to smooth wrinkles and dry the fabric for better penetration. Master Tip: If fibers are sticking up after pretreatment, consider pressing the garment again. 6. Prioritize machine maintenance. If ink dries on the print head's face or edges, your production is in trouble (think unintentional ink drops on client orders). To prevent this buildup, cap and wipe assemblies before retiring the machine for the day. Follow the manufacturer's maintenance recommendations to ensure your DTG machine functions optimally. Master Tip: Perform a printhead test regularly to ensure there are no blocked nozzles. Always strive to implement best practices along the way, with some being derived from collective industry issues and some being unique to your specific shop and processes. Ed Levy has more than 25 years of apparel-decorating experience. Levy, who's director of software technologies for Hirsch Solutions, is an in-demand speaker at trade shows and regular contributor to industry magazines. For more information or to comment on this article, email Ed at Ed@hsi.us. Perform regular maintenance and clean your machine's components to help sustain peak performance. P.46 i m p r e s s i o n s m a g . c o m SEPTEMBER 2019https://www.impressionsmagazine.com https://www.impressionsmagazine.com https://www.impressionsmagazine.com/newsletters/ http://www.impressionsmag.com