Digital BW, The Print

Lack of humidity is an incredible issue.. I'm in south west Montana in a high desert area  (5200 feet)  and we get a fair amount of wind to boot in the winters.. My studio was built very tight but it doesn't matter it's still  low humidity.. I see 8 to 15 all the time.. Part of the issue is that if your rooms are fairly large it just takes to much moisture to raise it effectively.. We have 4 Bionaire W-7's in the studio but generally only two are running at a time..( the other two are for spares) When it's gets down to 12 the humidifiers just can't keep up..  Two years ago I had a vapor system put in the computer and printer rooms.. Basically it's a super high pressure small pump that pumps the water thru stainless lines to where you have tiny carbide nozzles.. This thing honestly works and gets turned on when the humidity gets below 25% here.. The humidifiers can keep up if it's over that.  It's actually bigger issue then plugged nozzles etc ..on the printers .Many materials just won't feed unless they can "relax" and they need some humidity to do that.. I was stuck and just had to do something and I didn't want to move to another area .. Those that are fortunate and don't have this issue probably don't realize how frustrating and costly it really is... If your system fails or shuts off for a few days the print heads dry out on Epson's and it is really a chore to get the system back on track.. not to mention wasted inks and waste tank space. Beyond that many of the material's I typically use have to have the humidity to just relax and lay down as they feed thru the printer to avoid head strikes or loading issues.. Honestly a drag..

jimbo
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: piezobw 
  To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 11:24 AM
  Subject: Re: [Digital BW] low humidity


    
  I would hope, in that case, you print with a swamp cooler!

  Jon Cone

  --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Gary Brown" <baffin@...> wrote:
  >
  > <I would not think that excessive or inadequate humidity is a problem anywhere in the USA at this month - but check your environment to make sure that you're not below 20% humidity which will dry <out the heads. We like to stay above 30% and below 55%. Also, clean your capping station. If it can not seal properly, it can introduce air into your print heads...
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  > That is, unless you live in Phoenix (Arizona). Today's projected high 99 (37C), with 8% humidity.
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  > Gary
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  > baffin@...
  > www.garyallenbrownphoto.com
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