The ink in the color cartridge is mixing or the first few passes of printing are lighter than the rest. (Cleaning the Maintenance Station)
Cleaning the maintenance station prevents the color ink cartridge from mixing or the first few printing passes from being lighter than the rest of the label. Mixing colors are almost never cartridge defects. They are caused by other external factors.
They can be prevented by following simple procedures:
Do not re-tape cartridges. Mixing of ink colors is sometimes due to re-taping of the ink cartridges. This is not a factory defect. Taping cartridges does not keep them fresh or prevent them from drying out. In fact, it allows ink to travel from one chamber to the other by capillary action – thereby causing mixed colors. The most obvious result of this is yellow turning green.
Clean Maintenance (Capping) Station. Mixing can also be caused by a printer’s capping station that has a puddle of ink in it. (The capping station is where the cartridges dock when not printing.) This is mostly seen in printers that get very heavy use. The rubber cap just naturally builds up ink over time. When the ink cartridge sits on the cap for a period of time, usually overnight, there is enough ink pooled in the caps to mix the colors. The fix is easy. Just wipe off the capping station components occasionally with a damp cloth. The components that need cleaning include the cap itself as well as the two clear plastic wipers just to the right of the cap. Clean the wipers especially if you notice light printing on the first few passes of the label. See the image below.
The color wiper may actually need replacement after several thousand prints if you notice light printing on the first few passes or leading edge of the label or disc. Request a new wiper from tech support. To replace it simply use a screw driver to bend the wiper so the hole in the wiper clears the plastic tab on the maintenance station. Pull the wiper from the maintenance station. Replace it by pressing the wiper down until the plastic tab fits into the hole on the wiper.
Note: Cartridges that have mixed ink are no longer useable for accurate color reproduction. The above procedures are preventative measures.
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