Patent attributes
A head cleaner to clean a liquid discharge head including a nozzle face in which nozzles are formed includes a wiper to wipe the nozzle face by moving relative to the liquid discharge head in a wiping direction. The wiper includes a wiper sheet, a blade having a higher water repellency than the wiper sheet, and a controller that controls the wiper to perform a first wiping operation and a second wiping operation. The first wiping operation involves wiping the nozzle face with the wiper sheet without bringing the blade into contact with the nozzle face, and the second wiping operation involves wiping the nozzle face with the wiper sheet and the blade by bringing the wiper sheet and the blade into contact with the nozzle face. The controller controls the wiper to perform the second wiping operation after performing the first wiping operation at least once.