How to deal with striped prints on DTF printers

How to deal with striped prints on DTF printers

Do you have problems in the middle of the road when printing takes place, I’m sure you’ve experienced them even though the problem is not the same as the others. Everyone who has a DTF printing business must have problems, whether it’s from materials like DTF Pet Film that are damp or it could be from powder that doesn’t melt properly. Maybe you have other problems that can comment below this article. Now, before I go into the discussion of how to deal with striped printing on DTF printers, it’s a good idea to first get to know what the DTF Printer process looks like.

DTF printers are a film transfer system, namely Digital Transfer Film, before printing on the t-shirt material there is a printing process onto the DTF Pet Film material which after the printing process then the Pet Film is sprinkled with DTF Powder then put the Pet Film which has been sprinkled with Powder into the Oven so that the powder melts or melted perfectly.

So from here the pet film that has been in the oven is then placed on the t-shirt and put into the press machine for 15 seconds, after that it is removed and then left to stand for about 3 minutes so that the heat on the pet film is lost then only then can the pet film be removed slowly. Then there is a single DTF printing whose results are very solid, thick and bright.

But sometimes during the DTF printing process there are obstacles in the middle of the road that make our work stagnate, that problem is called Striped Print. Now, to solve the problem of striped print on DTF print, there are many ways. Please refer to the following methods below.

Steps to overcome striped print on DTF printers

1. First, please try cleaning many times and see the results of the nozzle, if the results are broken, it will also result in striped prints. Do the cleaning 4 to 5 times by sprinkling the cleaner liquid onto the capping station foam so that the capping station pump runs smoothly.

2. The way to deal with other striped print results is by checking the Cartridge on the DTF Printer. Most likely the striped print results are caused by the cartridge being used, whether it’s from a damaged cartridge hole or it could be that the filter in the cartridge is not performing optimally. Therefore, try to check the cartridge first, whether the DTF printer ink is lumpy or not.

3. Please clean the encoder strip on the DTF printer, on the back of the Carriage Unit or Printhead housing or Cartridge housing there is an object resembling thin mica, now that is what is known as an encoder strip. The way to clean it is quite easy, namely by using a tissue that has been moistened with liquid cleaner. For the chosen cleaner liquid, don’t use a cleaner that is too harsh, just use a CL type cleaner or one that doesn’t contain alcohol. Gently wipe left and right as this allows the encoder strip to get dirty resulting in a striped image on the DTF t-shirt.

4. Also check the capping pump, sometimes during each cleaning process there are lumps that accumulate in the capping station pump which eventually causes straws or the suction power of the pump becomes less than optimal so that the resulting print becomes streaky.

5. Check the distance between the Printhead and the Pet Film material, sometimes without us knowing it, the distance between the Printhead and the attached paper material results in a striped print on the DTF print. This could be due to the indentation of the Pet film when DTF prints are more than 1 meter and the vacuum function is not optimal so that the Pet Film bends and hits the Printhead and finally the print results are striped.

6. Care must also be taken to place the vacuum so that the position is not tilted, because if the position is tilted and hits the printhead. Pay attention to the table used to place the DTF Printer, who knows the table used will expand so that the surface becomes uneven and causes the DTF Printer Vacuum to tilt. This will not only produce striped prints but will also permanently damage the printhead.

Basically, DTF printers always run print commands normally, if in the middle of the run you see something odd, such as a striped print, then immediately do the first thing first, such as Head Cleaning. This step is actually the most effective step for how to deal with striped prints on DTF printers.

If the main steps have been taken but have not been successful, then follow the 6 instructions above to find the real problem. Indeed, DTF printers, if they experience problems or problems, cannot find the problem right away, but if they are sorted one by one and done slowly, I am very sure that the problem with striped printing will definitely be resolved.

If everything has been done and the results are still streaky, please you, can you disassemble the printhead and repair the flex cable, maybe this problem arises from a damaged flex cable. Good luck.