Too often, by the time a wide-format inkjet printer is serviced, it is in a state of crisis that could have been prevented. While most drivers know to get their car’s oil changed periodically, many people still do not think about printers in the same way—despite the fact their printer, unlike their car, can make a lot of money for them. The need for preventive maintenance is not merely cosmetic—e.g. preventing operators from placing solvent-soaked cloths or splashing ink on the printer—but also, more importantly, mechanical.
司机知道要定期更换汽车的油，而许多标识行业的专业人士却不会以同样的方式考虑维护打印设备，很多时候，当喷墨打印机被操作时，它可能处于能被阻止的危机状态，尽管打印设备与他们的汽车不同，汽车作为一种生活消耗品，而打印设备却可以为他们增加财富。因此来看，对打印设备进行预防性维护是相当重要的，例如，防止操作人员将溶剂浸泡的布料或墨水溅在打印机上，需要及时很好地进行处理，否则会影响后期的打印效果。
Much like owning a car and occasionally taking it to an automotive specialist, printer owners can do their own ‘oil changes,’ performing basic maintenance in between major service intervals. Like a car, an inkjet printer contains critically important fluid systems that need to be kept clean for optimal performance and longer operating life. Unlike a car, where most such systems are sealed, a wide-format printer’s caps, capping maintenance stations and/or printheads are exposed to outside air and contaminants during—and sometimes after—printing.
汽车由汽车专家进行维护，打印机主人也可以自己操作，在主要的服务间隔之间进行基本维护。与汽车一样，喷墨打印机也包含重要的流体系统，需要保持清洁，以获得最佳性能和更长的使用寿命。与汽车不同的是，大多数打印设备的封盖和打印头，长期暴露于外部空气和污染物中，很容易影响到后期的打印效果。
The major components of a solvent-based inkjet printer are the media transport and take-up system, the carriage and positioning, the electronics and controls and, responsible for the most maintenance service calls, the ink system.
溶剂型喷墨打印机的主要组件是介质传输卷取系统、用于定位的托架、电子控制的墨水系统等。
Checking components
检查组件
Each printer has its own maintenance routine, but a number of practices will apply to almost any printer, regardless of its manufacturer. One way to consider how the technology works and what is going on throughout the printer is to work from the end of the system, back to the beginning.
每个打印设备都有自己的维护程序，几乎所有打印机都可以用同样的方法进行处理，比如考虑技术如何运作，以及整个打印机在操作过程中可能发生的一些问题。
The waste bottle is the end of the line, as it is where wasted ink goes after the printheads are cleaned, the nozzles are washed and/or the printheads are primed. The ink is pulled through the printheads and pushed into the bottle by way of a pumping mechanism. If the bottle becomes full or if the service line that feeds into it is gummed up, the printer can become clogged.
废物瓶是管线的末端，在清洁完打印头之后，喷嘴会变干净，墨水会消失。油墨通过打印头被拉动，并通过泵系统推入瓶中，如果瓶子已满，送入的服务线就会被粘住，打印机可能就会堵塞。
Most printers use a pull-through pump system that draws ink through each printhead to prime them and keep the ink flowing, but for this process to be effective, there needs to be a good seal between the cap and the printhead. Typically, the printhead has a flat surface and the cap is like a rubber boot that seals the connection.
通常情况下，打印头具有平坦的表面，帽类似于密封连接的橡胶套，大多数打印设备都是使用一个直通式泵系统，系统可以通过每个打印头吸取墨水，从而将墨水灌注并保持流动状态。为了使该过程操作地更好，需要在盖子和打印头之间进行良好的密封。
If the seal is not good, air leaks may occur whenever the pump tries to pull ink through the printhead. When such leaks happen, the printhead will not be primed, as no ink can be pulled through it. And during cleaning cycles, air leaks will prevent the printhead from being cleaned.
如果密封做的不好，泵就会试图通过打印头吸墨，即可发生空气泄漏的情况。当这种泄漏发生时，打印头将不会被打底，因为没有墨水可以流过来。此外，在循环操作过程中，空气泄漏将阻止打印头被清洁。
There are several causes of cap/printhead seal problems. For one thing, rubber caps will deteriorate over time with constant exposure to solvents and heat. Old and worn-out caps should be replaced.
封盖或打印头进行密封时，出现的问题常常因为这些原因：一方面，橡胶盖随着时间长期暴露于溶剂中，导致热量下降，所以破旧的帽盖应该需要更换。
There may also be poor alignment of the caps and printheads. If the caps do not seal the printheads in the correct position, there will be air leaks. So, it is important to perform a capping station alignment.
另一方面，封盖或打印头的对准也可能没做到位。如果帽盖没有将打印头密封在正确的位置，则会有空气泄漏，因此，位置对齐也很重要。
There can be problems with the capping station motor. While the specifics vary from printer to printer, some models use motors or belts to raise or lower the caps during and after printing. If this process encounters a problem, the solution is to repair or replace the motor assembly or its affected parts.
除此之外，加盖电机通常也会出现一些问题。虽然具体问题因不同的打印机而异，但有些型号在打印期间或使用之后，会使用电机皮带来提升或降低帽盖的使用寿命。遇到这种问题，最好的解决方案是，修理或更换电机组件，以免其它部件受到影响。
Poor cap maintenance can result in dried ink and pigments crusting right where they need to be sealed, at the cap-to-printhead interface. Additionally, failure to keep the caps clean will result in much faster degradation, as the crust will become abrasive, at which point cleaning it with solvent and swabs can tug bits off of the cap, resulting in premature failure. It is important to swab the caps gently and regularly instead.
对帽盖的维护可能导致干燥的油墨和颜料残留在密封的位置，从而会延伸到打印头的界面处。因此，不能因为保持帽盖的清洁，而迅速的降解，因为外壳会被磨损，使用的溶剂和拭子清洗它时，可以从盖子上拔出位，以免导致故障发生。所以，值得我们注意的是，我们需要定期的、并轻轻地去擦拭帽盖。
There will be an accumulation of pigment both in the cap itself and below it, so a recommended maintenance solution should be used to wash the caps in sufficient quantity to run right down to the waste bottle. This will thin the accumulation and help avoid clogging caused by waste ink.
帽盖本身及其下面经常会有颜料的积聚，因此，我们使用推荐的维护方法是，清洗足够数量的瓶盖，直到废物瓶为止，这样可以减少颜料的积聚，有助于避免废墨造成的堵塞。
When capping units become old, dirty or misadjusted, the printheads can dry out because the pumps cannot prime them, leading to a starvation of ink. When the pumps cannot push fluids into their containers, the printheads and the capping station will become clogged, leading to a ‘constipated’ system that eventually will not print at all.
当封盖单元变旧、变脏或调整不当时，打印头会因为泵不起泡而变得干燥，从而导致墨水供应不足。当泵不能将流体推入容器时，打印头和封盖将会被堵塞，导致“便秘”，这样一来，机器根本不会进行打印程序了。
Another crucial component of the ink system is the wiper/wiping station. On most printers, this involves a rubber blade that wipes across the printheads periodically during printing. If the wipers are allowed to crust with dry ink, it can be transferred to the printheads, pressing dried particles of ink pigments into their orifices, with disastrous results.
油墨系统的另一个关键部件是擦拭刮水器。在打印时，大多数打印设备还会涉及擦拭打印头的橡胶刮刀，如果使用干墨水将擦拭器外壳弄脏，同时也会连累到打印头，干燥的墨水或者颜料颗粒进入细孔中，会造成严重性后果。
So, wipers should be treated with the same care as the caps. Though they are not ‘seal-critical,’ any inefficiencies in wiping will have a significant negative effect on print quality.
因此，擦拭器应该和帽盖一样，需要很好地被照顾。虽然它不是关键性的部件，但擦拭效率低下会对打印质量产生显著的负面影响。
Maintaining flow
维护流程
It is essential to keep ink flowing and the printheads wet. Even busy sign shops can have down days where not much is being printed, so it is important to continue daily maintenance, running a set of colour bars corresponding to the printer’s capabilities.
打印设备必须随时保持墨水流动和打印头的湿润。即使是繁忙的标识商店，也可能有不打印的时候，所以重要的是，对打印机功能相对应的彩条等运行组件，都要进行日常维护。
With cyan, magenta, yellow and key/black (CMYK) printing, for example, this will involve approximately 153 x 305-mm (6 x 12-in.) blocks with 100 per cent of each colour. If light cyan and magenta are added, they should be 153 x 203-mm (6 x 8-in.) blocks with the light colours at only 40 per cent density, to assure the ink colours are being used by the raster image processor (RIP). The same goes for orange, green or white ink.he blocks can be scaled according to the width of the printer and the substrate.
在进行维护时，值得我们注意的是，使用青色、品红、黄色或黑色的墨水进行打印，每种颜色将涉及大约153 x 305毫米（6 x 12英寸）分块颜色，如果添加浅青色和品红，涉及的分块颜色为153 x 203-mm（6 x 8英寸），其颜色仅为密度的40％，橙色、绿色或白色墨水也是如此。分块颜色可以根据打印机和基板的宽度进行缩放，因此，维护时要确保光栅图像处理器使用准确的墨水颜色。
Some inkjet printers even automatically produce a thin ‘confidence stripe’ along the edge of every graphic, to ensure all colours are being used all of the time. When the printer or RIP does not offer this feature, signmakers can simply create their own confidence stripes, about 12.7 mm (0.5 in.) wide, with all four to six colours, running the length of the graphic.
一些喷墨打印机可以沿着每个图形的边缘，自动产生薄的“信心条纹”，以确保所有颜色都被使用到。当打印机不提供此功能时，操作人员可以简单地创建“信心条纹”（宽约12.7毫米设置四到六种颜色）。
In some cases, printer manufacturers have configured their devices to bring up error messages and preventive maintenance flags, which should not be ignored. These are the equivalent to dealer-scheduled oil changes for cars.
在某些情况下，打印机制造商在配置其设备时，就提出了预防性维护标识，这不应被忽略， 这些标识相当于汽车没有油提示该换油一样。
When a printer will be unused for more than a month, the system should be flushed first. For this purpose, there are specific storage fluids that are not as volatile as maintenance solvents, will not dry out as quickly and will protect the printer longer.
当一台打印机超过一个月不使用时，系统应该先刷新再使用，清除一些易挥发的储存液体，使机器不会像以前那样迅速地干燥，并能长时间保护打印机。
Using OEM inks
使用OEM墨水
Printers start with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) inks, which are highly recommended and, indeed, required to maintain warranties. OEM inks are formulated with the proper chemistry, viscosity, volatility and pigment particle size to flow optimally through the ink system and printheads.
打印机的油墨最好使用从原始设备制造商所推荐的，油墨系统也需要维护保修，而OEM墨水配方具有适当的化学成分，粘度、挥发性和颜料颗粒尺寸，都可以无阻碍地流过油墨系统和打印头。
This optimization relates not only to chemistry, but also to physics, as the ink flows from cartridges or tanks through lines and dampers with filters in them, then is jetted out of microscopic orifices at precisely the right size, time and direction to achieve a cleanly printed graphic. If the ink dries too quickly, it could coagulate on the printhead, either during printing or overnight while the printer sits idle. If it dries too slowly, on the other hand, the graphics might not dry before they wind up on the take-up system, at which point they could be ruined.
这种墨水的优化不仅涉及化学，还涉及物理学，因为墨水从墨盒或储罐通过具有过滤器的管线和阻尼器流动，然后以精确的大小、时间和方向从微观孔口喷出。如果墨水干得太快，则会在打印过程中在打印头上凝结，使打印机处于空闲状态。如果干得太慢，图形可能在卷绕系统中被破坏。
If the ink does not spread enough when it hits the substrate, it could cause banding. And if the particle size is too large or irregular, the printheads could become clogged. Even the temperature settings for heaters before, during and after printing come into play.
如果油墨在撞击基材时不能扩散，可能会导致条纹的出现。如果颗粒直径太大或不规则，打印头可能会堵塞，甚至在打印过程中对加热器的温度设置也会有影响。
This is not to say all alternative inks are bad options, but simply to emphasize how not all inks are created equal.
并不是说所有的替代墨水都是不好的选择，我们只是强调如何创建与设备更加匹配的油墨。
Mechanical maintenance
机械维修
As mentioned, there is less to worry about in terms of preventive maintenance when it comes to the non-ink-related mechanics of the system. The owner’s manual should be checked for specific details, materials and intervals.
如上所述，当涉及与系统非墨水相关的力学时，在预防性维护方面就不用担心了，按照检查用户手册的具体细节、材料和间隔时间来即可。
The media transport and take-up system commonly features a media holder, pinch rollers and a heater platen. A blade should never be used to cut along the platen or it could become scratched.
介质传送和卷取系统通常具有介质支架、夹送辊和加热器压板组成，不应该使用刀片沿着压板切割，否则可能会刮伤。
All components should turn freely, without binding. Non-drying lubricants are preferable to gooey oils. The rollers should be cleaned to prevent clogs. And the belts need to be changed before they wear out.
所有组件应该都可以随时自由转动，无需约束：皮带在磨损之前需要更换；清洁滚筒应使用非干性润滑剂以防止堵塞，因为非干性润滑剂优于粘稠油。
The rail—usually aluminum—where the printhead carriage traverses back and forth will need to be kept free of contamination and lubricated occasionally with the manufacturer’s recommended product. The encoder strip—generally a clear plastic ‘ruler’ that helps the printer determine its position as it traverses across the substrate—should periodically be cleaned gently with isopropyl alcohol or a mix of soap and water, much like washing a car. If the strip’s ‘eye’ sensor were to become clouded or otherwise damaged, it would cause errors in printing.
打印头托架进行往复运动的导轨通常为铝质材料，需要保持清洁，并偶尔要用制造商推荐的产品进行润滑。编码器——通常是透明的塑料“尺”，可以帮助打印机在穿过基材时确定其位置，应定期用异丙醇或肥皂水混合进行清洁。如果钢带的传感器有阴影，或被损坏，则会导致打印时出现错误。
A printer’s control panels are often membrane switches sensitive to human touch. If compromised, they may not work properly. Both multi-function and dedicated circuit boards need to be protected against static or voltage spikes at external cable junctions. Some systems are extremely delicate, requiring careful control of humidity levels.
打印机的控制面板通常是一层薄膜开关，人体触摸会非常敏感。如果控制面板罢工，整个设备可能无法进行正常工作。因此，我们需要保护多功能和专用电路板，仔细控制好湿度，防止外部电缆接头处的静电或电压。
Cosmetic care
美容护理
While mechanical maintenance is more crucial in ensuring a printer continues to make money for its owner, cosmetic care is also important. After all, no one wants a scratched-up or scarred printer, even a used one, so proper care will help optimize the machine’s resale value.
机械维修确保打印机能发挥最大性能的工作非常重要，但对设备进行美容护理也同样重要。毕竟，没有人想要使用一台刮伤或有疤痕的打印机，即使是一个打印机，也需要正确的关心处理，这将有助于优化机器的转售价值。
Solvent-soaked cloths, syringes, pipettes, bottles or other maintenance items should never be placed on the printer. Plastic can melt and paint can become mottled.
另外要注意的是，溶剂浸泡过的布、注射器、移液器、瓶子或其他护理物品不应放在打印机上。
If ink is splashed onto the printer, it should be wiped off quickly.
如果墨水溅到打印机上，应快速擦拭。
While specialized technicians will still occasionally be needed for deeper access to a printer’s mechanical and electronic workings, there is much that sign shop owners can do by themselves in terms of periodic maintenance and just taking care of their printers.
虽然专业技术人员偶尔需要深入地访问打印机的机械和电子工作，但店主可以在定期维护方面自己进行工作。
Preventive maintenance calibrations will help ensure faster, sharper printing and stave off expensive repairs. The price of printer failure, on the other hand, includes everything from wasted ink and materials to overtime for employees and downtime when customers cannot be served.
打印机一旦出现故障，维修的价格包括墨水、材料、员工的工资以及耽误客服务的停机时间等。对喷墨打印机进行预防性维护，将有助于实现更快、更清晰的打印效果，还能有效地避免昂贵的维修费用。
