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April 1, 2020
With the situation in Australia evolving on an almost daily basis, it has left the future for a lot of businesses uncertain.
Whilst our direct to garment printers are a fantastic way to make some extra cash, they can also be costly to run - it’s completely understandable that some business owners are wondering whether they should put their printers into storage mode or not. Use our list of pros and cons to help you answer this question.
Pros
- Avoids expensive repairs
Turning your printer off or leaving it on without print jobs can lead to all sorts of issues, from irreparable damage to your printhead to ink drying in the lines and completely blocking them. These issues can cost thousands of dollars to fix - money that you may not have after months of not working. Even if you do have access to the money, you may not be able to get a technician out straight away, which causes even more delays. - Keeps your warranty valid
Have you ever read the fine print on your printer’s warranty? As the owner, you’re actually required to do everything in your power to keep the printer working at its optimum. You will find that damage caused by improperly hibernating your machine or failing to hibernate it at all is not covered by the warranty. This means that you’ll need to pay for any repairs or replacements, which gets costly quickly. - Get back to printing when you’re ready
Putting your printer into storage mode ensures that it will be ready for you once you’re ready to get back to printing - all you’ll need to do is put some ink cartridges in and ink up the machine. By avoiding the need for repairs and maintenance, you’ll be on the front foot when it comes to getting your business back up and running - you won’t be dictated by the technician’s availability or the delivery of parts.
Cons
- You can’t take on any orders
Whilst you may not be getting many orders at the present time, putting your printer into hibernation means that you won’t be able to complete any jobs that come your way. There are a couple of ways around this - you could have everything ready to shut down your machine and just wait until you’re getting no enquiries (or we go into a full lockdown), or you could find someone else to help with your printing. - You might be wasting ink
When you’ve only just placed cartridges into your printer, the idea of flushing the lines and wasting all that precious ink can be difficult to swallow. Keep in mind that if the cartridges are around 80% full or more, you should be able to reuse them to ink up your machine. If they’re emptier than this, you could consider printing until the ink is at a level that you’re comfortable with disposing of and then hibernating your machine. - You’re paying for a printer that you aren’t using
At this stage, many owners are expected to continue making repayments on their printers, so it’s understandable that you may not want to pay for a machine that you’re not using. Some lenders are deferring payments for people who are experiencing hardship as a result of Covid-19 - get in touch with your financing company if you need to hibernate your machine to see how they can help.
If you have decided that now is not the right time to put your printer into storage mode, it never hurts to be prepared. With the situation changing on an almost daily basis and new restrictions being enforced all the time, it’s hard to know what we’ll be doing tomorrow let alone next week. By having a complete set of cleaning cartridges on hand, you can ensure that you’re ready to hibernate your printer at a moment's notice.
