Apple Color StyleWriter 4500 General Maintenance

Color StyleWriter 4500 (photo: Hellis, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Routine care for the Color StyleWriter 4000 Series, the Apple Color StyleWriter 4500 and Apple Color StyleWriter 4100, from Apple's Service Source for the two printers and the 4500 user's manual. Apple's documents give no lubrication procedure.

Cleaning

Unplug the printer before cleaning it. Wipe the outside with a damp cloth, with a mild soap or detergent if needed, and keep liquid out of the printer. Do not use alcohol-based or ammonia-based cleaners on or around it.

Fibre tracks

Small fibres can stick to ink residue on the carriage or a cartridge and drag through wet ink, leaving fine streaks called fibre tracks. Apple's cure:

1. Remove the cartridges. Do not leave them uncapped for more than eight minutes, or the nozzles may clog.
2. Inspect each print head. If there is visible ink build-up or even one fibre, clean the nozzle area with a foam rubber swab (or lint-free cloth) moistened with distilled water. Do not wipe across or towards the nozzle plate.
3. Inspect the underside of the cartridge cradle and wipe each black hook-shaped arm with a clean, moistened swab.
4. Refit the cartridges, plug in the power cord and print a self-test page.

Cartridges

Cartridges (Service Source, pp. 12 and 31)

Apple number	Label number	Cartridge	Life
M5693G/A	6106	Black, 40 ml	650 pages at 5 %
M5694G/A	6107	Colour, 7.6 ml per tank	350 pages at 15 %
M5692G/A	6104	Color PhotoGrade (4500 only)	250 pages at 15 %

Apple gives a shelf life of six months installed and 18 months in the original package. Use only ink made for the printer. Apple recommends its Color Ink-Jet Premium Plus coated paper (M4792G/A Letter, M4791G/A A4).

Replacing cartridges

Never slide the carriage by hand; Apple warns that this damages the printer.

1. Switch on and open the access door. The carriage moves to the centre.
2. With the carriage centred, unplug the power cord at the printer and remove the cartridges.
3. Hold each new cartridge by its sides and remove the tape from its print head. Touch only the coloured caps or the black plastic.
4. Slide each cartridge down into the carrier and press until it snaps in. A seated cartridge is hard to remove; a loose one is not seated.
5. Plug in the power cord and close the cover. The carrier moves to the right. If the Resume light blinks, the cartridges are not installed properly: switch off and reseat them.

Aligning cartridges

Align after fitting any new cartridge. With plain paper loaded, choose Page Setup, click Utilities, find Align Print Cartridges and click Start, then Align. On the printout, choose the horizontal and vertical sets in which the black and magenta lines line up best, enter their number and letter, and check the second printout; repeat if it is not acceptable. If black or magenta lines are missing, the tape is still on that cartridge.

Print head cleaning

With the printer on, hold Power and press Resume seven times, then release Power. The printer cleans the heads and prints a test page; the same routine is available as Clean Print Cartridges in the Utilities window. Compare the diagonal lines at the top and bottom of the printout: a gap at the top that has gone at the bottom means the cleaning worked. If a gap remains after three cleanings, replace the cartridge. Cleaning sprays a lot of ink, so use it sparingly.

Capping unit

Apple's instruction is to replace it on any 4100 or 4500 that the customer has had for some time and that comes in for service. The Service Source gives two sets of numbers: 922-3010 (4100) and 922-2855 (4500) on the Special Servicing Considerations page, and 922-3009 (4100) and 922-2854 (4500) in the exploded view, which lists 922-2855 as the purge unit.

Banner calibration

On the 4500 only, after replacing the logic board, mechanical assembly or cartridges, recalibrate banner printing with the Color StyleWriter 4500 Banner Calibration utility (Companion CD, Diagnostic Utilities folder).

1. Copy the utility to the computer, with the printer on and connected to the printer port.
2. Set the banner lever to the cut-sheet (left-most) position; otherwise paper may misalign and banner paper may not be picked.
3. Launch the utility, choose the serial port and click Send File. The printer calibrates and prints a modified diagnostic page.
4. Read the Bump value under Pen State: it should be 140-230. Below 140, check that the banner lever is fully left; above 230, check that the pivot assembly is installed correctly.

Paper jams and carriage stalls

Clear a jam by feeding the paper through, not by pulling: with the printer on, open the access door and press Resume repeatedly to move the paper forward a line at a time, then close the door. For a stalled carriage, switch off, open the door and check the carriage path; if the carriage is not locked at home, try sliding it along the rod. Check that the white plastic clutch actuator is clear of the carriage, and inspect the carriage belt, carriage assembly, service station and rod, replacing any damaged part.

Do not touch any screw on the mechanical assembly that the Take Apart chapter does not call out. Apple says it puts the printer out of alignment and means a new mechanical assembly.

Related pages

• Apple Color StyleWriter 4500 and Apple Color StyleWriter 4100
• Apple Color StyleWriter 4500 Troubleshooting Guide
• Color StyleWriter 4100 and 4500 Service Source