Cleaning Schedule and Procedures

Routine preventive maintenance is a crucial part of normal printer operation. By taking good care of your printer, you can minimize potential problems and achieve/maintain the desired print quality standards.

Over time, the movement of media or ribbon across the printhead wears through the protective ceramic coating, exposing and eventually damaging the print elements (dots). To avoid abrasion:

Clean the printhead frequently.

Minimize printhead pressure and burn temperature (darkness) settings by optimizing the balance between the two.

When using Thermal Transfer mode, ensure that the ribbon is either as wide or wider than the media. This is to avoid exposing printhead elements to the more abrasive label material.

Zebra is not responsible for damage caused by the use of cleaning fluids on this printer.

Specific cleaning procedures are included in this section. Follow the recommended cleaning schedule listed in the table below.

These recommended cleaning intervals are intended as guidelines only. You may have to clean more often depending on your specific application and the media you use for printing.

Recommended Cleaning Schedule
Area		Method	Interval
Printhead		Solvent*	Direct Thermal Mode: After every roll of media (or 500 feet of fanfold media). Thermal Transfer Mode: After every roll of ribbon.
Platen roller (standard, white)		Solvent*
Platen roller (linerless, dark brown)		Dabbing with sticky side of linerless label**
Media sensors		Air blow
Ribbon sensor		Air blow
Media path		Solvent*
Ribbon path		Solvent*
Pinch roller (part of Peel-Off option)		Solvent*
Cutter module	If cutting continuous, pressure-sensitive media	Solvent*	After every roll of media (or more often, depending upon your application and media).
Cutter module	If cutting tag stock or label liner material	Solvent* and air blow	After every two or three rolls of media.
Tear-off/peel-off bar		Solvent*	Once a month.
Take-label sensor		Air blow	Once every six months.
* Zebra recommends using the Preventive Maintenance Kit (p/n 47362 or p/n 105950-035 - multipack). In place of the Preventive Maintenance Kit, you may use a lint-free cloth dipped in 99.7% isopropyl alcohol. For 600 dpi printers, use Save-a-Printhead cleaning film. This specially-coated material removes contamination buildup without damaging the printhead. Call your authorized reseller or distributor for more information. ** Do not use solvents, including isopropyl alcohol or the Preventive Maintenance Kit swab, on a linerless platen roller as this could damage the finish.