The paper feed belt is responsible for transporting media smoothly through your Sawgrass printer during printing. Over time, ink mist, paper dust, and other contaminants can accumulate on the belt, which may affect paper handling and print quality.
Cleaning the paper feed belt is a simple maintenance procedure that is recommended periodically to help keep your printer operating at its best. It may also help resolve issues such as SC 57000 / 570-00 service code errors, ink smearing, or other media handling problems caused by contamination on the belt.
This guide explains how to safely clean the paper feed belt using a lint-free cloth and Isopropyl Alcohol. The procedure only takes a few minutes, but it is important to allow the belt to dry completely before using the printer again to prevent any alcohol from transferring to the paper.
Important: Only use a lint-free cloth and Isopropyl Alcohol (or Denatured Alcohol if unavailable). Avoid applying excessive pressure while cleaning, as this may damage or deform the feed belt.
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Before we get started, let's grab a few things:
- A lint-free cloth (such as an eyeglasses cleaner)
- Isopropyl or Denatured Alcohol (Isopropyl is preferred for less residue)
- First, turn off and unplug the printer. Yes, for this process it is okay to turn the printer off!
- Next, grab your supplies and open the top cover of the printer.
- Then, go to the back of the printer and open the rear door by pushing in the two gray tabs located on the either side of the door.
- Now, jumping back to the lid of the printer, have a look inside and locate the Paper Feed Belt. The paper feed belt will look like a black shiny strip of film or plastic.
- Now, take the lint-free cloth, add some alcohol to it and gently glide the cloth along the paper feed belt. There's no need for too much pressure here. We don't want to dent or scratch.
- Once you have wiped and cleaned the visible part of the feed belt, go to the rear of the printer (the rear door should still be open), you will see gray rollers. These rollers help rotate the paper feed belt.
- Gently press down on the gray rollers to rotate the paper feed belt. Try not to slide the gray rollers back and forth as this can cause a paper misfeed.
- This will help clean the part of the paper feed belt that may not be currently visible.
- Once you the paper feed belt has been cleaned in its entirety, wait 15-30 minutes to power the printer back on. The paper feed belt needs to be dry first else it may affect the paper when printing.
- Give it a test!
Tips
You can keep the printer off for an hour just to be sure that the paper feed belt is dry
Go to the eyewear section in any drug or superstore to find a lint-free cloth
If the gray rollers slide out of place, make sure to place them back into place gently. Again, sliding them back and forth can cause a paper feed errors so do everything with a gentle touch!
With little pressure, you will feel the gray rollers located at the rear of the printer become unstuck
Patience is best when cleaning the paper feed belt!