Digital Print Media

Wide Format Print Media Applications and Tips

Large Format Printer Maintenance

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Wide Format Printer Maintenance

Maintaining your large format printer ensures that jobs are completed on-time and prints are of the highest quality. 

Updated: 6/14/2018 – Your wide format printer will only work well if it is properly maintained. When you rely on your printer for your business, regular maintenance is vital. It is the kind of thing best done preventatively and regularly, instead of waiting for something to go wrong.

To keep your wide format printer functioning well for a long time to come, follow these tips for print head cleaning and more. You will also find a well-maintained printer makes better prints!

Supplies for Printer Maintenance

Have these supplies in stock for maintenance and repair. Each one plays an important role.

  • Gloves: Wear latex or nitrile gloves when performing printer maintenance. It is important to avoid direct contact with chemicals such as ink and cleaning solvents.
  • Eye Protection: Similarly, safety goggles protect your eyes. Just in case printer ink or other solvents splash, you will be glad you have the coverage!
  • Shop Wipes / Industrial Wipes: Paper towels are a must-have for quick clean up of any spills or messes.
  • Print Swabs: Print head swabs are one of the most important supplies to have on hand. These are used to clean the hard to reach areas of your wide format printer. When you use print swabs you can extend the life of your print heads and improve print quality.
  • Print Head Wipes: Use a polyester, lint-free wipe, with attributes similar to those of cleanroom wipes. Use these to clean print heads and other sensitive materials and areas of the printer.
  • Spray Bottle: Use this for careful, accurate spraying of your cleaning solvent. You should always refer to your specific printer manual for acceptable cleaning solvents.

Referring to Your Manual

The manual for your printer will give you specific instructions for maintenance. This includes how often you should clean and maintain your printer. It will also let you know which supplies and cleaners suit your specific machine. While some of these products are universal, like safety goggles and gloves, others will change with your printer make and model.

Other Maintenance Considerations

Factors like the environment in which your printer lives impact maintenance and cleaning. Think about the operating temperature and humidity — higher or lower levels can change your printer’s efficiency. The cleanliness of the area also matters.

Have questions regarding this topic? Leave a comment below to start the discussion.

Advantages of Bringing Wide Format Printing In-House

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Bringing Wide Format Printing In-House We ask our customers why they outsource rather than print in-house. The top 3 reasons are:

  • We lack the necessary space for all of the equipment.
  • It is more cost-effective to outsource.
  • It is a large project.

Below are 3 main points to take into consideration:

Cost

Typically, Short Run refers to projects of around 5,000 pages. These projects include the initial ones to think about bringing in-house so you can save costs.

Many printers are operating short run projects on a likewise digital printing press you’d be if you took the task in-house.

If you’re operating a 500,000-page project, however, outsourced printers may leverage printing technology, which can drive the cost/page down lower than you may print in-house on digital presses. Often, businesses order a larger amount to drive down the price just to find that they have to make changes to the paperwork six months down the road and still have a multitude of copies which now are obsolete.

The capability of printing on demand while operating jobs in-house permits you only to print the amount required, work under tight deadlines, make updates to a document, and generate new versions without the expensive premiums of proofs, setup, larger run sizes, and waste.

Color

Starbucks green, McDonald’s yellow, Coca-Cola red. These colors immediately bring these brands to mind because they have been so successful and consistent with their marketing.

Many companies have certain Pantone colors within their branding and logo shades, and the capability of replicating those exact colors while printing in-house usually is met with skepticism. In working with Fiery, colors may be repeatedly and accurately matched, irrespective of which program or application the projects are being printed from.

Workflow

Did you ever outsource an annual report or training packet? What about a task which involved putting together various printed tabs and sections, or which requires booklet finishing or GBC punch for a polished, professional appearance?

Although the task may appear complicated and not a job which would be cost-effective to take on in-house, technology today permits for in-line finishing like GBC punching, booklet-making, and trims which create the appearance of full-bleed booklets, all with one push of a button.

Workflow abilities permit you to program the task before printing, so that as you compile various printing and sections on tabs, all things come out without you needing to piece all of the sections together.

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