Printers run thousands of hours with repetitive motions, and while it can be time-consuming, investing time into printer maintenance is a crucial step in keeping your printer running efficiently. But what if your printer has been idle and out of commission for a few weeks? Should you take extra steps before firing up your first print? Yes! Printers are designed to run for hours on end, so when they’re out of operation for an extended period, you need to take additional maintenance steps before starting up production.
Chi Chan, Arlon’s Technical Engineer, has put together the below tips to ensure success when rebooting your printer.
- Perform a manual maintenance cleaning by changing the printhead wiper and felt, and cleaning any ink around the printhead.
- Empty your ink waste tank to avoid dry ink from rubbing on the printheads during your auto clean.
- Flush the ink that has been idle in the printhead for weeks by running your auto clean 1-3 times.
- Check your nozzles to ensure they are all healthy and don’t need to be replaced.
- Run a print test to confirm print quality, and this will also show you if there is banding being caused by clogged nozzles. If you do see a clogged nozzle, repeat the cleaning process above until clear.
- Update your system. Before you resume production, make sure your software is the best it can be by making software and operating system updates.
Performing maintenance after your printer has been idle is a crucial step that will help increase the longevity of your printer and ensure your first print runs flawlessly. Are you looking for everyday printer maintenance? Check out our post on The Importance of Printer Maintenance.
