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Over the years, inkjet printing has progressed to the point that much of it is fairly plug-and-play, particularly with the less expensive aqueous printers, such as the HP Z6100. Download an ICC profile for the material you’re printing and you’re basically in business hours after the printer has been delivered.

But the game changes rather significantly when you make the switch to a high-end, more industrial solvent or UV-curable printer. Though the learning curve is steeper, and you need more time to develop printing expertise, the potential rewards of increased market share and profit are much greater.

Make a List, Check it Twice

There’s a strong temptation, particularly given the capabilities of UV-curable flatbed printing, to print to anything and everything right away. But before the printer is installed, a step-by-step, graduated materials plan needs to be in place.

Though a UV-curable printer can print to all kinds of substrates, from the standard Coroplast and Sintra to more exotic materials like ceiling tiles and doors, that doesn’t mean you should print to all those materials right off the bat.

The key to a smooth transition is to master one or two materials first. It is crucial in these early stages to pinpoint and document the hardware and software settings for each material to ensure an efficient workflow that produces quality and consistency. Once a routine process has been established, the addition of other substrates into the workflow will be much easier.

So, the best first step as you make the move to an industrial printer is to gauge potential demand, and the most common materials which will be printed based on that demand. Once those basic materials have been identified, quiz the manufacturer about printing to those materials and what settings and other variables you should be aware of using the printer with that specific material.

This graduated, checklist approach, once put into place, will help throughout the entire process, from training to installation to production. If the initial materials list has been developed and the pre-training/installation homework is done properly, the training will tend to revolve around the materials you’ve chosen, helping to ensure a level of expertise you may not have with a more general training session.

“You have to make adjustments to the equipment and the graphics file for each material you use. Once you’ve mastered a material and made it work to your specifications, check it off and move on to the next material,” says John Crumbaugh, vice president of technology for Digital Equipment Company, which manufactures the Legend 72HUV. “In many cases, pent up demand will force a print shop to learn only one or two materials, basically compelling them to master printing on those materials. But for other print shops that aren’t forced into production on only one or two materials, they may go into experimentation mode, with the result that they never get good at producing quality prints on any of the materials.”

Crumbaugh adds that with high-performance printers the tolerances become much tighter and more exacting. In UV-curable flatbed mode, for instance, you have the added variables of adjusting the height of the printhead, the vacuum system, the pressure, and the intensity of the UV lamps.

Moreover, media storage becomes an element that requires additional attention. Rolls must be stored vertically, and board materials horizontally to ensure consistency across the material as it runs through the printer. Little bumps and ridges caused by improper storage can cause big problems, like banding and the dreaded head strike. So be sure you have a media storage system in place before the printer is installed.

More People, More Time

If at all possible, train as many operators as possible. Most likely you’ll have a lead operator who will manage the bulk of the printing on the new machine, but they’ll need backups who are at least familiar with all the ins and outs of the printer.

An additional trained operator not only adds redundancy, it adds brain power. Troubleshooting and problem-solving is much easier with two people working together, offering perspective and ideas that might not have been considered otherwise.

High-performance, high-volume printers burn through material quickly, and the material used is often quite heavy. Where a roll of 36 in. wide material is easily loaded on an HP 5500 by one person, a 300 ft. roll of 60 in. material can weigh around 100 lbs., so someone else will need to be available to help load heavy materials or big boards onto the printer.

The time needed to move into full production will also increase. Unlike the plug-and-play printers of yore, you have to account for the additional variables inherent in a high-performance system and take it somewhat slowly at first.

Build production gradually as each new material is mastered and a new system of routines is created. Work this gradual production build-up into your projections and workflow beforehand. This patient approach will pay big dividends in the long run.