Room Temperature Requirements

[GoldRapt]

Here's a question that's not odd for me.

I have read so much over the years about Epson Printers heads clogging with dye sub inks, I have never read what ended up as the actual reason for it.
So I wondered is it something to do with temerature?
I have run out of space with the amount of different printrers I have and need to utilise my garage.
The room temp in my garage is not much higher than the outside temp and I would like to know if anyone else keeps their dye sub printer and inks in their garage and is their any problem with doing so or are there steps to take to preserve the life of both the inks and printer in a lower temp environment.

[Justin]

I often read that room temp is of great importance but can only speak from experience. My workshop/office was incredibly warm in summer and, you guessed it, incredibly cold in winter....bitterly cold.

Not once did I have a problem with my Epson printers or sublimation inks.

I personally think you're more likely to have problems with your paper being in a very cold environment and possibly also clothing which may need a pre-press to reduce any moisture.

I've had problems recently with my inks/printers despite being at a constant 21c but I think that's just me being unlucky with duff printers!

[logobear]

We work from a market which is pretty much outside temperatures.
Never had any problems with our D88 clogging, we use it nearly every day...,
but the blanks can be too cold, we now pre heat and leave a few min before subbing!

[wenico]

Regarding room temperature.

I must be in almost an idylic climate.

Coldest temperatures in winter about 20C during the day with night temp down to possibly 7c on the coldest night

Summer temperatures between 30 and 35 C during the day and down to about 23 overnight...

Never have difficulties with temperature...

I still have clogging and I run a nozzle check every morning.

As soon as I get a dodggy nozzle coming up on the check I run a colour or black clean whichever is appropriate.

I've even been printing consistently through a day and developed a blockage on a colour that weas not being predominently used during the day.

Any ideas?

Regards


Roy N.

[JSR]

I believe you'll find the issue with clogged heads has less to do with temperature and more to do with humidity (what's idyllic for us, may not be idyllic for the printer). I was on a printer forum awhile back and blocked nozzles affected a number of people in the US, but hardly anyone in the UK. That was, however, with OEM ink. Dye-sub ink, like all third-party ink, is a case of shoehorning an ink formulation into a printer that wasn't designed for it. All bets are off.

Used printers are more likely to exhibit nozzle-blocks than new printers, in my experience. My 1400 is getting a bit old now and does sometimes have blockages. I just follow the recommended procedure (run the head-clean/print pattern two or three times and then leave the printer to stand for 3-4 hours, or overnight) and it's soon back up and running. Never try to rush the printer or force too many head cleans (that's why you should always have a backup printer).

Temperature is more likely to affect your blanks. Introduce a stone-cold plate to your heated plate press and it'll break. Put a stone-cold ceramic tile in your heated flat-bed, and it'll break. During the cold months, I stack my ceramic items on all the radiators I can find! :lol: