How to Clean the Printhead in a HP 1200
In the HP Business Inkjet 1200 printer, four ink cartridges disperse ink through four printheads during printing. The printheads require cleaning whenever ink accumulates, clogging the nozzles; and print quality decreases, resulting in blank areas on your printouts. Because cleaning the printheads wastes ink, HP has designed the HP 1200 with three cleaning options--accessible through the control panel--to prevent over-cleaning and lost ink.
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Instructions
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1
Push the "Power" button on your HP 1200 printer and hold it down.
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2
Press the "Cancel" button twice while holding down the "Power" button to start the basic or "Level 1" cleaning process.
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3
Remove your finger from the "Power" button. If done correctly, you should hear the printer start to clean the printheads.
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4
Print out a HP 1200 Configuration Page when the cleaning process ends by pushing the "Configuration Page" button, located to the left of the "Power" button.
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5
Check the "Printhead Status" section under "Printhead Health" for continued print quality issues. If you see that the initial basic Level 1 cleaning didn't correct the problem, repeat Step 2 and then push the "Resume" button located to the right of the "Cancel" button once, while still holding down the "Power" button, to activate the medium, or "Level 2," cleaning. Wait for the cleaning process to end.
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Repeat Step 4 and check the "Printhead Health" section again. If the print-quality issues remain, repeat Step 2 and push the "Resume" button twice to activate the deepest, or "Level 3," cleaning.
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Tips & Warnings
If your control panel isn't working correctly or you would rather issue the cleaning command from your computer, activate the process for cleaning the printheads through via the HP Toolbox (Windows)/HP Inkjet Toolbox (Mac). To activate In Windows, open the Toolbox, click the "Printer Services" tab, select "Clean Printheads" and then follow the instructions that appear on the screen. To activate in Mac, open the Toolbox, click the "Clean" button and follow the instructions on the screen.
If your control panel isn't working even if the cleaning process works, contact HP immediately for assistance as your printer likely requires repair.
Additionally, if you have difficulty reading the Configuration Page or deep-cleaning the printheads doesn't correct your print quality issues, contact HP.
