A continuous inkjet printer is an essential part of each production line on which it prints marks and codes. The variable data it prints, from product identification codes to expiration dates, is usually required by strict regulations and, if unreadable or lacking, is usually a cause for recall of the product. In other words, if a coding printer stops working properly, the line will very likely have to shut down.
Steady inkjet printers are manufactured to high standards and designed to be reliable and productive. But, like all machines, they are topic to wear and ambient environmental conditions that can affect their precision and reliable performance. They also use consumables that need to be managed for maximum efficiency.
The following are six actions that end customers of inkjet coding printers can take to help maximize the effective and reliable working lifetime of their printer, reducing opportunities for failures and increasing years of service.
1. Buy the Appropriate Printer
The first step to helping ensure a protracted working life in your coding printer begins lengthy before it is put to work; select the printer that is designed to do the work you require. The range of steady inkjet printers available right this moment is extensive, each designed to satisfy completely different performance requirements. Evaluate those capabilities and match them as closely as attainable to what your production operation needs.
In case you are a high-volume producer of a limited number of products, working 2 and even three shifts per day, choose a sturdy printer engineered to be a workhorse. Alternatively, if you’re a producer of moderate volumes of a number of products — a contract packager, for instance — choose one designed for quick, efficient changeovers.
Consider coding printers from a number of manufacturers, but also consider your company’s coding and marking needs thoroughly and objectively. Most vital of all, acknowledge that the printer manufacturer has experience with a wide range of buyer experiences and is a valuable resource for perception into which printer will work best to your conditions.
2. Collaborate with the Producer Post-Sale
After you could have purchased the coding printer that meets your needs, your relationship with the producer ought to continue. Many producers supply programs that may be very useful in sustaining your equipment. These embrace remote service options that help enable the producer to remotely enter your printer’s software to assess — and often even repair — problems.
Manufacturers also have the ability to send alerts about impending problems or consumable shortages directly to line operators and supervisors’ phones or tablets, in addition to inserting them on the continuous inkjet printer’s HMI screen. This may be especially helpful if your operation runs with a lean staff not always able to be within visible reach of the screen.
3. Planned Upkeep
Once you have made your alternative, bought, put in and are running the printer, your focus will shift to providing maintenance that will keep the printer operating at most efficiency.
Maintenance information and advice from the producer may be very useful, however that’s usually based on common conditions somewhat than on specifics. Your situation — plant working temperatures, air quality, humidity levels, seasonal adjustments, the number of print substrates — is exclusive to you. Develop a upkeep schedule that meets your particular needs primarily based on the manufacturer’s plan but modified to address those conditions.
Additionally it is essential to develop and execute a schedule of regular preventive upkeep slightly than simply responding to the printer’s real-time performance. If you’re waiting to clean and/or adjust the printer based mostly on its varying print output, you might already be too late to keep away from a downtime event.
4. Pay Attention to What the Printer Tells You
However, while it just isn’t a sound plan to base your upkeep program only on how the coding printer performs, it is smart to repeatedly assess its print output and be aware of any diminished print quality, change in rate of ink and solvent use, etc. There may be factors you aren’t aware of which might be affecting the printer’s performance beyond regular wear and usage.
5. Update Printer Software
Most manufacturers update the software for their present steady inkjet printers as bugs are revealed and corrected. In addition they accumulate performance and maintenance data from a large number of consumers that helps enable them to replace the recommendations they make to optimize performance.
Keep the line of communication with the manufacturer open to make sure you are aware of these updates. They can provide a critical key to higher effectivity and line productivity.
6. Know When to Let Go
There will come a time when upkeep and repairs will no longer be able to restore the level of print quality the coding printer initially produced. These adjustments usually come gradually, making them easy to overlook or minimize. And it is natural to keep attempting to get functional performance worth out of every piece of equipment in your production line.
However ultimately you may be working harder to keep the printer operational than is practical. Replacing it does not signify failure of the printer or of your maintenance program; it is solely the subsequent step in the printer’s working life.
To keep the road operational, the most effective plan is to switch a steady inkjet printer before it fails. This is not always attainable, which is why many corporations keep spare coding printers on hand for quick replacement when required.
