Guidelines for Ink Use in Cold Weather

With the advent of winter in the northern hemisphere, the weather is gradually getting colder, and the changes in climate temperature have led to significant temperature differences between regions. Due to the cold and dry climate in some areas, the ink will also change and some problems will occur, so we need to take relevant measures to ensure that the ink can be used normally.

Effects of cold weather on printing work

Influence on printhead and ink

In a dry environment, static electricity is high, which will cause great harm to the nozzle. It is recommended that the equipment be connected to the ground wire. When the temperature is lowered, the viscosity of the ink will increase, and the fluidity will become worse. If the ink is not smooth, it will affect the use of the print head. On the other hand, when the air is dry, the volatilization speed will be accelerated, and the ink on the surface of the print head will be more likely to dry, causing the print head to be blocked. During the printing process, it will be manifested as flying ink, frequent disconnection, and oblique spraying. If you do not pay attention to the maintenance of the print head, it may be damaged?your printhead.

Effects on print media

Drying also changes the material. Some material manufacturers' coatings or other chemistries will be incompatible with the ink due to temperature changes. For example, when paper materials are dry, some problems such as material warping and excessive ink absorption of the coating will occur. If not solved in time, the printer nozzle and motor will be damaged.

Notes on shutting down the printing device

1. The printer is turned on once a day:?Inkjet detection is performed before printing. If it is found that there is a phenomenon such as ink breakage, the?nozzle cleaning operation?should be carried out until the nozzle is normal to ensure the smoothness of the pipeline and the wetting of the nozzle. If possible, you can print small patches of each color to test.

2. The printer is shut down for 3-5 days:?Remove the printhead carriage, fill the ink pad with moisturizing fluid, reset the carriage, and turn off the printer. Make sure that the bottom of the printhead is in contact with the ink pad when it is turned off. Finally, clamp the ink inlet tube or waste ink tube with a buckle to prevent the siphon from causing the ink to flow.

3. The printer has been shut down for more than 5 days:?Please replace the ink cartridge with special cleaning fluid at the end of printing to ensure that the ink path and nozzle are clean.

How to choose ink in cold weather?

In terms of ink purchase, you should choose ink suitable for winter use. The product characteristics of winter ink are mainly manifested in fluidity because the fluidity of ink in a lower-temperature environment will decrease a lot. When ink with good fluidity is used in a low-temperature environment, frequent ink breaks will not occur due to high-speed printing.

In addition, we can also improve the fluidity of the ink by increasing the temperature of the ink. There are two specific methods:

A. Ink cartridge heating method, add a temperature control device to the secondary ink cartridge.

B. Warm up the ink supply barrel, increase the ink temperature or keep the indoor temperature at 22~25'C.

How to properly store ink in cold weather?

1. In some northern regions, the climate is severe in winter, so avoid storing the ink outdoors to prevent the ink from gelling at low temperatures. If the ink gels, it can be transferred to a higher-temperature warehouse. To ensure the smoothness of the ink and the reducibility of the color, it is usually necessary to maintain the room temperature at 15-30°C and the humidity at 35-65%. Such temperature and humidity are more suitable for ink storage.

2. In the storage and management of ink, the principle of "first in, first out" should also be followed, that is, the ink purchased first is used first, so as to prevent the ink from being affected by the long storage time.

3. The ink is sealed and stored to prevent dust. A large number of dust particles or various impurity particles are likely to fall into the ink tank or be adsorbed on the surface of the label material, thereby causing the nozzle to be blocked.

4. Safety first. When storing ink, keep away from fire and heat sources as much as possible to prevent accidents.

5. It is best to keep a constant temperature in the ink warehouse, and the temperature difference from the printing workshop should not be too different. If the temperature difference between the two is large, the spare ink should be shipped out of the warehouse and placed in the printing workshop at least 24 hours in advance. When the ink is replaced, the temperature of the spare ink is close to that of the ink in the main ink tank, which is not only conducive to the stability of the ink performance but also ensures high production efficiency.

6. The ink also has a certain shelf life. If it is stored for too long, various components in the ink formula may be disintegrated and precipitated. Therefore, the ink should not be retained for a long time. Generally, the retention period is about 1 year. Otherwise, it may affect the printing quality and even cause printing failures.