It sounds like the print head may be jamming on the parking mechanism (usually because the actuation lever is stuck in the up position). Turn the printer on, and as soon as the print head moves, pull the power cord out of the back, or switch it off at the mains. You should now be able to move the print head over to the left by hand out of the way. If you can't move the head, it means it's jammed on something, and you will need to dismantle the printer (see below) to investigate further.
If the head moves OK, look in the "parking bay" at the right end where the print head parks itself and see if there is a plastic arm sticking up. If there is, gently pull it towards you and it should spring down. Now turn the printer back on and it should operate normally. If it happens again, repeat the process a few times to see if it clears the problem. Otherwise it means the parking mechanism is gummed up with dried ink and needs a good clean (see below).
Alternatively, if you see that the whole parking mechanism itself has moved up to block the way, this means a spring has come off. To get this back on again requires the printer to be dismantled - as does the cleaning job above!
Should you decide to have a go at further investigation, cleaning or re-fixing springs etc, let me know if you are going to do this because I can help you with how to get the case apart, how to refix springs etc.
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