Preventive Maintenance
for Printers

Dear Bill,
There are a few hard and fast rules for setting up
a preventive maintenance schedule for printers. These rules are based on the type of print mechanism, volume of use and the environment. Even the paper stock used can create special maintenance demands.

Ticket Printers

With a typically open construction, ticket printers need more frequent cleaning than roll printers. How frequent? It depends pretty much on where it is being used. A slide-in ticket printer like the SP2200 in an air-conditioned office may need cleaning and lubrication twice a year. That same printer in a feed mill or gravel pit may eat lots of airborne dust and need a quick cleaning each week. In those especially nasty environments, the operator should be trained to do minor cleaning at the start of each week. Dirt on the print head is easy for an operator to handle with a cotton swab and isopropyl alcohol. You’ll know when it’s time for cleaning by poor print quality. The head shaft, drive gears and belts are more critical and require professional attention. Dirt buildup on these moving parts creates drag, causing extra current draw for the motor, which often leads to a burned out motor or drive transistors. A visual inspection by a professional scale technician during regular preventive maintenance visits is your best guide to prevention. Clean the head shaft and any drive gears with alcohol, then lube lightly with a non-petroleum gel like Lubriplate® from GC Electronics or Lube Gel® from Radio Shack. Some printers use a worm drive head shaft grooved to control the print head travel. These grooves can easily become clogged and you may need a small toothbrush with alcohol to clean especially bad ones. At each cleaning, check the drive belt for wear, cracks and missing teeth. Replace damaged belts promptly to prevent future printing problems.

Thermal Label Printers

These printers are usually more protected from airborne dust, but have special needs due to generally higher usage. In addition to the print head, the drive rollers, bearings and clutches sometimes require attention in high-volume applications. Because they do not use a ribbon, print heads of direct thermal printers can easily pick up debris and should be cleaned regularly. Light streaks in the same place on each label are an indication of a dirty head. On the other hand, thermal transfer printers—with direct ribbon contact—stay relatively clean and can normally go three to four rolls of labels stock between cleanings. If major adjustments are needed to maintain print quality, it should be your red flag to check bearings and rollers in high-volume label printers. Clean rollers first with alcohol, or even acetone, if they are badly gummed up. If you’re still adjusting frequently, disassemble the label drive mechanism and check the drive roller bearings, replacing if necessary. Some label printers use felt disks for clutches. A few drops of SAE 5 light machine oil at each cleaning will keep these printers operating quietly.

Quick Maintenance

Fix One of the easiest ways to cut down on required maintenance is always to include a dust cover* with each printer sold. These heavy clear plastic covers are custom-made for most popular printers. Not only do they protect from airborne dust during the hours when printers are idle, but some models can be left on during actual use for 24-hour dust protection.

*Rice Lake carries dust covers for the SP2200 and TM-U220, and can make covers for nearly any printer in a couple of weeks (by special quote).

Printable Version

Rice Lake Printers

Printer/Scale Veils and Dust Covers