Notes
Printing machine notes
What we get asked on the phone, written down: how these machines are maintained, what they will and will not print on, and what actually decides whether one earns. No figure here is invented — where something cannot be verified, the article says so.
- MaterialsSublimation, DTF, UV DTF or UV flatbed: which one prints your productPick by what you print on, not by what is cheapest. Includes the peer-reviewed reason silicone cases reject ink no matter whose machine you use.11 min
- BuyingWhat to inspect at a machine demo, and on a used machineA demo run by the seller on their file in their favourite mode is not a test. Here is what to do instead — an hour of work in someone else’s showroom.11 min
- MaintenanceBanding, orange peel and adhesion failure: reading UV print defectsFive causes of banding with the signature that tells them apart, plus the ASTM standard that refuses to give you a cure-test number — and why that matters.12 min
- BusinessHow to actually calculate your ink cost per square metreThe number every buyer asks for and nobody can honestly quote. Measure your own instead — the method takes an afternoon and beats any published figure.9 min
- Running a shopSetting up the room: power, dust, temperature and humidityAlmost every requirement is published by the manufacturer and then ignored. Includes the pollution-control threshold that changes when you buy a fifth machine.13 min
- BuyingWhat pass count really means, and why the spec sheet speed is not your speedA machine can move faster than its lamps can cure — one manufacturer publishes exactly that. Five questions to ask about any speed figure you are quoted.9 min
- MaterialsWill the ink stick? Surface energy, primers and the tape testAdhesion is measurable physics, not luck. Includes the finding that two inks from the same maker can differ by 12 dyne/cm — which breaks the usual rule of thumb.14 min
- BuyingUV LED vs mercury lamp curing: the honest comparisonThe trade-offs left in — including the wavelength argument that explains why LED prints scratch, and why the energy-saving claims do not survive scrutiny.12 min
- MaintenanceNozzle blockage: reading the test print and fixing the right thingDropouts that move mean air. Dropouts that stay mean dirt. Two different repairs — and two minutes of testing tells you which one you are doing.9 min
- MaintenanceWhy white UV ink settles, and what to do about itOne number explains why white blocks while cyan behaves: titanium dioxide is 4.2× denser than the vehicle. Includes which heads recirculate and which do not.9 min
- MaintenanceWhat actually kills a UV printheadThe crystal that fires the ink does not wear out. The nozzles and the nozzle plate do — and almost every way that happens is preventable.10 min
- MaintenanceThe UV printer maintenance schedule that actually saves printheadsEvery page online says “clean it daily”. None says what, with what, or why. This is the routine written out properly, including the one-week and two-week idle rules.11 min
Next step
Tell us what you print
Tell us what you print and how much of it, and we will recommend the machine that fits.
Machines are sold in configurations, so the specification decides the price. Tell us the material and the volume and we will quote the exact build.