- Want to know more about the upkeep
of your Fast T-Jet, Veloci-Jet, Anajet, Flexijet, DTG. Freejet,
MS, I-Dot... Printers? Check out this guide to direct-to-garment
printer maintenance.
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- By Harry Oster
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- 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 digital printer.
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- If you purchased a brand-new automobile,
you wouldn't simply drive it endlessly without performing regular
maintenance tasks like oil changes and tire pressure checks.
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- 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. This guide applies directly
to all Epson-based digital garment printers like the Veloci-Jet,
T-Jet, Anajet, Flexijet, and DTG brands and may be applicable
to non-Epson based printers as well.
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- Location, Location, Location
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- Make sure to locate your printer in a
clean, temperature controlled space. Digital printers are sensitive
to dust and heat, so maintain a clean environment and a temperature
of 65 to 80 degrees. 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-degree heat, right?
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- It's extremely important to make sure
that your printer is plugged into a high end surge protector.
All the maintenance in the world will not help if your printer
gets a severe electric jolt from lightening or other causes.
Makes sure to choose a quality surge protector. A $5 to $10 unit
will not give you any protection.
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- Humidity can also 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 close tabs on it.
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- Your Regular Routine
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- 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; avoid Q-tips, which
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. 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. Also make sure that the wiper
of the capping assembly is kept clean and remains flexible. The
wiper literally wipes the bottom of the print head. Always check
that the wiper, which is rubber, is soft and bendable. If the
rubber wiper feels stiff and rough replace it right away with
a new one as it otherwise could cause damage to the print head
over time.
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- 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, making sure to always wipe towards the
spring to avoid stretching it.
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- 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.
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- Each month, you'll need to oil the digital
printer's rails using an extremely light coat of 3-in-1 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.
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- Spare Parts
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- 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 new parts. For
instance, keep an extra encoder strip handy - it's a relatively
inexpensive part at less than $20.
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- 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
runs anywhere from $60 to $200, depending on what type of machine
you have.
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- 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 build-up 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 regarding rules
and regulations regarding the disposal of ink.).
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- 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 around 10,000-50,000 prints, depending on which
machine you have. Keeping your machine clean goes a long way
to extending the life of your print head.
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- 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.
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- More Machine Maintenance Tips
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- 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 where you record
your maintenance routine each day, making note of which tasks
you performed. Besides helping you remember what tasks you performed
when, this log will also come in handy for potential buyers if
you decide to sell your machine. Naturally, the prospective buyer
will be more likely to pay a higher price for a digital printer
that has records showing the owner's regular maintenance.
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- One area of the machine you shouldn't
mess with is its electronics. If there's a problem with a circuit
board, keep your soldering iron in the tool shed, and let your
supplier address the problem. Some suppliers also offer general
machine tuneups - a good idea, especially if you have a larger,
more complex unit.
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- Also, don't let your machine sit for days
on end without running, lest you risk getting an ink clog. Put
together a great looking pieceof artwork with your company name,
web site, and contact information on it. If you don't have a
print job that day, print a sample shirt with the art. This way
you both run the printer and build up a pile of sample printed
shirts to give to potential customers. Alternatively, if you're
going to leave the machine idle for more than a couple of days,
flush out the ink and install cleaning cartridges - a much cheaper
way to ensure that fluid is pumping through the machine regularly.
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- Similarly, if you don't intend on using
white ink for a long time, use cleaning fluid or distilled water
in its place. Then whenever you're ready to start using white
again, just empty the cleaning solution or water and fill the
bottles or cartridges with white ink. This is a good approach,
as white ink can clog more easily than other inks.
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- Another helpful tip for white ink: At
the end of each day, mildly agitate all of the canisters that
have white ink.
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- Most of these maintenance tips for digital
printers are relatively straightforward and inexpensive. The
key is getting in the habit of performing them on a regular basis
- this way, your machine will consistently performs at its peak.
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