Equipment

How to clean your Thermal Printhead

Wedderburn

31st March 2023

Thermal printing plays a critical role in many businesses, from printing pre-pack labels in a wholesale retail environment, to producing carton and shipping labels in a manufacturing or logistics environment. If print quality is poor and a barcode fails to scan it can be very costly for your business, impacting consumers and/or trading partners and brand reputation. Potential consequences include loss of efficiency, chargebacks and products returns, supply chain disruptions and shipment delays.

We know that a primary cause of poor print quality is a dirty or damaged thermal printhead. This article will review what a thermal printhead head is, and how to clean it correctly to maximise print quality, extend the life of your thermal printhead and protect your business.

What is a thermal printhead?

A thermal printhead is the most important part of a thermal printer. It is composed of hundreds of tiny electrical elements coated with a thin ceramic layer. These electrical elements heat up to print onto the thermal label paper. The more electrical elements per mm, the higher the print quality. A thermal printhead is also the most delicate part of the printer, and one of the most expensive components to replace.

If you find that your label has faded, missing portions or has an overall poor print quality, this is often the result of a dirty printhead. Dirt, residue or adhesive from your label rolls can build up on a printhead over time. If this occurs, your thermal printer may not print properly. By simply cleaning your thermal printhead you can improve the print quality of your labels.

How to correctly clean your printhead on a thermal printer

The following instructions will help you clean your label printer when necessary:

Step 1 - Before cleaning your thermal printhead or performing any maintenance, make sure that you turn your printer's power off.
Step 2 - Release your thermal printhead and wind back any labels that are left in the printer.
Step 3 - Take a lint free cotton cloth and saturate it with some isopropyl alcohol. Let that sit for a few seconds, then gently rub the thermal printhead to remove any glue or residue. Once you're happy that the thermal printhead is clean, give the platen roller a quick wipe, turning it as you go to get rid of any paper dust.
Step 4 – Reload your labels and then close the thermal head and printer cover.
Step 5 - Turn the printer power back on and you're ready to print again.


Warning

Do not use anything sharp to clean your printhead.

If you happen to get a label stuck on your printhead don't use anything sharp to try and remove it as this will likely scratch the printhead, causing irreparable damage. Take your isopropyl alcohol and spray the label a few times. Let the solution soak through and then gently try to remove the label.

How often should you clean the printhead?

Wedderburn recommends cleaning your printhead every time you change your label roll/ribbon, or at least weekly to prolong the life of your thermal printhead.

Regular cleaning will maximise print quality and extend the life of your thermal printhead. However, if you’ve cleaned your printhead and still aren’t achieving the expected print quality, our service team is here to help, please contact us on 1300 933 337.

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