WS2 - Bad Print Quality

Problem/Question

Printouts are too light, too dark, or have streaks.

Applicable To

WS208, WS212

Resolution/Answer

1. Clean the print head and Platen Roller.

It is essential to keep printhead clean if you want the best print quality. We
strongly recommend that you clean the printhead when you load a new
media roll. If the printer is operated in critical environment, or the print
quality declines, you need to clean the printhead more frequently.
Keep in mind these things before you clean:
￭ Keep the water away in case of corrosion on heating elements.
￭ If you just finish printing, wait until the printhead cools down.
￭ Do not touch the printhead with bare hands or hard objects.
Cleaning steps:
1. Moisten a soft cloth or a cotton swab with ethyl alcohol.
2. Gently wipe the printhead in one direction. That is, wipe it only from left
to right or vice versa. Do not wipe back-and-forth, in case dust or dirt
attaches to the printhead again.

Print Head Cleaning

Platen Roller Cleaning

2. Clean the label sensor.

Media sensors may not be able to detect the media correctly if it becomes dirty.
1. Moisten a soft cloth or a cotton swab with absolute ethyl alcohol.
2. Gently brush sensors to remove the dust away.
3. Use a dry cloth to clean the residue.

3. Ensure the media load correctly. Refer to the following video.

WS2 - Media loading

4. Adjusting the Print Darkness and print speed.

Using All-In-One Tool to adjust the settings. You may download the tool from link below:

WS2 Printer Utility

In "General" tab, adjust the print darkness and print speed accordingly.

Print Darkness:  Adjust the darkness relative to the current darkness
setting. The range is +1~ +5, and the value is adjustable in
increments of ± 1.

Print Speed: Determine the media speed during printing. The range is
+2 ~ +6, and the value is adjustable in increments of ± 1 ips.

03-80142-EN