The platen (the black metal part directly under the media as it is printing) requires cleaning to ensure that the media has a smooth surface to move across and that the vacuum holes do not get clogged.

Keeping the platen clean ensures that the platen surface does not have inkor media residue build up. If the platen is allowed to continue to have ink building up on it, the residue will become sticky and tacky and will eventually interfere with the proper movement of the media, possibly causing line length errors in your images.

If the vacuum holes on the platen are not kept clean, the media will lift off of the platen and could cause the cartridge heads to actually hit the media leaving 'head strike" markings on your image. Image quality can also be deteriorated due to the actual distance between the cartridge head and the media to be less then the calculated value used in the ink printing algorithm.

To clean the platen

1. Lift the cover of the printer.

2. With a lint-free cloth moistened with Isopropyl Alcohol gently clean the entire platen surface.

3. To clean the vacuum holes on the platen, use a long narrow instrument such as a toothpick and insert it into the hole. Move the instrument in a circular motion to clear the edges of the hole and remove. Wipe the instrument with a cloth to clean any debris off before inserting it into the next hole.

4. Repeat step 3 for all the vacuum holes on the platen

5. Close the cover.