when you pop that beast open, pop out the roll- above it there's gonna be a black strip with stainless steel liming. it's also gonna have a bunch of adhesive and paper gunk stuck to it. if you're not using the printer cleaner pad, use your thumbnail.

cleaning pad's gonna be easier because the isopropyl will deteriorate the gunk buildup, making wiping it perfectly clean easier.

after this, you log into a register, go to functions, then label routing dashboard, click the printers tab, and you can test single printers or all printers and see how they're doing and a hard copy of what they print up for that setting (peak/off peak).

You have to scrub the bottom part really hard, like I was worried I was going to break mine we called it in and the tech literally looked like he was going to break it by rubbing so hard but it worked and we are able to read it

Been selling/servicing thermal printers for 28 years. Hopefully this advice finds you well since thermal printers are ubiquitous in the hospitality industry and goes for all of them including receipt printers.

First:

Those cleaning cards are junk, don't bother or toss them, you guys don't maintain the printer enough for them to be effective. Nobody does.

Second:

Open up the printer and remove the media.

Third:

Get some isopropyl alcohol(only) and some pads, swabs, microfiber cloth whatever(nothing even slightly abrasive). No other cleaning solutions or tools should be used.

Tips:

* Do not soak it, let the alcohol do the work.

* Do not scratch or use any scraping tools(like fingernails the other commenter mentioned), ever.

* Good ole' fashioned elbow grease is it.

Fourth:

Locate the printhead, roller, tear bar(all points the labels touch and where adhesive will collect). See link...note the red arrow is pointing at the "burn line" and also the part that touches the platen(roller) which will be your main focus and where buildup directly affects its operation.

>https://imgur.com/a/Gs8cUzc

Fifth:

Clean these areas no matter how long it takes, if you can't get the whole roller, try turning with your hands or close the lid, hit the feed key to rotate it until fully accessible . You'll know it's clean when the rag or pad is no longer removing dirt/debris and can't feel any adhesive by lightly rubbing your finger across all surfaces. It needs to feel clean, not look it.

Sixth:

Test, rinse and repeat.

> Preventative Maintenance:
>
>I know you guys are busy but this should be part of your daily cleaning routine. Thermal printers are durable but get gunked up with repeated use and need to stay on top of it to avoid a caked on mess like the other commenter reported. It should never get that bad. Once in the habit, you can use those cards for spot cleaning but not needed, just use isopropyl alcohol pads, cheaper, found anywhere and faster.
>
>If you see vertical white lines the size of a pixel or so spanning the length of the label/receipt, this is a burnt out pixel and no amount of cleaning can reverse this. Depending how bad it is, it will need to be replaced. This can happen naturally or when debris is stuck to it and trying to "burn" through all that dust and adhesive.
>
>Doing this can add years to its lifespan and relieve a lot the common problems(daily) associated with thermal printers. It will also help with calibration and alignment. Just like driving through sand, that dust collects in the rubber and starts slipping throwing everything out of whack.

Good luck! Now you have another excuse to clean more ;)

Sometimes gunk builds up in the rollers where the cleaning pad isn’t quite able to reach, I use a stopper to get in there and scoop it out. If you’ve throughly cleaned the machine and there’s still a section you can’t read that’s probably what it is.