Luminous Landscape Forum

Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: uintaangler on August 18, 2014, 09:20:09 pm

Title: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: uintaangler on August 18, 2014, 09:20:09 pm
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
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: hugowolf on August 19, 2014, 12:02:09 am
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.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Essick-Air-Products-AIRCARE-Decor-Series-5-gal-Evaporative-Humidifier-for-2900-sq-ft-HD1409/204364015?N=5yc1vZc4lvZ1z0u4xj

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.

Brian A
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: Some Guy on August 19, 2014, 12:33:33 am
I made a vinyl 5-sided cover to cover the thing all the way to the bottom.  Glued and seamed sealed all the corners.  Then took about a tablespoon of those water-gel granules for plant moisture, sewed it into a sock, and put it in a soap dish under the cover.  Good so far, knock on wood.  Now it takes about 10-12 days to clog a nozzle, usually black followed by magenta.

I tried a couple of humidifiers in the room, but too many doors and hallways lead off so they really don't make much of a difference, maybe 3 points on the humidity scale.  Poured several gallons in them every day with little effect.  The A/C here runs a lot and the evaporator pulls what moisture we have out of the air and goes down the drain.  Sometimes it might get as low as 5% humidity and the printers would clog in 2-3 days if not covered.  The power bills hit $500 per month in this desert and 95% of that is probably the A/C unit that runs maybe 16 hours a day.

SG
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: Benny Profane on August 19, 2014, 08:56:09 am
I made a vinyl 5-sided cover to cover the thing all the way to the bottom.  Glued and seamed sealed all the corners.  Then took about a tablespoon of those water-gel granules for plant moisture, sewed it into a sock, and put it in a soap dish under the cover.  Good so far, knock on wood.  Now it takes about 10-12 days to clog a nozzle, usually black followed by magenta.

I tried a couple of humidifiers in the room, but too many doors and hallways lead off so they really don't make much of a difference, maybe 3 points on the humidity scale.  Poured several gallons in them every day with little effect.  The A/C here runs a lot and the evaporator pulls what moisture we have out of the air and goes down the drain.  Sometimes it might get as low as 5% humidity and the printers would clog in 2-3 days if not covered.  The power bills hit $500 per month in this desert and 95% of that is probably the A/C unit that runs maybe 16 hours a day.

SG


Whoa! 5%? Jeez, you're the extreme example. What printer do you own and for how long have you owned it?
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: JayWPage on August 19, 2014, 10:37:53 am
I made a vinyl 5-sided cover to cover the thing all the way to the bottom.  Glued and seamed sealed all the corners.  Then took about a tablespoon of those water-gel granules for plant moisture, sewed it into a sock, and put it in a soap dish under the cover.  Good so far, knock on wood.  Now it takes about 10-12 days to clog a nozzle, usually black followed by magenta.

SG


Although I have a much smaller desktop printer (an Epson 3880), I use a similar concept. I have a clear plastic tub which I invert over the printer when the printer is not in use. Inside I have a hydrometer and a small plastic dish with a wet sponge in it. The tub has some notches cut out of the rear edge for the printer cables. This set up works well at keeping dust off the printer and maintaining a higher local relative humidity around the printer. I can read the hydrometer through the plastic tub to see what the humidity is inside. I have left the printer like this for up to 3 weeks at a time without any problems.

I live in a semi-arid location which is normally pretty hot and dry in the summer, and I do have a heat pump which keeps my house at 26C when we are away.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: PeterAit on August 19, 2014, 10:40:03 am
Just as an FYI, there are 2 basic types of humidifiers. One type blasts a fine mist of water into the air, where it evaporates. Humidifies well, but any minerals in the water end up as fine particles in the air, and particularly if you have hard water this can result in a fine white dust over everything. The second type blows air over moist pads which are kept wet from a reservoir. The minerals in the water end up on the pads, which need to be replaced once in a while, but there's no white dust. Guess which one you want!
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on August 19, 2014, 01:39:05 pm
I think I have the best of all solutions. Whole house air conditioning and dehumidification in summer and whole house humidification in winter. Relative humidity never gets below 30% or above 50%. My printer and I are both happy.

My almost six-year-old Epson 3800 gets sporadic use, often going a month or more with no prints. Since I have owned it I have had about one very minor clog per year, easily fixed with one cleaning.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: Wayne Fox on August 19, 2014, 01:50:51 pm
dry air is the enemy of all printers, not just Epsons.  Even users of Canon printers can extend their head life considerably by keeping the printer in an environment of 45% humidity.  Epsons clogs are in your face kind of things, with Canon your really don’t know when they clog because it consumes nozzles, but eventually the head dies. Humidity can extend the Canon’s head life substantially - not talking months  but more like a year or more.

Even though clogs/missing nozzles were manageable in my case (9900), I bought an Essick air humidifier (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B5U8GL4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and it runs 24/7.  I have a small float device installed in it and it connects directly to the water line so I don’t have to worry about refilling it.  I replace the pads about every 4 to 6 months, and dump a small amount of  Bacteriostatic (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VBLBUG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) treatment in it about once a week (when I remember).  The room is about 16 by 16 with 9.5 foot ceilings and a 4 foot open hallway to the rest of the house. The unit has 4 settings on the fan, but I find I only need to keep it on the lowest setting which is pretty quiet.  It runs more in the summer than the winter, partially because I have in floor heating so no forced air furnace, but I think air conditioning sucks water out of the air more heat.

I still get the occasional missing nozzle, mainly when the printer hasn’t been used for a few weeks, but rarely does it take more than a quick clean of a couple of channels.  I think I’ve had to to this 3 or 4 times in the past year.  I’ve had the printer 2 years now, and my maintenance tanks still show the same level as when I first setup the machine after the initial fill cycle.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: digitaldog on August 19, 2014, 03:31:00 pm
Not totally sure about humidly and Epson clogging. I live in a very dry area, rare to get above the teens. I never had an issue with my 3880, even going months without printing. The 4900 a few feet away clogged nearly every other day if not used regularly. Not saying not to use a humidifier, but it didn’t help a lick with the 4900.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: Wayne Fox on August 19, 2014, 04:25:21 pm
Not totally sure about humidly and Epson clogging. I live in a very dry area, rare to get above the teens. I never had an issue with my 3880, even going months without printing. The 4900 a few feet away clogged nearly every other day if not used regularly. Not saying not to use a humidifier, but it didn’t help a lick with the 4900.
yeah, there’s something more going on.  The 3880 design seems to be almost perfect, and the 4900 is one of the worst as far as “clogging”. I don’t think the 4900’s clog as much as they just can’t keep the lines pressurized and air out of the system - they are more challenging than the 79/99xx series to keep running well.  I had a 4900 and a 9900 sitting next to each other.  I put the humidifier in because the 4900 was such a problem and it did help quite a bit. But if I didn’t use it for a couple of weeks missing nozzles were more common than printed ones, something I’ve never seen with the 9900, and the number of missing nozzles seem to correlate with how long the printer sat.

Wish epson was really interested in solving this, but guessing the majority of the printers are in places that work them pretty hard, so they don’t see this as a “common” issue.  People like us aren’t representative of their overall customer base.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: Some Guy on August 19, 2014, 06:12:38 pm
Whoa! 5%? Jeez, you're the extreme example. What printer do you own and for how long have you owned it?

I have 6 printers: 3 Epsons, two Canons, and a Brother.

We have some forest fires running near here and the humidity is very dry at 5%.  The AC has a drip pan for the evaporator and it fills and dumps the moisture off the coils out a drain into the yard.  Sort of pointless on the humidifier here.  At one point, the duct work beneath us filled with water and we were using a 10 gallon shop vac to suck the water out of the duct work and it took multiple dumps of its tank to keep the duct work somewhat dry.  The condensation pan in the central air had rusted through and not going out the drain so the duct work was filling with condensate water off the AC.   You could see it through the floor registers.  They had to change out the entire condenser system and duct work so the A/C spent a lot of time sucking out the moisture here and then took down the duct work too.  What the humidifiers added to the air, ended up getting blown out the drain - or duct work - so basically worthless in a large open unsealed area.

SG
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: hugowolf on August 20, 2014, 12:30:49 am
Not totally sure about humidly and Epson clogging. I live in a very dry area, rare to get above the teens. I never had an issue with my 3880, even going months without printing. The 4900 a few feet away clogged nearly every other day if not used regularly. Not saying not to use a humidifier, but it didn’t help a lick with the 4900.

Yep, I run an Epson 3880 and 9890. I think I may have run a couple or three nozzle checks on the 3880, never had a problem. I run nozzle check prints on the 9890 at open and close of business every day.

With the 9890 I have had a clear nozzle check after a morning print run, only to find missing nozzles after lunch.

I came back from the beach (one week) yesterday to find most of the MK nozzles out. A pairs cleaning left one missing cyan out, that was not out before. I left it over night and the nozzle check was totally clean in the morning.

There is an option in the menu for a nozzle check print before every print – really not a good omen.

Brian A
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: Stefan Ohlsson on August 20, 2014, 02:38:53 am
The second type blows air over moist pads which are kept wet from a reservoir. The minerals in the water end up on the pads, which need to be replaced once in a while, but there's no white dust. Guess which one you want!
We are using this type of humidifier in a room that is about 30 square meters. During winter time we can have a humidity of 40-50%. If we don't use them it will drop to below 20%. When we use the humidifier the problems with clogged nozzles are minor. And it's not only the printers that work better, also the papers are softer and we avoid a lot of the head scratches that we got when we didn't have enough humidity. We can now print to the end of a roll. Before we couldn't use the last meter of a roll with some papers.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: pfigen on August 20, 2014, 03:46:14 am
After five years my 9900 needed the dreaded print head, pump and cap station, and wiper assembly service. I put a Honeywell humidifier in the print room of my studio, which is also closed off from the main AC. The two reservoirs can usually go a couple of weeks before refilling, and the "humidistat" is taped to a place that keeps it around fifty percent. It's been about eight months since the service and I think I've had one or two individual nozzles clogged in all that time. I can't credit the Honeywell without a blind test comparison, but it sure hasn't hurt. Here's the model and it's even less now then when I bought mine:

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-QuietCare-Humidifier-Technology-HCM-6009/dp/B000G0LDRI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1408520301&sr=8-3&keywords=honeywell+humidifier

I also bought this hygrometer for under $20 and bought a five dollar calibration kit that lets you verify that the thing is actually working as expected, and then adjust it to spec if needed. The hygrometer has a magnet on the back and sticks to the top cover of the printer.

http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Importers-HygroSet-Hygrometer-Humidors/dp/B000H6CZQE/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1408520618&sr=8-14&keywords=humidor
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: uintaangler on August 20, 2014, 08:41:26 am
After five years my 9900 needed the dreaded print head, pump and cap station, and wiper assembly service. I put a Honeywell humidifier in the print room of my studio, which is also closed off from the main AC. The two reservoirs can usually go a couple of weeks before refilling, and the "humidistat" is taped to a place that keeps it around fifty percent. It's been about eight months since the service and I think I've had one or two individual nozzles clogged in all that time. I can't credit the Honeywell without a blind test comparison, but it sure hasn't hurt. Here's the model and it's even less now then when I bought mine:

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-QuietCare-Humidifier-Technology-HCM-6009/dp/B000G0LDRI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1408520301&sr=8-3&keywords=honeywell+humidifier

I also bought this hygrometer for under $20 and bought a five dollar calibration kit that lets you verify that the thing is actually working as expected, and then adjust it to spec if needed. The hygrometer has a magnet on the back and sticks to the top cover of the printer.

http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Importers-HygroSet-Hygrometer-Humidors/dp/B000H6CZQE/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1408520618&sr=8-14&keywords=humidor


I like the price and size of this Honeywell unit, anybody else have experience with it?
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: TylerB on August 20, 2014, 01:23:07 pm
For years I used a large 3 tank clunky old humidifier near the printers. It had to be filled, filters cleaned, on a regular basis, and mold growth has to be inhibited. So there is some maintanence. Even in Seattle, where humidity is rarely low, it definitely made a difference, particularly with my 9900. The last weeks before I sold it I was doing a very high quantity of prints with it every day, and of course the usual 9900 nozzle performance issues plagued. Finally I moved the humidifier close to it and ran it 24 hours a day, performance definitely improved. I kept humidity up over 50%.
I would advise using one, particularly during cold dry winter periods exacerbated by the heat always being on further drying out the air.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: WesleyMckinney on May 26, 2015, 05:58:11 am
Thanks for the useful reply. Finally, you have given me an answer to my humidifier issue. Thanks a lot!  :D

http://www.bestsellingreviews.com/Personal-Care/Humidifier/ (http://www.bestsellingreviews.com/Personal-Care/Humidifier/)
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: Jager on May 28, 2015, 07:23:31 am
I like the price and size of this Honeywell unit, anybody else have experience with it?


Yes, this is the humidifier I use (recommended by someone on the forum here, sometime back).  I heat with a wood stove in the room adjacent to where I print and this unit did well keeping humidity levels above 30%

Only downside is the need to replace the filter every 3-4 weeks because of the heavy concentration of particulates in my well water.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: rxchaos on May 28, 2015, 01:18:23 pm
I put a Honeywell humidifier (Honeywell QuietCare Humidifier HCM-6009, 9-Gallon, ~$90/each) in the rooms I have my Epson 7900 & 9900 printers.  I put the humidifiers not because of clogging issues (the printers have seldom clogged) but to prevent some papers from curling.  I've had issues with Hahnemühle fine art matte sheets curling and jams when the paper is just coming out of the printer. I mostly noticed this with Hahnemühle's PhotoRag and Bamboo papers. The solution was to slightly curl the front end of the paper in the opposite direction before inserting it into the printer.  I talked with Hahnemühle's tech support and they suggested putting in a humidifier.  It seems to work, the papers don't curl any more.

Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: Jglaser757 on May 28, 2015, 01:32:47 pm
I live in florida,,keep the air on almost constantly..When I start my printer I usualy run a test print and get a clogged nozzle head almost every second or third time a turn the printer on.. I use the printer about twice a week. Normal clogging issue or Would a humidifier being in the cards for me or should I open the door?
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: dwswager on May 28, 2015, 05:15:16 pm
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

It really depends on your location, but usually, winter is the time there is a problem and you use forced air heat.  In summer, air conditioning naturally dehumidifies the air, but never too low.  I have a pair of NEST thermostats that give the local humidity at the thermostat.  Currently 52% down and 48% upstairs.

In the winter, my in house humidity ranges from 28%-36% with forced air heat.  No high enough to be good, but not low enough to be a big issue.  My older R2400 clogged from time to time, but never took more than a couple cleaning cycles.  The 3880 is much better and almost never clogs.  The 3880 has an auto shut off which means every time you turn it on it is priming the thing.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: BobDavid on May 28, 2015, 10:10:11 pm
I have an Epson 7890. I live in Sarasota, Fla. The A/C runs often, as you can imagine. I print at least a few times a week. The relative humidity in the house is usually around 30%. I print a nozzle check before a printing session. Oddly, I have found that if the nozzle check shows some blockage, I'll print out a color patch about 6 X 6 onto photo paper. Sometimes I'll have to repeat the process one or two more times. 90% this fixes the problem. I avoid head cleaning, as it is a destructive process. It's hard on the heads. The 7890 doesn't clog nearly as much as the 9900 I had. The head on the 9900 died after three years. I sold the machine on eBay and opted to dispense with orange and green.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: jferrari on May 28, 2015, 11:21:43 pm
I have an Epson 7890. I avoid head cleaning, as it is a destructive process. It's hard on the heads.

Please cite your references to support this.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: stevehayes on August 13, 2020, 07:03:19 am
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
Do you have air conditioning? As far as I know the air conditioner has a function thanks to which it humidifies the air.
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: rdonson on August 13, 2020, 11:47:05 am
I use a Honeywell Humidifier that has worked well for me.  This is NOT a turn it on and forget it unit though.  You'll need to check periodically to see if it needs water and a fresh filter.  To keep my bedroom at a good humidity I need to fill it about once a day and the filter needs to be replaced every few weeks depending on the quality of your water. 

This is the latest model of what I use.

https://smile.amazon.com/Honeywell-HEV685W-Console-Humidifier-White-dp-B07FXYHZCF/dp/B07FXYHZCF/ref=dp_ob_title_home
Title: Re: Anybody using a HUMIDIFIER in their printer room?
Post by: rdonson on August 17, 2020, 10:30:15 am
AC typically removes humidity from the house/room unless you have a humidifier.  If you have whole house AC then the humidifier might be inside the HVAC system but my experience is that that doesn't always provide a lot of humidity.