How to Maintain Your Digital Printer
How to Maintain Your Digital Printer for Peak Performance？
As someone involved in repairing and refurbishing digital garment printing equipment, I can tell you that I see some machines in unbelievably dirty condition. In the same way that some screen printers neglect their presses, some digital decorators fail to clean and maintain their digital printers, causing themselves unnecessary headaches and expenses. That’s a shame when you consider how quick and easy it is to maintain your printer.
When you purchase a new automobile, you don’t simply drive it endlessly without performing regular maintenance tasks like oil changes and tire pressure checks.
Similarly, when you purchase a digital garment printer, you need to give the machine some occasional TLC. Doing so will go a long way in extending the mileage of your digital printer, ensuring that it has a trouble-free, efficient life. What’s more, properly maintaining your digital printer can help you save ink, minimize the frequency of head cleanings and nozzle checks, avoid wasting garments, and avoid replacing print heads and other components.
The tips in this guide refer directly to parts found in Epson-based digital garment printers like the AnaJet, Flexijet, DTG Kiosk and HM1, and those T-Jets sold by the now-defunct U.S. Screen Print & Inkjet Technology. The principles of routine maintenance are universal, and will benefit owners of Brother, Kornit and other printers that are not based on an Epson. A Regular Routine.
Set aside five minutes at the end of each work day to clean your digital printer. Use a gentle liquid, like Formula 409 or isopropyl alcohol, and a paper towel to wipe the outside of the machine, for cosmetic reasons if nothing else. Then, use a swab to gently clean the inside.
Use the special swabs that came with the printer to clean it and buy new ones from your distributor. Don’t use Q-tips from the drug or grocery store — they can leave cotton debris on the unit. Pay particular attention to the rubber gasket on the capping assembly, where ink buildup can lead to clogging. Also, wipe away any excess ink from the sloped areas to either side of the print head, but make sure to avoid touching the print head itself.
On a weekly basis, you should clean the encoder strip. The strip has a nearly invisible pattern embossed on it that tells the print head where it is at any given moment. If that pattern is dirty, the printer can’t read it and an error might occur. Clean the strip using a standard alcohol wipe available .from most drugstores. Always wipe towards the spring to avoid stretching it.
Drugstores also sell a product called Swipes, an eyeglass cleaner that doubles as the perfect encoder strip cleaning tool. Swipes look like tweezers with two circular pads on the ends. Put a little Windex spray on the pads, squeeze them together and wipe until the encoder strip is clean.
Each month, you’ll need to oil the digital printer’s rails using an extremely light coat of machine oil. Lubricate the metal rail that the print head rides on. While you’re at it, clean out any lint from the belt that drives the print head. Otherwise, the belt may skip during printing.
Spare Parts
This daily/weekly/monthly maintenance routine should work well for most users. If you’re a power user, you’ll want to have certain parts available as replacements, as natural wear and tear will eventually require them. For instance, keep an extra encoder strip handy — it’s a relatively inexpensive part at less than $20.
It’s also handy to have an extra capping assembly, the part that the print head sits on. A capping assembly acts like a vacuum cleaner, sucking out the waste ink when you do a head cleaning. This part is constantly working, so you may need to change it out once or twice a year. A capping assembly costs anywhere from $60 to $200, depending on what type of machine you have.
You also should keep spare waste pads. This 2" x 2" part, which costs just a few dollars, sits on the side opposite the print head to absorb excess ink, keeping it from spreading all over the machine and gunking things up. (Epson 4800/4880 and 7800/7880 models do not have these pads.) Whenever you see a large buildup of ink on the pad, it’s time to change it out for a new one. Make this checkup part of your daily or weekly maintenance routine.
Likewise, if your machine uses an exterior waste ink tank, keep a close eye on it. When it’s getting full, just detach the bottle from the machine and throw away the ink. (Check with local officials for rules and regulations regarding ink disposal.)
Humidity also can affect your digital printer and its print head. In fact, the larger the machine, the more sensitive it is to humidity. Use a hygrometer (humidity gauge) to measure whether your shop’s humidity level is in the desired range of 40% to 80%. Digital hygrometers are available for around $10 from a hardware store. A humidifier and dehumidifier will help you adjust the room’s humidity level and keep it within the desired range. Generally, humidify in the winter and dehumidify in the summer. Your shop’s humidity level plays a crucial role in your machine’s health, so keep tabs on it.
Digital printers also are sensitive to dust and heat, so maintain a clean environment and a temperature of 65°F to 80°F. Think of the machine as a piece of office equipment. You wouldn’t put your high-end color laser copier next to a screen printing machine in 100°F heat, right?
Finally, you will eventually have to replace the print head. The print head will last anywhere from a few months to a year and a half, depending on how well you take care of it. New print heads generally run between $300 and $600 and are good for anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 prints — it all depends upon which brand of printer you have. However, regardless of brand, keeping that machine clean goes a long way to extending the life of the print head.
Keep tabs on your print head’s health by performing regular nozzle checks, which print a series of lines of each ink color. If a certain color’s line is missing or if you see jagged lines, you know you have a problem: either a clog or a worn-out print head.
More Tips
Despite your best efforts, it’s easy to let maintenance routines get away from you. Skip a day here and there, and before you know it you’re out of the habit and neglecting your machine. Stay on track by keeping a log in which you record your maintenance routine each day, making note of which tasks you performed.
Besides helping you remember what tasks you performed and when you did them, this log also will increase the residual value of the printer should you decide to sell the machine. Naturally, any prospective buyer will be more likely to pay a higher price for a digital printer that comes with a complete record showing the owner’s regular maintenance.
When you purchase a new automobile, you don’t simply drive it endlessly without performing regular maintenance tasks like oil changes and tire pressure checks.
Similarly, when you purchase a digital garment printer, you need to give the machine some occasional TLC. Doing so will go a long way in extending the mileage of your digital printer, ensuring that it has a trouble-free, efficient life. What’s more, properly maintaining your digital printer can help you save ink, minimize the frequency of head cleanings and nozzle checks, avoid wasting garments, and avoid replacing print heads and other components.
The tips in this guide refer directly to parts found in Epson-based digital garment printers like the AnaJet, Flexijet, DTG Kiosk and HM1, and those T-Jets sold by the now-defunct U.S. Screen Print & Inkjet Technology. The principles of routine maintenance are universal, and will benefit owners of Brother, Kornit and other printers that are not based on an Epson. A Regular Routine.
Set aside five minutes at the end of each work day to clean your digital printer. Use a gentle liquid, like Formula 409 or isopropyl alcohol, and a paper towel to wipe the outside of the machine, for cosmetic reasons if nothing else. Then, use a swab to gently clean the inside.
Use the special swabs that came with the printer to clean it and buy new ones from your distributor. Don’t use Q-tips from the drug or grocery store — they can leave cotton debris on the unit. Pay particular attention to the rubber gasket on the capping assembly, where ink buildup can lead to clogging. Also, wipe away any excess ink from the sloped areas to either side of the print head, but make sure to avoid touching the print head itself.
On a weekly basis, you should clean the encoder strip. The strip has a nearly invisible pattern embossed on it that tells the print head where it is at any given moment. If that pattern is dirty, the printer can’t read it and an error might occur. Clean the strip using a standard alcohol wipe available .from most drugstores. Always wipe towards the spring to avoid stretching it.
Drugstores also sell a product called Swipes, an eyeglass cleaner that doubles as the perfect encoder strip cleaning tool. Swipes look like tweezers with two circular pads on the ends. Put a little Windex spray on the pads, squeeze them together and wipe until the encoder strip is clean.
Each month, you’ll need to oil the digital printer’s rails using an extremely light coat of machine oil. Lubricate the metal rail that the print head rides on. While you’re at it, clean out any lint from the belt that drives the print head. Otherwise, the belt may skip during printing.
Spare Parts
This daily/weekly/monthly maintenance routine should work well for most users. If you’re a power user, you’ll want to have certain parts available as replacements, as natural wear and tear will eventually require them. For instance, keep an extra encoder strip handy — it’s a relatively inexpensive part at less than $20.
It’s also handy to have an extra capping assembly, the part that the print head sits on. A capping assembly acts like a vacuum cleaner, sucking out the waste ink when you do a head cleaning. This part is constantly working, so you may need to change it out once or twice a year. A capping assembly costs anywhere from $60 to $200, depending on what type of machine you have.
You also should keep spare waste pads. This 2" x 2" part, which costs just a few dollars, sits on the side opposite the print head to absorb excess ink, keeping it from spreading all over the machine and gunking things up. (Epson 4800/4880 and 7800/7880 models do not have these pads.) Whenever you see a large buildup of ink on the pad, it’s time to change it out for a new one. Make this checkup part of your daily or weekly maintenance routine.
Likewise, if your machine uses an exterior waste ink tank, keep a close eye on it. When it’s getting full, just detach the bottle from the machine and throw away the ink. (Check with local officials for rules and regulations regarding ink disposal.)
Humidity also can affect your digital printer and its print head. In fact, the larger the machine, the more sensitive it is to humidity. Use a hygrometer (humidity gauge) to measure whether your shop’s humidity level is in the desired range of 40% to 80%. Digital hygrometers are available for around $10 from a hardware store. A humidifier and dehumidifier will help you adjust the room’s humidity level and keep it within the desired range. Generally, humidify in the winter and dehumidify in the summer. Your shop’s humidity level plays a crucial role in your machine’s health, so keep tabs on it.
Digital printers also are sensitive to dust and heat, so maintain a clean environment and a temperature of 65°F to 80°F. Think of the machine as a piece of office equipment. You wouldn’t put your high-end color laser copier next to a screen printing machine in 100°F heat, right?
Finally, you will eventually have to replace the print head. The print head will last anywhere from a few months to a year and a half, depending on how well you take care of it. New print heads generally run between $300 and $600 and are good for anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 prints — it all depends upon which brand of printer you have. However, regardless of brand, keeping that machine clean goes a long way to extending the life of the print head.
Keep tabs on your print head’s health by performing regular nozzle checks, which print a series of lines of each ink color. If a certain color’s line is missing or if you see jagged lines, you know you have a problem: either a clog or a worn-out print head.
More Tips
Despite your best efforts, it’s easy to let maintenance routines get away from you. Skip a day here and there, and before you know it you’re out of the habit and neglecting your machine. Stay on track by keeping a log in which you record your maintenance routine each day, making note of which tasks you performed.
Besides helping you remember what tasks you performed and when you did them, this log also will increase the residual value of the printer should you decide to sell the machine. Naturally, any prospective buyer will be more likely to pay a higher price for a digital printer that comes with a complete record showing the owner’s regular maintenance.
