p.1 #1 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
I keep reading horror stories about large format Epson printers with clogged heads
Apparently low humidity is a serious contributor to this problem
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that during the winter months the humidity inside my house struggles to reach 10% Can anybody recommend a humidifier that should work well in a room approximately 14' x 14' ?
Thanks,
Bob
p.1 #2 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Menards.com for starters. If you have forced air heat, the humidified air quickly migrates through the house. My Epson 3000 spent the winter idle. It got down to -20 F outside with about 3% humidity inside. When I fired it up in April I had one very minor clog.
For humidification it's recommended to not go above about 30% humidity because of problems with condensation, mold and mildew. Mold and mildew will play havoc with your sinuses and lungs. Once mold/mildew takes hold it can lead to huge bills for remediation.
p.1 #3 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
I don't know about your humidity numbers Runamuck. I live in a very humid area....I have the opposite problem...too much humidity. I need to run the A/C or dehumidifier... My Epson 7890 ( basically a 7900 with out green and orange ink ) runs best between 45 and 70 % relative humidity. It doesn't really like even getting close to 70% or 40% problems with clogging begin as you get closer to these numbers. If I remember right Epson Techs recommend between 45 and 60 % humidity. So if you are worried about getting near or over 30% your not even getting close the recommended relative humidity for these printers.
The biggest thing to any pezo head is they like to be run as often as possible....this is the best way to prevent clogging. Otherwise Epson still makes the best printers you just have to take care of them and run them a lot.
p.1 #5 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Bob
I'm a bit confused here. I live deep in the Sonoran Desert. Excluding the middle of a massive monsoon hitting, relative humidity here is almost never >25% and normally it is in single digits. I have a 3880 and while I have some feed problems that could be humidity related (only happens during the monsoon season) I've never had a clogged head. I do use it regularly which is a key issue. Peter Le is correct that printing often is the best defense. That is why we bought these big expensive beasts, right
p.1 #6 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
The Epson 3880 is not in the same class of wide format printers as the 49/79/9*** series of printers, nor does it share quite the same maintenance issues. I do believe that much of this difference is in the angle of the print heads and capping station. Epson 38** series are known to be great printers and rarely with the issues that some users have with Epson wide format printers.
My recommendation is to buy a hygrometer and place it near each printer. Recommended humidity target is 40-60%. My studio in Carmel is naturally humid so I am lucky and humidity is relatively constant and perfect for my Epson 9890 K7, and 9900. Run your printer regularly. Clean/inspect the wiper every six months; replace the wiper annually.
In drier climates you'll want a humidifier with a large tank (or direct connection into your building). Don't get one of those cheap humidifiers that blow a mist all over the place. I had a few small Bionaires with hygrometers that seemed to work well. Still have one new in the box before I figured out that I really didn't need it.
p.1 #7 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
KD,
Thanks for the clarification. I've always lusted after a truly wide printer but given lack of capital, lack of room to set one in, and the challenge of keeping such room "moist" in this environment, I suspect I'll never have one.
p.1 #8 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
I have posted this elsewhere but it seems relevant to repost it here.
I am one of those old fashioned guys that believe that a photograph is not finished until I can hold a physical print in my hand - and I want to control that print not farm it out to someone else to do it - also I am at most a semi-pro so I do not have a constant high volume throughput - I may need to make a fair number of prints for an exhibition and then nothing much for quite a while.
Having used a number of good printers in the past I love the prints that I get from my 4900 (this is my second - the first was regularly giving problems, largely blocking, and Epson/my supplier subsidized this replacement) - however, as I say, my real problem has always been that I print irregularly sometimes several prints a day for several days and then nothing for a week or even several weeks. The 4900 is clearly a machine designed for regular daily printing and I am sure that if that is your need then that is the perfect practice - but that is not what I need and remembering to print an unnecessary image or two every day is a simple idea but a surprisingly difficult pattern of behaviour to perform.
A couple of years ago my physician suggested that I needed to sleep and work with a humidifier in the room. By chance the most convenient place in my workroom was under my desk beside the printer. It took me a few weeks to realize that suddenly I was having no problems of blocked nozzles - neither me nor the printer !
I have been warned that the additional humidity may corrode contacts in the printer but so far, over more than two years, there has been no sign of that - and as I enjoy the quality of the work from the 4900 it is a risk that I am happy to take - an earlier replacement printer is better in my calculations than the problems of a non-functional printer when I most need it.
Just saying - it works well for me - but of course everyone must make their own decisions - I am sure there may be downsides, there always are in life - so one weighs up the options and makes choices.
p.1 #9 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
I have a 3880 so clogs are not an issue. But I did have printing issues due to low humidity. The issues involved the paper. The worst was 17x25 sheets of baryta coated paper. When the humidity was low the paper buckled when it became wet with the inks. The buckling was so severe that is caused head strikes and pizza wheel streaking. I had similar problems with matte cotton papers. Smaller paper sizes and microporous coated papers had fewer or no problems.
A small room humidifier solved the problem. Suitable humidifiers are available for less than $50 and function with a blower directing air across a wet wicking filter. A humidity sensor and a fan speed controller provide a rough, but suitable adjustment for the amount of humidity. There are also humidifiers that generate steam, but I think they use way more power and have poor control for the amount of humidity. You should have no problem finding a unit at Walmart, Target, or at a large drug store. Be sure to order replacement filters. The filter needs to be replaced at least once a season. In the desert SW you might need to run the humidifier year round and replace the filter a couple of times.
Although suitable, my humidifier needs to be filled almost daily in the winter when the heat is on a lot. I get in the habit of filling it every evening before bed time.
p.1 #12 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Peter Le wrote:
I don't know about your humidity numbers Runamuck. I live in a very humid area....I have the opposite problem...too much humidity. I need to run the A/C or dehumidifier... My Epson 7890 ( basically a 7900 with out green and orange ink ) runs best between 45 and 70 % relative humidity. It doesn't really like even getting close to 70% or 40% problems with clogging begin as you get closer to these numbers. If I remember right Epson Techs recommend between 45 and 60 % humidity. So if you are worried about getting near or over 30% your not even getting close the recommended relative humidity for these printers.
The biggest thing to any pezo head is they like to be run as often as possible....this is the best way to prevent clogging. Otherwise Epson still makes the best printers you just have to take care of them and run them a lot....Show more →
30% is co9nsidered ideal winter humidity in the home. This is from home improvement shows. Others say as high as 50% At 50% on cold days my windows get wet. YMMV.
40% humidity at -10F outdoors gets down to about 3% at 72 degrees. Of course, water use such as showers, cooking, etc. will raise humidity levels. How tightly the home is sealed makes a big difference. Older homes are looser, and more water vapor escapes. Newer homes are more tightly sealed and high humidity during the winter can cause huge mold problems.
This is what we use. It's positioned between the Epson 4900 and the Canon Pro 4000. It's hassle to keep full this time of year, but the humidistats placed on the printers are reading 40-48% most of the time.
p.1 #14 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Interesting. I've always found that things work out best at 100% humidity.
In fact no matter which I use to print, both the Omega D2, the ilford 500, as well as the Saunders LPL seem to do best when things are super humid, and I've never found any problems.
This is what we use. It's positioned between the Epson 4900 and the Canon Pro 4000. It's hassle to keep full this time of year, but the humidistats placed on the printers are reading 40-48% most of the time.
I have one of these from my days in Salt Lake City - now that I am living in western WA it stays in the box - let me know if anybody wants to buy it from me?
p.1 #16 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
I use something like this. My print room is 15' x 15' x 12', and has doors that cut it off from the rest of the studio. I fill it once every 2-3 days, and first thing on Monday morning and at close on Saturday. The printer (9890) was fine the first year, but started gettting more missed nozzle print lines the second. I wished I had bought one from the start.
The price of them seems to rise, here on the east coast, as winter sets in. I think I may have paid $199 for it or a similar model.
I would strongly advise against electrostatic humidifiers, they throw out white dust which is more detrimental than the lack of humidity. I would also avoid those that use heat to evaporate.
p.1 #17 · Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Here in Fl a mile as the crow flies to the gulf, I keep a sensor outside that sends to 2 receivers/sensors inside with temp and humidity. Inside, with no heat or ac, the humidity can get to the high 50's which I don't find comfortable so turn on the ac and that will bring it down in the 40's. In summer when the ac runs a lot, it drops into the 30's. Turning it on can drop 5-10% in a half to full hour. My 1.5 yr old P7000 has never had a clog. I run a nozzle check every 2 to 3 days. Same with the 3880. Im sitting at the computer and it takes little time to run a check on both.
