Feed tyre cleaning

[Iowatech]

Re: Feed tyre cleaning

These printers print self adhesive labels from a reel. Each reel is about 150 -170 meters long. They can empty a reel in 1/2 an hour. They are operating for eight hours a day.
Very different to the printers and copiers I used to fix. Simpler in some ways. More susceptible to problems in other ways. As with any high yield device, it needs lots of looking after. Especially as these are getting quite old.

I saw a machine like that at the mothership recently. They are very different than the MFDs most of us work on. The thing that looks like an ITB in the picture is actually more like typewriter ribbon, although if I understand it correctly those printers use a thermal rather than an impact process. (Heh, on the printer I saw at the mothership, the print head looked quite similar to the thermal head in the master making area of a Riso, and so if it was legal I'd bet you a cup of coffee that the print head on that printer is the most expensive part on the machine.)
That being said, I agree with the people that suggested soapy water for cleaning those rollers. The WD40 you use or any other spirit based solution are also a decent choices as well, at least if you have to worry about soapy water freezing in the winter. I would recommend avoiding alcohol based cleaning solutions if possible, but that's just my take.

[Hansoon]

Re: Feed tyre cleaning

Here's a picture of the kind of roller that I'm faced with now. It's quite a hard rubber. Notice how the light reflects off the left side more than the right side. This is due to the wear on the roller. [ATTACH=CONFIG]29083[/ATTACH]

For me that roller looks "dished out" too on one side, so why not just replacing it?

Hans

*EDIT*

Ooops, discovered too late that it was mentioned already.

[andym]

Re: Feed tyre cleaning

*update*
I'd like to thank everyone for their input. I can report that the Rubber Roller Restorer from Electrolube is performing nicely. I am reserving the soapy water for cleaning my work area. The customer has provided a small office for me to work in and keep my site stock safe.

Iowatech is right. The printhead is the most expensive part of the machine. Yes it is thermal. It's a kind of hot melt process, quite like a glue gun.

As I have mentioned before this makes a marked difference from the photocopiers that I'm used to. The lasts four months have been a massive learning curve. All the printers that I maintain are thermal transfer. the finishers to some of them are quite unique as well.

Andy.