While it may seem handy to leave sublimation ink in your printer, factors beyond your control can quickly wear on ink durability. Regularly using high-quality ink like Winnerjet can minimize issues due to drying and other factors. While users may think it’s convenient to load sublimation ink in a printer and leave it there until it’s needed, print quality may suffer due to nozzle blockages and other issues; continual printing helps maintain print quality. There are many reasons why print quality may suffer when ink is stored in a printer over a long period of time, and these may vary from one printer to the next; using high quality ink like Winnerjet can alleviate many of these concerns.
How Long Can Sublimation Ink Safely Stay in a Printer?
Printer cartridges containing sublimation ink may be able to be stored for weeks, though this varies from setup to setup. More important to the function of sublimation ink printers is use and maintenance. Sublimation ink has a relatively high viscosity, meaning it may be able to be stored for weeks, but may eventually clog the printer. Regular printing can alleviate this.
Sublimation Ink Shelf Life vs Ink Sitting in a Printer
There is a difference between the shelf life of a sealed product and the time a product remains in a printer. Sublimation inks maintain their quality for a year when stored properly, but this time is misleading. In a printer, it may dry out or combine with other ink to form a hard mass.
Because of the variations in what a printer is exposed to, the time sublimation ink maintains its quality when in a printer is essentially zero.
What Happens When Sublimation Ink Sits Too Long?
Unlike regular dye-based inks, sublimation inks contain solid dye particles in a liquid medium. Once deposited on a substrate, several problems may arise.
Printhead Clogs, Banding and Missing Colors
First, the liquid in the ink may evaporate, leaving sticky dye particles to obstruct the passage of ink through the nozzles, resulting in banding or complete failure of a color channel, and clogging of the inkjet printhead.
Ink Separation and Color-Consistency Problems
Additionally, over time, the liquid may completely evaporate, and the solid particles may settle in the ink cartridges. This may also occur in the lines that connect the ink cartridges to the heater or to the piezoelectric transducer. As a result, the prints may have unwanted color and may have color shifts.
What Determines How Long Sublimation Ink Can Stay in a Printer?
What factors might shorten the shelf life of dye-sublimation ink? The following factors determine how long the ink can remain viable within the printer.
How Often the Printer Is Used
Of all these reasons, lack of use of your sublimation printer may have the greatest negative effect on your printer. As mentioned previously, use of a sublimation printer may alleviate drying of the ink, nozzle clogging, and other printhead deposits. It is also recommended that the user follows the manufacturer’s guideline regarding the use of the printer.
Temperature and Humidity
Due to the nature of how sublimation ink transfers to a substrate, conditions outside of a user’s control (i.e. temperature, humidity) impact sublimation ink performance. It is critical that the user adhere to the ink manufacturer’s recommendations in order to maintain optimal print environment conditions. Humidity and temperature, especially the extreme end of the spectrum, negatively impact the performance and long term stability of sublimation ink. Extremely low humidity conditions cause printed surfaces to dry too quickly resulting in ink nozzle clogging and Printhead uniformity issues. Extreme heat can cause the solvents in the sublimation ink to evaporate and leave a residue around the Printhead. For optimal performance and to alleviate damage to the Printhead and Printhead uniformity issues, it is essential that the humidity and temperature of the printing environment be controlled to the recommended levels by the sublimation ink manufacturer.
Printer Type, Ink System and Ink Formulation
Factors like hardware design affect performance, with factory-made printers using sealed pathways to keep moisture out and automatic cleaning to remove dried ink. High quality ink, like Winnerjet, can keep the Printhead and the pathways humid to prevent drying. Sealed pathways and active printing system designs along with high quality inks and solvents help minimize drying and clogging of the printing system.
How Often Should You Use a Sublimation Printer to Prevent Clogs?
Test prints should be conducted about once a week to check nozzle health. Test prints should also include a short color panel to facilitate the flow of fluids through the system and prevent particle adhesion. It is recommended that the sublimation printing process take place once or twice a week to prevent nozzle clogging. The use of a nozzle check or a test print of this nature helps achieve a high level of availability of the printing system.
How Sawgrass Handles Printer Inactivity
Sawgrass sublimation printers, when left plugged in and on, perform routine, low-consumption maintenance procedures to help ensure nozzle health. Routine maintenance performed by the printer, combined with proper maintenance by the user in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, helps to resolve ink related issues and extend the life of the nozzles and print head. While this is particularly helpful for users that do not print on a daily basis, it is recommended that the printer be left on to maintain ink and other related consumables.
How Can You Tell if Sublimation Ink in the Printer Has Gone Bad?
These signs indicate a potential problem with your printer. Watch for broken or deflected test grid lines during nozzle checks. Continued banding after two cleans. Drifting colors. Visible separation of ink and/or coalescence of solids. Improperly performed nozzle checks may result in lines clogging. External lines may contain ink coalescence. If you must walk away from your printer, perform a nozzle check, cap the print head, and/or cover the automated printer components. Control the environment in the room. Follow your printer’s instructions for long term storage.
Does Sublimation Ink Expire?
Some sublimation inks have an expiration date. If stored correctly, ink may retain quality for 1-2 years. Once a bottle of ink is opened, it is recommended that quality be maintained for no more than 6-9 months for consistent color reproduction. Sawgrass ink cartridges maintain quality for two years from the date of manufacture when kept sealed.
How Long Does Winnerjet Sublimation Ink Last?
Winnerjet’s nano-particle filter and humectant based sublimation inks maintain print quality for at least a year and protect print nozzles.
How Long Does 100ml of Sublimation Ink Last?
Ink consists of many chemicals and the longevity of the supply may depend on the maintenance settings of the printer. For some printers, user situations, and combinations of inks, 100 ml may run out in 30 days. However, for other user situations and printers, the same combination may last for 6 months.
What Determines How Many Prints You Get From 100ml?
The more ink coverage in a design, the more ink is used. Designs that bleed off the edge of the print use even more ink. Different colors use different amounts of ink. Black uses more ink than other colors. Prints that contain a lot of color use more ink than prints that contain not a lot of color. Some ink types cause the printer to waste ink during self-cleaning.
How Long Does Sublimation Ink Last After Printing and Transfer?
After printing, sublimation ink must undergo sublimation. It turns to gas and chemically combines with polyester.
How Long Does Sublimation Ink Last on Shirts?
Sublimation ink is printed on a substrate and then sealed with heat, turning it into a gas that bonds to polyester fabrics. Designs that use sublimation print on polyester fabrics keep their vibrant colors for the life of the fabric. Inks can also keep colors vibrant for the life of the fabric through many washings. Some inks also keep designs on ceramic mugs for many years, and help keep designs on mugs colored black without a green or red tint.
How Long Does Sublimation Ink Last on Mugs?
Decorative designs printed using Winnerjet ink on ceramic mugs do not fade with time and are safe to be used with detergents, but should not be placed in the microwave.
How Long Does Sublimation Ink Last on Paper Before Transfer?
Transfers printed on sublimation paper can be stored for months, but the printed transfers should be pressed within 3-4 days to avoid moisture build-up. The transfers should be stored in aflat, airtight, and light-tight bag.
What Makes Sublimation Ink and Finished Prints Last Longer?
The care and maintenance of a printer should be followed by post-printing care to preserve the quality of printed outputs. This can be accomplished by printing test pages weekly, using inks of appropriate viscosity, maintaining the temperature of the print room, using textile blanks with higher polyester content, and washing printed textiles in cold water.
How Long Can a Sublimation Printer Sit Unused?
An office desktop printer should not be left unused for more than 5-7 days. Continuous inkjet printers, or other automated printers, can have an indefinite idle time as long as they are left plugged in. The shelf life for these printers is determined by the quality and type of ink used. Winnerjet ink is designed to prevent ink from hardening and clogging the nozzles.
