What is a head strike? How do I prevent head strikes?
A head strike occurs when the print head collides with the edge of the paper (instead of passing freely over it). The usual result is that the edge of the paper gets smeared with ink — not pretty. In severe cases, a head strike can damage the print head. Why does it happen? One possibility is that you are printing on thick paper (such as fine art matte media) and the Platen Gap isn’t wide enough. The Platen Gap is a printer setting (accessible via the printer driver or from the printer panel itself) that determines the distance between the print head and the paper during printing. The wider a setting you use, the greater the distance, and the less likely a head strike will occur. However, if you are printing on thin media and set the Platen Gap too wide, then prints may look faint. Even when using an appropriate Platen Gap settings, head strikes can occasionally occur. One reason for this is that the Epson 3800 does not have a vaccuum system to keep the paper flat as it is fed during
A head strike occurs when the print head collides with the edge of the paper (instead of passing freely over it). The usual result is that the edge of the paper gets smeared with ink — not pretty. In severe cases, a head strike can damage the print head. Why does it happen? One possibility is that you are printing on thick paper (such as fine art matte media) and the Platen Gap isn’t wide enough. The Platen Gap is a printer setting (accessible via the printer driver or from the printer panel itself) that determines the distance between the print head and the paper during printing. The wider a setting you use, the greater the distance, and the less likely a head strike will occur. However, if you are printing on thin media and set the Platen Gap too wide, then prints may look faint. Even when using an appropriate Platen Gap settings, head strikes can occasionally occur. One reason for this is that the Epson 3800 does not have a vaccuum system to keep the paper flat as it is fed during
