Why you should clean your Plastic ID Card Printer regularly

It won’t come as any surprise that a well-maintained ID card printer produces the best quality printed cards, time and time again. As well as rewarding you with years of loyal service.

Too often though we see customers experiencing problems with their printer that could have been avoided by just giving it a good clean every now and again.

Why cleaning your ID printer is so important
The most obvious one is how much it affects the print quality on your cards.

It’s easy for dust and dirt to become trapped in your plastic card printer and on your rollers as cards have a high static charge. This can result in poor quality print: images can be blurred and colours and text won’t be as sharp.

Cleaning keeps your ID card printer running smoothly
Regular cleaning extend the life of the printer and its printhead, allowing you to get the most out of your investment. A lack of cleaning over time can cause the printer to stop working and cause repair issues.

And when that happens, you’ll have to go back to the manufacturer, and the first question they’ll ask is how regularly you’ve been cleaning it.

It keeps your printer warranty valid
If the answer to the question above is ‘I haven’t’, you could invalidate your printer warranty. Most manufacturers can tell in the card printer log when it’s been cleaned (or more to the point when it hasn’t) so this could result in your warranty being null and void.

How often should you clean your ID card printer?
Generally speaking, manufacturers recommend you clean the printer every time you change the ribbon, which is why most ribbons come complete with a cleaning roller.

This is a good general clean, but you’ll also need to do a deeper clean every few months as a cleaning roller can only do so much.

Here’s what you should use depending on your requirement:

Use Cleaning Swabs for visible debris

If debris or dust is visible on the printhead, a cleaning swab is the safest way to remove it without damage. Never use a sharp object to do this as it could permanently damage the printhead.

Use a Cleaning Card for a fuller deep-clean

Using pre-saturated cleaning cards will ensure the printheads, transport rollers and magnetic encoder station are kept clear of debris. It’s like a deep clean for your card printer.