Hi all. We have a Brother MFC-j6945DW.
It is a nice printer…when used regularly. Unfortunately, we use it less than once every two weeks. I am constantly having to clean the print heads.
Does anyone else have this issue with their printers? I never had this with an HP printer. I’m curious if it is a symptom of printers with ink tanks instead of cartridges with print heads, or maybe something else.
I think it’s pretty much The Norm with the cartridges. Both our dye sub printer and the big printer have to kept running to prevent clogging issues. And even then, they probably need some “help”.
I believe this is a standard ink-jet constraint across brands. If you don’t print something regularly, e.g. once a week or so, they may clog. I switched to an ink-tank printer to make cleaning less painful and costly however I find that if I simply print even a test page at least once a week it tends to not be an issue.
Yeah,
regular head cleanings are a general cost to Inkjet printers, especially when being used irregularly. I’d suggest seeing if Brothers supports a rip or driver that allows you to schedule a regular head cleaning. I have a Roland Inkjet at the office that runs a head cleaning once a day automatically, it resets the timer if you print more than 1 ft during the timer. I found that getting it running daily saved head clogs, plus a normal head cleaning typically costs less than $0.40 per day.
I’d suggest ordering extra waste tanks if you do this. I have 2 at the office and they can be dumped. But many are not user emptiable.
Also, I like this stuff as a print head cleaner, Purple Hammer Printerhead/Print head Aggressive Cleaning Solution | DTG PRO
It can be used with foam swabs to wipe the print head periodically, the Rubber wiper and rubber edges of the print head cleaning tray. https://www.amazon.com/LOVEDAY-Rectangle-Cleaning-Solvent-Equipment/dp/B01HQAU7F4/ref=asc_df_B01HQAU7F4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198093803032&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5370376037958234229&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026837&hvtargid=pla-320968516228&psc=1 Also, you can poor some of the cleaner in the head cleaning tray periodically to keep the drain tube flowing, as it can clog slowly while owning the machine. Takes less than a table spoon.
Thanks for maintaining the printer.
@Nick Thanks…I’m not certain my home printer has a waste tank…but I should look for it just in case. I’ll have a look at the print head cleaning you suggested.
They call yours a “Ink Absorber”. You can likely buy replacement cut inserts for it online for less than $5 if you can find them.