Industrial humidification for digital printers

Beginners or less informed users do not know how important proper humidity is when using inkjet printers. This is especially true for DTG and DTF printers using white ink. Signdepot's humidifier provides an excellent solution and is also wallet friendly.

Why do you need to watch out for humidity?

Trying to achieve the right level of humidity is nothing new in the printing industry. In fact, it is essential. Relative humidity is usually between 40-60%, which is the right medium for paper-using plants. With the right humidity, there are fewer problems with particulate matter, electrostatic charging, and changes to the structure of the paper.

It is also very important in digital printing because inkjet printheads are sensitive to changes in humidity. Printhead nozzle drying can be recurrent if humidity levels are too low. So higher humidity can only be a good thing, helping to ensure problem-free printing.

Newer printers now have a built-in humidity meter and will disable humidity below a set point.

What is the right value?

Especially in winter, during the heating season, a relative humidity of 25 - 30% is nothing new, which is very low, but unfortunately Signdepot's own experience shows that this is still the measured value in many customers' workshops. If 40% is already achieved, that's good enough, but 50% should be the target. Stable, adequate humidity is not only good for the raw materials, but also for the print head and paper feed unit. All this contributes to unattended, stable print quality!

Where to measure and humidify? What humidifier is recommended?

If you have one printer, it should be in the immediate vicinity of the printer. It is advisable to place the humidity meter either on top of the printer (and also near the print head). There are big differences in price and technical content between humidifiers. There are smaller desktop models costing a few thousand HUF, but these are not suitable. There are humidifiers for industrial, printing, agro, gastronomy applications, which can cost a lot. For digital printing, Signdepot offers an industrial but affordable mobile humidifier that can be placed close to the printer. Being an ultrasonic humidifier, it does not create a droplet of water that could precipitate on the surface of the printer, causing a seal or other problem. However, it is still advisable to place it at a distance of about 1 m, but the vapour can be directed towards the printer. This has two advantages. However, if there are several printers, it is worth installing the humidifier in a central location, or even more.

For DTF and DTG printers using white ink, it is mandatory!

DTG, but especially DTF printers are particularly sensitive to humidity! If you are experiencing streaky prints, nozzle drying, this should be the first thing you check! A stable relative humidity of at least 40% is particularly important for DTF printers.