Thermal Printer New Year Resolutions
New Year’s Resolution (Better protect your thermal label printers)
by Timmy Thermal
It’s a new year and with that comes new resolutions. We here at MIDCOM are obviously thinking about our printing resolutions and Timmy Thermal is here to talk about thermal printing resolutions, specifically how you can get the longest life out of your thermal printer!
It’s no secret that thermal printers can be a real pain. That’s because of the complexity of their makeup and with that complexity comes an added need to make sure you are taking extra good care of it. How can you do that? Well, with as many moving parts as there are in your standard thermal printer, there is a lot to pay attention to, like labels, ribbons, and the printhead. That’s not to mention the benefit of having a refurbished thermal printer to use as your “hot swap” thermal printer to minimize downtime – all of which can be backed by one of our Annual Service Plans.
When shopping around for your labels, ribbons or new printheads, getting just any one of these isn’t going to help you get the most ‘bang’ for your buck, as they say. All three of these products are available in different grades, depending on whether they are made by the manufacturer or are after-market labels. After-market labels tend to cost less than ones made by the manufacturer, but aren’t always good for your printer.
Did you know that every time you change your label or ribbon on your thermal printer, you should also clean the printhead? It’s important to do this when you think about just how much a new printhead will cost you – a little hint: it ain’t cheap. Printheads need to be cleaned because with ribbon and adhesive labels, residue can build up and ends up clogging the printhead. This clogging puts unnecessary strain on the printhead, wearing out what life it has sooner than need be.
Cleaning the printhead is a fairly easy task, easiest of which is taking a rag with a bit of alcohol on it and using that to wipe away the residue from the printhead. A more effective method is using an actual cleaning kit that comes with pads that are pre-coated in alcohol. These pads can be inserted into an open printhead and pulled straight through after closing said printhead.
Now, while keeping up with good maintenance practice when it comes to your thermal printer is important, sometimes things just happen and a repair is in order. While you call us here at MIDCOM to get that taken care of in a snap with our Annual Service Plan, make sure you have one of our many refurbished printers ready as a backup to save you time and money!
As always, when the printheads hit the fan, call MIDCOM at (800) 643-2664 or chat us up on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!
