Impressions - January 2019 - 54

When printing a nozzle check,
if you notice any "broken" printed
lines, it indicates a clogged nozzle
and a head cleaning should
be performed.

However, if you don't see improvements
after three to five head cleanings, contact
your dealer.
Ink Elimination and Storage
Another aspect of sublimation-printer
maintenance is waste ink. Each time the
system does a head cleaning, it uses some
ink and the excess has to go somewhere.
If the system has a removable wastecollection tank, it needs to be changed
at some point.A full tank often will stop
a printer, so remember to keep a spare
waste-collection tank in your shop's inventory.
Some printers use a built-in tank with
a valve that will drain the ink into an
external container. Either way, make sure
you regularly update your shop's wasteink levels and take the necessary steps to
manage them.
Sublimation ink works best when it's
stored and used within certain temperature
and humidity specifications. For example,
some inks have a recommended temperature range of 59˚F-77˚F. Humidity
should be kept above 35% relative (no
condensation).
However, too much humidity can generate moisture in other key components of
the sublimation production process, such
as transfer paper and substrates. Moisture
will turn into steam when it contacts the
heat press, which can cause quality issues
in a sublimated image.
So your work area's climate must be
P.54

ElEctrical EnginEEring
A sublimation printer is a sophisticated electrical device that is susceptible to power surges and
voltage fluctuations. Consider using a surge suppressor as a minimal way to help protect your
investment.
Better yet, invest in a quality uninterruptible power supply (UPS), as it will feature a built-in surge
suppressor and will keep power flowing temporarily in the case of an electrical failure in your
facility. It's much healthier for the internal circuits if you manually shut down the printer, rather than
having it shut down abruptly due to a power outage.

carefully controlled to maintain the proper
temperature and humidity. Again, refer
to your machine's user's guide for specific
settings and recommendations.
Keep it Clean
In addition, keep your shop's production
area as clean and dust-free as possible. If
any dust or dirt ends up on the transfer
paper - especially during printing - it
will lead to poor-quality images.Though
most printers have some type of mechanism for catching paper after printing,
if you periodically see paper fall to the
floor, set up some sort of catch container.
Once the printed side of the paper comes
in contact with the floor, it certainly will
be unusable.
If you use a sublimation system with
refillable ink cartridges, use extreme caution when refilling.Any dust or dirt that

i m p r e s s i o n s m a g . c o m JANUARY 2019

gets into the cartridge not only can affect
print quality, but it also can damage the
ink-delivery system.Air bubbles in the ink
also constitute a serious problem that can
occur when manually filling ink cartridges.
Try to fully understand the process and
ensure that no foreign particles end up
in the system.
In reality, modern desktop sublimation printing systems are easy to maintain.
The most common issue is clogged ink
heads, which should not happen if proper
maintenance protocol is followed. The
key thing to remember is to keep the
ink flowing. 
Award-winning author and international speaker
Jimmy Lamb has more than 25 years of apparel-decoration experience. He currently is manager of communications for Sawgrass Technologies, Charleston,
S.C. For more information or to comment on this
article, email Jimmy at jlamb@sawgrassink.com.

http://www.impressionsmag.com

Impressions - January 2019

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