Controling dust on media before printing

[CropMarks]

Hello, I did a search for "dust" and got LOTS of pages of unrelated topics... so I'm super sorry if it's already been mentioned.

I'm new(er) to the world of eco-solvent printing (converted my FJ540) and one thing I really notice is how much a little tiny speck of dust on the media REALLY shows up on a print. Is there any method or type of cloth that people use to wipe the media before printing on it?

Thank you very much for any ideas! Mike.

 

[petepaz]

i was just thinking about posting this the other day when i ruined about 3ft of vinyl
the only thing i was thinking is if you use a lint free rag/cloth not sure how else you could prevent it other then use your vinyl more often..haha

 

[bob]

Hard to avoid it entirely but you can mitigate the problem by always, as in always, store all printable media in the plastic sleeve in which it came. Also, don't leave any media that you're worried about on the printer's input spool.

Unwrap it, load it, print it, unload it, and re-wrap it. Sometimes a pain in the ass but it tends to keep the media relatively clean.

 

[WrapperX]

Use your vinyl more often.

Try not to store it on the ground. - i.e: get a wall mounted storage rack or create one so that your rolls aren't sitting on the ground either end up or otherwise.

Don't store your rolls near ANY vents, AC or Heating.

We typically mark on the roll where the edge is and advance the media so that only "covered" print media is used. Hmmm - kinda confusing. Ok Imagine you have your roll. It has a begining edge. I take a sharpy and draw a line along that leader edge while its still rolled up so that my mark is now on the media but I will have to advance my roll until Im past that mark. This makes it so that the only media being printed on has generally been covered by the flapping edge of the begining. Get it? This typically helps with hand prints too.

 

[J Hill Designs]

Hard to avoid it entirely but you can mitigate the problem by always, as in always, store all printable media in the plastic sleeve in which it came. Also, don't leave any media that you're worried about on the printer's input spool.

Unwrap it, load it, print it, unload it, and re-wrap it. Sometimes a pain in the ass but it tends to keep the media relatively clean.

this

 

[Baz]

My rolls are always wraped in their original plastic cover. Everytime i load up a media i will wipe down the first 24-36 inches with an electrostatic cloth. I pretty much don't have issues with dust on the begining of prints anymore by doing this.