Cob's Corner - Service Tips for Thermal Transfer Printer Users.
The benefits of a printer maintenance contract are numerous. I have been servicing thermal transfer printers for over three decades. This has allowed me to see just about every type of thermal printer in every condition or should I say state of disrepair. It boggles my mind how many print heads I replace because a customer has failed to clean them properly. I usually recommend the customer clean their print head every time they replace their ribbon. Primary Marking has kits made specifically for Zebra, Datamax and Sato printers. Call 888-261-9178 for pricing and questions. When you purchase a kit I will include pictures and instructions.
I typically do two types of printer maintenance. One is service contracts. If a printer under contract needs a part or has a malfunction I will repair the printer at no additional cost to the customer (Printheads are additional). In addition I provide regular printer maintenance and visit the printer site several times a year. During these site visits I will replace worn parts and give the printer a good internal cleaning and check. I repair any future problems before they occur. These customers experience significantly less down time than my non-contract business. If they do experience a problem the contract calls for a Next Business Day response time. Sometimes I even get the printer repaired the same day. A service contract will give you a fixed cost for the year.
The other type of printer service I do is time and materials. This typically costs the customer more th a n a service contract over the life of the printer. The repair is completed but with costs for materials and time. Repairs need to be done more frequently because of the lack of regular printer maintenance. Down time is increased by more repairs and longer response time. I only recommend time and materials if your printer is not mission critical.
If you are interested in a service contract call me. We can discuss your options and prices. I have a feeling you will be pleasantly surprised. We service thermal printers all over the United States. We also have partners that service other IT equipment. For a complete list of IT equipment serviced click here.
Proud to be of Service,
COB (aka James Steitz)
Service Manager
888-261-9178 x203
The other type of printer service I do is time and materials. This typically costs the customer more th a n a service contract over the life of the printer. The repair is completed but with costs for materials and time. Repairs need to be done more frequently because of the lack of regular printer maintenance. Down time is increased by more repairs and longer response time. I only recommend time and materials if your printer is not mission critical.
If you are interested in a service contract call me. We can discuss your options and prices. I have a feeling you will be pleasantly surprised. We service thermal printers all over the United States. We also have partners that service other IT equipment. For a complete list of IT equipment serviced click here.
Proud to be of Service,
COB (aka James Steitz)
Service Manager
888-261-9178 x203
March's Tip
Direct Thermal vs Thermal Transfer Labels
What's the difference between direct thermal and thermal transfer? Direct thermal labels do not require a ribbon. Thermal transfer labels do require a ribbon.
Which do I use with my thermal printer? Most commercial grade thermal printers will do both.
If your decision is made primarily on cost per label, then you would go with direct thermal labels. The cost however is only 2.6 % less than that of a thermal transfer label and it's associated ribbon per label. Before making your decision on which to buy you should look at the advantages and disadvantages of direct thermal labels.
Advantages-
Disadvantages-
Before buying a large quantity of either you may want to try both to see which suits your needs.
-COB
February's Tip
Is My Printhead Bad? Do you have a commercial grade thermal printer with bad print quality? How do you know if your printhead is bad and needs replacement or you have some other problem contributing to your poor print.
Essentially there is only one symptom that signifies a bad printhead and that is vertical white lines (voids) in the print. These voids are ever present, and do not come and go. If you inspect and clean your printhead and the voids are still there, that means you have burnt out print elements in the head. The printhead needs replacing.
Here are some of the other symptoms and their possible cause:
January's Tip
A big trouble maker for your printer is static electricity. All printers regardless of type develop static electricity. The movement of the paper or labels and ribbon or toner create static electricity. Your printer is designed to channel this static through the chassis and to the ground wire of the three prong power cord.
Improper static discharge can cause a variety of problems. The worst is permanent damage to the electronics of the printer. Other symptoms are intermittent errors, unexplained configuration changes, shocks to the operator.
The power cord of your printer has three wires. The wires are the hot wire, the neutral wire and the ground wire. Problems arise when the outlet that you plug the power cord into does not supply the proper wire to the cord. Your printer could very well operate with incorrect wiring but you are not protected against shock or proper static discharge. Examples of improper wiring are, no ground or the hot and neutral wire are reversed.
How do you check your wiring? First thing, make sure you not plugged into a two wire extension cord and that someone has not cut the ground prong off of your power plug or three wire extension cord you may be using. Secondly you could have a licensed electrician check your outlets, or third, check it yourself.
Check it myself! What do I know about electricity? Well it's easy with the help of a little device you can buy at your local hardware store. It's called a Three Wire Output Analyzer. The device will only cost you between $5 to $10 and it is so simple to use. You simply plug this device into your suspect outlet and look at the three lights that are on the device. Now compare the combination of the lights that light with the small chart that is on the device. The code will tell you if the wiring is correct or specifically what the wiring error is. If you find that you have a wiring error, now you can call that electrician.
| • | Slightly less cost |
| • | You don’t have to load and unload ribbons |
| • | Print quality is not as good |
| • | Print will fade in light |
| • | Labels have a shelve life of six months |
| • | Labels will wear your print head faster |
| • | Black Lines -dirt on printhead or in the path of the printhead. |
| • | White diagonal lines (voids) -ribbon wrinkles that could be caused by numerous things. Worn platen roller, low ribbon tension, unbalanced head pressure, miss aligned strip plate. |
| • | Faint print - Low printhead burn temperature, incorrect ribbon for your media, low printhead pressure. |
| • | Smudged print -High printhead burn temperature, ribbon stopping due to excessive ribbon tension. |
| • | Faint print on one side of label- Uneven printhead pressure, bad platen bearing, worn platen roller, misaligned printhead. |
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