Thermal POS Printerare great at printing bar code labels and tags, but do you have the
repair technicians out often to work on the printers? There are some
easy to follow tips that can maintain your print quality and maximize
the life of the components that wear out like print heads and platen
rollers.
Thermal POS Printer are used in many industries and come
in many shapes and sizes. From the little desktop units provided by
shipping companies like UPS or Fedex to the larger units that can be
used as integrated or stand alone printers in packing, warehouse and/or
production environments. There are two ways to use Thermal POS Printer.
Using a Thermal POS Printer with an ink ribbon is called "Thermal
Transfer" printing. In other words, the printer passes the heat from the
print head to a ribbon that melts the ink at a specific temperature and
"Transfers" that ink to a media substrate such as a label or tag. The
other method is "Direct Thermal" printing. This method does not use a
ribbon. To use direct thermal printing, the media (Labels or tags) needs
to be direct thermal media. This type of media has a "Thermal
Sensitive" chemical coating that turns color at a specific temperature,
the most common color being black. The printer passes the heat from the
print head "Directly" to the media and it's the media that changes color
in response to the heat of the printer.
Tip 1: Keep the print
head clean. Read the operator manual and follow the manufacturers
recommendation for cleaning the print head. In general the head should
be cleaned with Isopropyl alcohol of at least 70% concentration. For
thermal transfer printers the print head should be cleaned when you
change the ribbon. For direct Thermal POS Printer, the print head should
be cleaned when you change the media.
Tip 2: Do not use sharp
objects to remove label jams.Thermal POS Printer have a platen roller,
that is made of a rubber compound that pushes the media out the front of
the printer. This roller also provides counter pressure to the print
head so you have even print. If the roller is cut, this soft spot will
not print clearly and will show as a repeating faded spot in a label.
This might not be a big deal for descriptive labels, but It is very bad
for bar coded labels. Also make sure to clean the platen roller with
alcohol once a week to avoid build up of residues that might cause
problems in the long run or any time you have label adhesive stuck to
the roller.
Tip 3: blow away the dust at least once or twice per
month. Dust in the air as well as dust on the media will accumulate in
the printer over time. The dust build up can cause print quality
problems as well as sensor issues. To blow out the printer use a dry
source of compressed air. Either a can of air or from a compressor. If
you use a can of air, make sure that you don't spray the liquid of the
can in to the printer. This will instantly freeze and cause a moisture
build up when it thaws out. If you use a compressor, make sure that
there is a moisture trap / filter that will keep moister from spraying
out the nozzle. Make sure not to let the dust settle back down in to the
printer after blowing it out. It is common to have poor print quality
for the first few labels as the dust got blown in to areas that fall on
to the labels when printing. It is often a good idea to feed or print a
few linear feet worth of media to clear out any remaining loose dust in
the printer.
Tip 4: Know the resolution of your printer. 203
"Dots Per Inch" (DPI) is a standard resolution for Thermal POS
Printer.This resolution is good for larger labels or labels with bar
codes of low density. Another common size is 300DPI. This resolution is
good for most large to mid size labels with medium bar code density.
Some manufacturers make print heads with a resolution of 600DPI or
higher. These are good for small labels or bar code labels with high
density. As the resolution of the head increases, the replacement cost
of the head increases as well. Also, because the higher resolution has
more data to process to create the print image. As a result, the maximum
print speed usually decreases.
Every manufacturer has some
slight differences on user maintenance. I recommend following the
instructions listed in the user manual. In the case of not being able to
find a user guide or manual, these tips will help maximize the print
quality and the life of the wearable parts of a Thermal POS Printer.
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Thermal Label printer,
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