d until 
POWER CLEANING is highlighted, then press Menu. 
Press 
Menu again, then press   to start the power cleaning.
6. Follow the instructions on the LCD display to raise or lower the ink 
levers.
7. When cleaning is finished and the  Pause light stops flashing, print the 
nozzle check again to confirm that the head is clean.
For effective cleaning, always run a nozzle check between cycles. 
If the pattern is still missing segments or has deflections after a power 
cleaning cycle, turn the printer off and leave it overnight, then clean the 
print head again the following morning with regular cleaning cycles. If 
you still see no improvement, contact Epson for assistance. 
Caution: Don’t run a 
cleaning cycle while 
thick media is loaded in 
the printer.
Note: You must use at 
least a 10
× eye loupe to 
examine the nozzle check 
pattern for deflected 
nozzles. 
 
						

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Aligning the Print Head
Aligning the print head is the most important thing you can do to ensure the 
best print quality. If banding appears on your prints, if they look grainy or 
blurry, or if you see misregistration or “ghosting,” you need to align the print 
head. 
Although you can align the print head using the printer utility software, it’s 
also easy to align from the printer’s control panel. This will do the most 
thorough job in the shortest time, and it’s all automatic.
If you haven’t already done so, it’s a good idea to run a nozzle check before 
aligning the print head (page 137). This ensures that the print head 
alignment patterns print correctly.
Follow these steps to align the print head using the control panel:
1. Make sure the printer is turned on. Then load Epson Enhanced Matte 
paper. 
2. Press the 
Menu button. 
3. Press 
d button HEAD ALIGNMENT is highlighted, then press Menu. 
PAPER THICKNESS is highlighted. 
4. Press 
Menu. The STANDARD setting is selected by default. This is the 
correct thickness setting for most Epson papers.
5. Press   to save the setting.
6. Press l, then press d to highlight 
ALIGNMENT. 
7. Press the 
Menu button to highlight AUTO, then press Menu again. 
UNI-D (uni-directional) is highlighted. This is the type of alignment to 
start with.
8. Press the   button to start the alignment process.
Each head alignment takes about 7 minutes. The printer’s white beam 
sensor reads the alignment pattern and adjusts the printer automatically. 
Make sure you don’t open the front cover or turn off the printer during 
this process.
Tip: To properly align the 
print head, you can also 
use Epson Doubleweight 
Matte Paper or Ultra 
Premium Photo Paper 
Luster. 
 
						

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9. When the uni-directional alignment is finished, press d until BI-D 
2-COLOR 
is highlighted. Then press   to start the bi-directional black 
alignment process.
10. When the bi-directional black alignment is finished, press d until 
BI-D 
ALL 
is highlighted. Then press   to start the alignment process.
11. When done, press the  Pause button to exit head alignment mode.
If you want to fine-tune the automatic alignment process, you can perform a 
manual head alignment; see the next section.
Manually Aligning the Print Head
1. Make sure the printer is turned on. Then load Epson Enhanced Matte 
paper or the paper that came with the printer. 
2. Press the 
Menu button. 
3. Press the 
d button until HEAD ALIGNMENT is highlighted, then press 
Menu. PAPER THICKNESS is highlighted. 
4. Press 
Menu. The STANDARD setting is selected by default. This is the 
correct thickness setting for most Epson papers.
5. Press   to save the setting.
6. Press l, then press d to highlight 
ALIGNMENT. 
7. Press the 
Menu button to highlight MANUAL, then press Menu again.
8. Press d to highlight 
BI-D 2-COLOR, then press   to start printing the 
alignment patterns.
Tip: To properly align the 
print head, you can also 
use Epson Doubleweight 
Matte Paper or Ultra 
Premium Photo Paper 
Luster. 
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