Platen Cleaning and Replacement
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Platen Cleaning and Replacement

The platen (drive roller) normally does not require cleaning. Normally, paper and liner dust can accumulate without affecting print operations.
Clean the platen (and media path) whenever the printer has significantly poorer performance, print quality, or media handling. The platen is the print surface and drive-roller for your media. If sticking or jamming continues even after cleaning, you must replace the platen.
Contaminants on the platen roller can damage the printhead or cause the media to slip or stick when printing. Adhesive, dirt, general dust, oils, and other contaminants should be cleaned off the platen immediately.
Clean the platen with a fiber-free swab (such as a Texpad swab) or a lint-free, clean, damp cloth very lightly moistened with isopropyl alcohol (minimum 99.7% pure).
  1. Removing the Platen Roller
  2. Open the cover (and dispenser door, if the dispenser is installed). Remove media from the platen area.
  3. Pull the platen bearing latch release tabs (1) on the right and left sides towards the front of the printer and rotate them up.
    Shows the platen bearings rotating to the unlock position.
  4. Lift the platen out of the printer’s lower frame using the bearing arms (1).
    Shows the platen assembly being lifted out of the printer.
  5. Slide the gear and the two bearings off the shaft of the platen roller.
  6. Cleaning Only — Clean the platen with the alcohol moistened swab. Clean from the center out. Repeat this process until all of the roller surfaces have been cleaned. If there has been heavy adhesive build-up or label jam, repeat with a new swab to remove residual contaminants, as the initial cleaning may thin but not completely remove adhesives and oils.
  7. Discard the cleaning swabs after use - do not reuse them.
  8. Make sure the bearings and drive gear are on the shaft of the platen roller.
    Shows the platen being reassembled and inserted into the printer.
  9. Align the platen with the gear to the left and lower it into the printer’s bottom frame.
  10. Rotate the platen bearing latch release tabs down on the right and left sides towards the rear of the printer and snap them into place.
  11. Allow the printer to dry for one minute before closing the dispenser door, media cover, or loading labels.