All too often, we get calls from customers telling us they have a white stripe through the middle of their card. Regrettably, we must now inform them that they have a blown pixel in their printhead and that it now needs to be sent in for evaluation. The best solution is for them to buy a brand new printhead while waiting for an update from the factory as to whether or not it's covered under warranty.
A common response is: "How can this be?! It states clearly that the printer came with a 2-year warranty with printhead coverage." We tell them that printheads are covered through natural occurrences. However, when printheads are sent to the manufacturer for evaluation, the technicians actually inspect them under a microscope for scratches and human interference.
Customers then ask: "How can this be? We've never done anything but change the ribbons and print cards. And now you're telling me I need to invest in a new printhead! What gives?"
Tip #1
When changing a ribbon, people sometimes forget to remove their jewelry (such as watches, rings, or bracelets). This is actually the number one cause of printhead damage. Unfortunately, this sort of damage is not covered by the warranty, and you will not be reimbursed for the new printhead you will need to purchase. Always remember this very important tip: the absolutely best way to avoid printhead problems is to remove all jewelry before opening up the card printer...no matter what the reason.
Tip #2
The number two reason for voided warranties when it comes to a damaged printheads is not cleaning your printer in a timely manner. All manufacturers now have card counters built into the printers which they use to trigger the number of actions by the operator. One of them is cleaning your card printer which requires the simple act of running a cleaning card through a machine or dabbing a swab across the printhead.
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When you don't regularly clean your ID card printer when required by the manufacturer, you risk the chance of voiding the printer's warranty. The result is that you can lose your claim for the replacement printhead. This is another expensive lesson in printhead maintenance that could easily have been avoided by periodically cleaning your card printer and printhead. As a rule of thumb, we tell most of our customers to run a cleaning card through the machine and swab the printhead every time the ribbon is changed.
There is nothing more frustrating for us than having to call a customer to tell them their printhead will not be covered. By remembering these two tips, you can more easily keep your printer's printhead under warranty.
For more information, you can call a knowledgeable and friendly ID Professional at (800) 321-4405. We're always happy to answer your warranty questions!