One of the most important part of your printer is its print head. This is the part that does the actual printing; without it your label printer or labelling machine is pretty much useless.
If you rely on your printer for your day-to-day operations, keeping the print head in perfect working order is essential. And even if you only need it from time to time, you still don’t want it to let you down and cause a delay.
So today we’re going to talk all things print heads, what they are, what they do, and when you need to replace them.
What are Print Heads?
Print heads apply text and images to the paper or other material you want to print onto. This can be done in two main ways, depending on the type of printer you’re using:
Inkjet printers, as the name suggests, use ink in their print heads. This is how you get the crisp text that is perfect for documents, shipping labels, and receipts. These work via ink cartridges, which need to be replaced every so often.
Thermal printers use a heated pad in their print head. These are perfect for bright images, as there is no risk of smudging, but the images do tend to fade faster than their ink-based counterparts. However, since there are no ink cartridges needed, thermal printers work out cheaper over time, which is important to consider if you’re using yours every day.
There are some other types of print head you may some across. Dot matric printers, for example, use a rod or pin to ‘impact’ the material to create images. These are few and far between these days, but some companies still rely on them for their work.
The type of printer you use will determine what materials you can print onto, something you should consider if you’re buying a new one soon. Check out our other blogs for some printer buying advice.
When to Replace a Print Head
There are a few warning signs to keep an eye out for that can be an indicator of a fault with your print head.
The main one is the print quality. If the prints or labels simply aren’t as good as they should be, you have an issue, and it’s often the print head that’s the cause. Because it’s the part that does the brunt of the work, it can be the first part to wear out on your machine. Printer engines are built to last, and when they start to go wrong it’s a lot more obvious.
Inkjet print heads can start to smudge their text and images if they’re starting to wear out. Their prints might also be a little off-centre, a sign that the print head is damaged. If this is happening, and you’re sure it’s not a dodgy cartridge, your print head may need replacing.
Some issues aren’t as obvious. One moment your label printer may be working fine, chugging away as always, the next it has stopped working and your production line has ground to a halt. If you have regular servicing (which we’ll talk about soon), this rarely happens, as our experienced team will use their practised eye to spot any minor issues that could cause problems later on.
How to Replace a Print Head
Diagnosing your print head’s issue is one thing, fixing it is another entirely. You could take your printer apart yourself, but even desktop printers are complicated machines. If you don’t know what you’re looking at, you risk making a simple problem much worse. And a ‘how to fix a printer’ YouTube tutorial might give you a rough idea, but it’s still a risk, and you’re unlikely to have the right tools for the job.
For a professional, replacing a print head is a quick and easy task. Our printer maintenance pros have decades of experience, meaning there’s no printer they haven’t worked with before. Even if yours is a bit on the old side, is niche, or is from an obscure brand, we’ll tackle it with a smile, and you’ll be back up and running in no time.
Unlike our competitors, we have a warehouse full of replacement printer parts, including plenty of print heads for all types of printer. This means that if yours develops an issue, we will rarely need to order new parts in, meaning we can get to you and fix your printer much sooner.
Our emergency callouts are essential for many businesses who rely on their printers. But if you use us for regular labelling machine servicing, these callouts will be far from necessary.
Printer Servicing and Maintenance
If you have your printer serviced on a regular basis, it’ll be less likely to let you down. Depending on the printer you’re using, print heads last from between 2-5 years. The amount you use this will affect this, but you should always get over a year out of them at the very least.
So if you have yours serviced every few months, our experts will know when your print head is reaching the end of its life, and we’ll order you a new one in and have it fitted long before it loses performance. This keeps things running smoothly every day you need your printer, and we always create a servicing schedule that works around you.
We understand that taking apart your printer for servicing can cause a delay to your business. This is why we work with you to find a time and day that has minimal impact on workflow and give you plenty of notice before every visit.
The servicing itself is quick but thorough. Our label printer maintenance team break down your printer apart so they can inspect every part. They’ll note any printer parts that are worn out and let you know so you can decide when/how to replace them. They’ll even give your machine a thorough clean, which helps it to work at its best, and put it all together good as new.
Servicing complete, you’ll be able to get back to work knowing that your printer will continue doing what you need it to. This peace of mind allows you to focus on what matters most: running your business.