HM1 48hr Report - let my machine sit for 48+ hours without printing - here are the results
The HM1's sat for 48 hrs & 15 minutes. Turned on the PC and ran a nozzle check on both machines, that is it, no maintenance. Both came out perfectly. Immediately printed a shirt on each. Both came out perfect.
I think the agitator, larger ink lines, and auto clean firmware are doing a great job. The auto head cleans do use a ton of ink, but so far I think it is worth it. Of course, only time will tell if this trouble free operation will continue.
On a side not, I printed a full image of just a white square at maximum white density. WOW!! It was unreal. A small tadpole could have gone swimming in the ink it pooled so much!
The HM1's sat for 48 hrs & 15 minutes. Turned on the PC and ran a nozzle check on both machines, that is it, no maintenance. Both came out perfectly. Immediately printed a shirt on each. Both came out perfect.
I think the agitator, larger ink lines, and auto clean firmware are doing a great job. The auto head cleans do use a ton of ink, but so far I think it is worth it. Of course, only time will tell if this trouble free operation will continue.
On a side not, I printed a full image of just a white square at maximum white density. WOW!! It was unreal. A small tadpole could have gone swimming in the ink it pooled so much!
Very happy so far!
That's Good News. The way I quantified how much ink I was loosing to head cleans is to measure the waste ink container. Auto maintenance is great...except the kind that happens durring a print run. I call it the Epson Dance.
__________________ imprimeo! ....Digitizing, DTG and Embroidery..FREE Embroidery SOFTWARE Sierra Consultant, Stitch ERA Universal Dealer, Digitizing trainer for GUNOLD USA
The HM1's sat for 48 hrs & 15 minutes. Turned on the PC and ran a nozzle check on both machines, that is it, no maintenance. Both came out perfectly. Immediately printed a shirt on each. Both came out perfect.
I think the agitator, larger ink lines, and auto clean firmware are doing a great job. The auto head cleans do use a ton of ink, but so far I think it is worth it. Of course, only time will tell if this trouble free operation will continue.
On a side not, I printed a full image of just a white square at maximum white density. WOW!! It was unreal. A small tadpole could have gone swimming in the ink it pooled so much!
Very happy so far!
How do you email the company. I tried but it came back undeliverable.
Is the HM1 portable or does it have to stay put?
That's Good News. The way I quantified how much ink I was loosing to head cleans is to measure the waste ink container. Auto maintenance is great...except the kind that happens durring a print run. I call it the Epson Dance.
hey zoom monster...how do you set the anajet for auto maintenance? is it the setting that's in the RIP software? the one that reads: "Auto maintenance while idle" How many hrs do you schedule your auto clean jobs for, and does a PC need to be connected and switched ON in order to run the auto-clean?
i'm hoping there's a way to switch auto-clean on from the touchscreen on the printer, but i can't find anything about that.
hey printzilla...I recall several weeks ago that you voiced some frustration with white ink printing in general. as someone who's been doing this a long while now, do you feel this new generation of white ink printers is much better than the prior generation? just curious to get your thoughts. i just started with a new machine. it's a lot of tedium and work, but i'm pretty pleased so far. however, i want to know what the warning signs are and how to avoid them!
what made you switch from the t-jet?? Who makes the HM1
My HM1's are significantly faster than my tjets were. They are also much easier to maintain. The ability to set one up for dual CMYK printing was a big plus for speed as well.
jki540 - I have always voiced an opinion that white ink printing is not ready for prime time production runs over a couple dozen shirts. I stand by that today. I understand that some people are getting acceptable results with the Kornit, I however was not one of them, thus why I no longer own a Kornit.
One thing I would be very careful about is the auto clean settings on your machine. I know on mine it costs a pretty penny, and I pay less than $300 per liter for my inks, while inks for the anajet are over $800 per liter. That could translate into big bucks.
...how do you set the anajet for auto maintenance? is it the setting that's in the RIP software? the one that reads: "Auto maintenance while idle" How many hrs do you schedule your auto clean jobs for, and does a PC need to be connected and switched ON in order to run the auto-clean?
i'm hoping there's a way to switch auto-clean on from the touchscreen on the printer, but i can't find anything about that.
The Auto maintenance is in the RIP, not in the firmware. You can set it for 8, 16,24,48 hours. You must have EK running, for that to work. That being said, if your machine is just sitting for a day or two, I'd rather do a minor cleaning of the Head, capping area, put a couple drops of distilled water or cleaning fluid in the capping station and shut it down. If more than two days, you may want to switch to cleaning carts on the last couple of shirts from a run so that you draw fluid into the lines, then leave those carts in the machine, leave auto maintenace on and set it for 24 hours. One real big factor That has helped me a lot is to keep the humidity in my printing area at 45-50%. Here in Bakersfield, the normal moisture content of the air is like in the 30s. In the mid 30s i'll get banding in the middle of a run. Since, I got a hydrometer and a humidifier, Ive eliminated this, as well as stoped having to do pre maintenece to get stuff flowing. If, I'm not going to be around to fill up my humidifier, I take a wet rag, put it into the pan under the platten, and cover the front of tha machine. This will keep the humidity in the 50s for several days. You will no doubt find your own little tricks.
__________________ imprimeo! ....Digitizing, DTG and Embroidery..FREE Embroidery SOFTWARE Sierra Consultant, Stitch ERA Universal Dealer, Digitizing trainer for GUNOLD USA
thanks for the tips Ian. Very helpful as usual. it's funny, because i just ordered a humidifier too. it will arrive this monday. the air here in SF is pretty arid too. Not as bad as where you are, but still not in the 50s. i hope this will help a lot.
i'm only thinking of a weekend solution. if i'm ever out of the office, someone here can do the cleaning. but over the wkends, no one is around.
i don't know how to access the capping station to perform the maintenance you described. i'll give anajet a call to see how to do that.
i don't know how to access the capping station to perform the maintenance you described. i'll give anajet a call to see how to do that.
thanks again and have a great wkend!
Who's your Distibutor? You should get some training on this. You should take a day and go down to Costa Mesa or have your distributor come out and show you the finer points of maintenance. It's not difficult, Chapter 7 goes over all this, but if you've never been inside a printer, it's hard to know how rough or gentle you can be with certain parts.
__________________ imprimeo! ....Digitizing, DTG and Embroidery..FREE Embroidery SOFTWARE Sierra Consultant, Stitch ERA Universal Dealer, Digitizing trainer for GUNOLD USA
This is a discussion about HM1 48hr Report - let my machine sit for 48+ hours without printing - here are the results that was posted in the DTG Brand section of the forums.
HM1 48hr Report - let my machine sit for 48+ hours without printing - here are the results 
