The 4 Keys to Thermal Printer Maintenance

Thermal barcode printers are an essential part of keeping your manufacturing operations running smoothly. If the printers fail, or if they print substandard barcodes, you could wind up making costly mistakes or experiencing downtime. Maximizing the life of your printhead is possible, and by maintaining proper care of your printhead, you reduce replacement costs, as well as increase productivity. When it comes to premature printhead failure, four factors play a role: Abrasion, Contamination, Corrosion, & Residue Buildup. In this blog post, we outline four tips to ensure your thermal barcode printer’s proper maintenance.

1. Follow manufacturer recommendations for cleaning and service: Many manufacturers recommend cleaning a direct thermal printhead and platen roller after every ribbon or media change.

2. Use the right ribbons and media: If you use ribbon that is too narrow, you risk scratching the print head. Using cheap media can cause dust or debris to build up and cause label quality issues resulting in poor scanning or the labels failing to meet customer specifications.

3. Use the right printer settings. Make sure your temperature settingsare correct for the type of material and printing ribbon you are using. Printing at the lowest print speed possible will help to reduce mechanical wear.

4. 4. Invest in a service/maintenance plan for your barcode printers:Work stoppage is the enemy of the supply chain. Avoid production line shutdowns and enlist the help of the experts at The SMS Group. Our preventative printer maintenance solution increases scan accuracy by eliminating barcode label quality issues. Using our knowledge in thermal printers, we work to reduce label waste and keep your operations up and running, producing products, regardless of size.

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Leverage The SMS Group’s team of experts who have decades of experience & can keep your manufacturing line producing! Give us a call today at 937-498-2700 for a custom preventive maintenance plan.