Hello,
I think I got it.
I used the "replace cutter" command to bring the print head out. I ran some paper under the print head, and found some light inking—about what I might expect, but nothing heavy enough to cause the smudging I saw.
Next, I looked at the front of the ink carriage base, the part closest to the platen facing out. At the bottom edge of the front face, were 4 or 5 accumulations of ink perhaps 3 mm top to bottom, 6 to 7 mm wide, and 1 mm deep (front to back). I used some PEC pads and a chop stick to clean this up.
The resulting prints are clean.
Best,
Michael Morrison