Technician on Duty: Printer Maintenance 

If you own a car, you know that when the Check Engine light or oil pressure indicator, or any other number of so called “idiot lights” stays lit or flashes--”it’s time to have your vehicle serviced. However, unlike today’s modern cars, current printer designs don’t include much in the way of warning lights or simple sensors that can warn of pending failure or wear. Many printers will track things like pump cycles, how many trips the carriage makes across the printer, the number of ink drops that have fired through the printheads and more. Unfortunately, many printers are unable to proactively warn us when a pump, wiper or capping station is failing or has failed--until it’s too late.

But with a little preventative maintenance and knowing how to recognize the signs and symptoms of failing components you can save money on future repair costs and help mitigate unexpected downtime.

READ THE MANUAL
We’ve discussed this before, but I feel it’s important to reiterate. Like most modern equipment, preventative maintenance with inkjet printers is key. Key word here being preventative. Simply running equipment until something actually fails can spell disaster when you’re working against a deadline. Following a prescribed maintenance schedule can head off disaster and keep your printer running smoothly longer.

Most printers include a user’s manual that describes how to clean and maintain the printer, and may include a preventative maintenance schedule. For example, many printer manufacturers recommend replacing pumps and dampers at certain intervals. Many other components like caps, wipers motors and more are actually recommended for replacement after so mush use.

If you bought your printer second hand and don’t have a user manual, many printer manufacturers make them available online and can be downloaded for free. If not, speak to your dealer or the manufacturer’s support department to see if they can get you a copy. Once you have it, read it cover to cover. There is a wealth of good information in the manual that can save you big time. And, as with many important things, the devil is in the details. Let’s review some:

DAMPERS AND PUMPS
Symptoms of failing pumps often manifest as drop out: when nozzles seem to fire intermittently or not at all and repeated cleanings produce little result. Note that failing dampers will result in similar symptoms as well. While there can be a number of other causes for ink flow problems, making sure dampers and pumps are replaced as recommended goes a long way in eliminating the basics. If you experience pump or damper related symptoms and your pumps have not been replaced on schedule, then you must replace those first. Even if replacing these parts doesn’t resolve your problem, they still need to be replaced and may help you narrow down the problems, not to mention save on costly service calls.

Clean wipers prevent these issues and ensure an airtight seal when the printheads are at rest on the caps. This airtight seal not only keeps the heads from drying out and clogging during rest, it also allows for better suction when the pumps are activated, which in turn translates into better pump performance. You get better results from cleanings when the seal between the printheads and caps are secure and clean.

WIPERS
Made of rubber or plastic, the wiper is sometimes mounted on the pump or within a separate assembly, usually positioned to the left of the printheads when they are docked. While wipers are often ignored, they actually play a critical role in keeping the printheads clean. By wiping the underside of each printhead, the wipers prevent ink buildup that would eventually clog or deflect the nozzles. Symptoms of bad wipers include overspray, fuzzy or missing nozzles and even poor cleaning results.

Over time, wipers will begin to deform or bend. Eventually this will prevent them from even making contact with the heads at all, essentially rendering them useless. People often miss this and will continue printing until symptoms occur. However, by then the printheads may have developed permanent clogs or deflections and overspray, which may require them to be replaced. Wipers are probably the least expensive part you will buy for your printer and should be replaced at even a hint of deformation or damage. Don’t get cheap here, check and clean wipers regularly. I assure you they make a difference.

Damaged or dirty caps not only reduce the effectiveness of cleanings, they may allow ink to dry under the heads and in the pumps, as well as in waste and drain tubing--all of which can cause premature failure of the caps, pumps and even printheads. Also, check to make sure the caps are in the correct position and are making an even seal with the printheads. If the caps cannot be cleaned or are out of position and not forming a good seal with the printheads, have them replaced right away. 

CAPS
As we discussed with wipers, a good seal between the heads and caps will make all the difference when performing cleanings and maintaining the heads when not in use. Check and clean the caps the same time you do the wipers. There should be no traces of ink along the rim of each cap. Also check the rubber along the rim to make sure it has not been damaged and there is nothing preventing the caps from making a good seal with the heads.

Before calling in a service tech, try looking at the systems we’ve discussed first and make sure they are working correctly. I’ve found that many common reasons for service calls are actually related to maintenance (or lack thereof). Premature media feed or x-axis motor failure can sometimes be traced to users loading media that exceeds the printers weight limits. By reading and familiarizing yourself with the user manual and performing suggested regularly scheduled preventative maintenance, you can reduce or eliminate these problems yourself. Many printers will tell you when the ink is low and keep an internal count of motor revolutions or wiper passes and pump cycles, but there is typically no warning when a pump or section of tubing is clogged or when a wiper is no longer doing its job.

DON’T IGNORE THE SIGNS
Random drops of ink, lines and over-spray are all symptoms that something likely needs cleaning or replacement. Don’t ignore these signs. By addressing issues as soon as they are noticed, you can prevent further damage to related printer systems. For example, some printers recommend (and include kits for) cleaning and lubricating the printer at regular intervals where failure to do so can cause premature failure of carriage and related motor systems. Sometimes costly and time consuming head alignments turn out to be related to dusty or dirty timing/positioning sensors, which could have been prevented if regular maintenance were performed.

It’s up to users to maintain their equipment and watch for signs that something isn’t normal. By understanding your printer and the symptoms we’ve discussed, you should be able to keep your printer working longer between service calls and plan for downtime when your workload is slow.