Inkjet printheads for industial-commercial use have been around for about three decades and have progressively improved - along with onboard cleaning and maintenance systems - but they can still clog. In times of intermittent use or shutdown. With some piezo printheads costing as much as $6,000 each, it's worth looking after them.
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| The latest Printhead Doctor PHD15 Ultrasonic printhead cleaner costs around USD$5,500 |
In times of under-use or shutdown, clogged printheads are often discarded as unrecoverable because of the difficulty in removing the encrusted inks, particularly with UV-curing printers. Various on-board methods of cleaning using pressure, flushing solutions, squeegees and even cotton buds have helped but heads can still clog. One of Australia's (and indeed the southern hemisphere's) leading 'printhead hospitals' is Vince Bezzina's Print Head Doctor, and the company also supplies the equipment, fluids and know-how for in-house cleaning.
Established in 2014, Vince and his team discovered a real need for professional print head cleaning, to be done here in Australia. Sign printers were sending heads overseas for recovery, which was costly, risky and time consuming.
Vince says that cleaning inkjet printer heads is not an exact science. One variable is whether it has been used for Solvent, UV, Aqueous, 3D gels or Latex ink. You don’t put the head in the machine, press a button and out pops a clean head. It doesn’t work like that. There are many considerations, machine settings and fluids to use. He has spent as long as 8 hours on a single print head, but it did get cleaned out. In general, depending on how clogged the head is, it can take typically between 3-6 hours to clean the head, using a lot of fluid and machine time. The cost is normally around AUD$400 per clean, which is far cheaper than replacing the head.
Prevention better than cure
There are certain things that wide format printer operators can do themselves to extend the life of printheads. Cleanliness is top of the list.
1) Keep the workplace clean and free from dust - this means cleaning the whole machine periodically, inside and out and situating it as dust-free environment as possible. Use air scrubbers and filters in the work room. If you have a combined printer-cutter; ensure the Teflon blade protector pad is not shredded and releasing dust and fibres.
2) Perform regular nozzle checks - Nozzle check patterns are the 'Covid-19 test' for something about to go wrong. Printheads usually fail gradually, so missing lines in nozzle check printouts should not be ignored.
3) Use the onboard cleaning routines - these can be regular of 'hard' cleans where ink or cleaning fluid is jetted through the nozzles under pressure. High-end printers have automated cleaning processes and these are a great help but, in order for the printheads to be protected during low or no use, the machine must be left ON, powered-up. Be cautious not to over-clean with the 'hard' setting and only do it if you have confirmed blocked nozzles.
4) Keep your drivers and firmware up to date.
5) Use original ink - a contentious issue but manufacturer's own in is matched to the printheads and performs much better than most 3rd party ink. If you do opt for 3rd party ink, make sure you have a cast-iron guarantee that it will not damage the printheads.
Cleaning as a service or buy the equipment
The Print Head Doctor also now offers for sale the PHD machinery and solutions for larger users to regularly clean their own printheads in-house. The machines vary from a basic, mobile version at around $1,000 to higher capacity benchtop devices at around $6,000.
Vince says: “My advice is have the heads cleaned as soon as they show signs of sideways spraying or nozzle jets dropping out. This will extend the life of your print head considerably and give a much better print result.”
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| 3D printer printheads can also be cleaned |
While Print Head Doctor’s success rate is currently 90% in recovering clogged printheads including Epson, HP, Kyocera, Xaar, Dimatix/Spectra, Toshiba, Ricoh and others; he says he can’t offer a total guarantee as some heads may be so old, worn and blocked long-term to be salvaged. With some high-speed flatbed UV printers having hundreds of printheads on a carriage, the financial savings of regular cleaning are huge.
The Print Head Doctor also supplies new printheads at competitive prices. Whether for the head cleaning service, your own PHD machine or new printheads, Vince and his team have the answers.
A video of a Vutek Seiko printhead being cleaned can be viewed here.
For more information, see www.printheaddoctor.com.au
