Head Strikes

One of the most damaging problems that can occur to your printer is a Head Strike, or a Head Rub. Avoiding this will not only extend your print head’s life, but will save you both time and expensive repairs.

What is a head strike?

A head strike is when the print head contacts, or strikes, a garment or platen.

Results of a head strike

If a head strike occurs, the print head may be damaged. If the head strike is on a pretreated garment it will likely clog nozzles and may permanently damage the print head.

How to avoid head strikes

Properly positioning the platen, mounting the garment, and setting the platen height so that the print head has sufficient clearance will ensure that you never experience a head strike.

What to do if you get a head strike

1. Immediately lower the platen (‘Down’ button)
2. Abort the print job (tap the ‘Feeding’ button)
3. Prime all ink lines for a full pump cycle
   1. Monitor the waste ink bottle and interrupt priming to empty it, as needed
4. Run two head cleans
5. Print a nozzle check

If the nozzle check is good, continue printing to keep ink flowing through the nozzles, then wet cap in Super Nozzle Cleaner overnight when finished printing.

If a good nozzle check cannot be achieved by following the above steps, contact tech support to see if permanent damage can be avoided.

See pages 11-12 of your User Manual for details about positioning the platen and setting its height, and pages 14-15 for details about mounting garments onto the platen.