Swatches
Dust Wipes
A print-room note on dust wipes for keeping heads, media edges and finished output cleaner on the floor.
Dust is one of the quiet causes of weak output on South African print floors. It settles on media, around heads and across feed paths, then shows up as marks that operators mistake for a profile problem. Dust Wipes is our note for basic cleaning habits that protect print quality.
Dust Wipes focuses on the small cleaning points that stop dust from turning into head strikes, edge marks and dirty handling. On SA print sites, inland grit and paper fluff build up quickly around pinch areas and on media edges.
Dust around heads and edges
- Media width and stock named
- Photo of edge dust or marks
- Wipe type and storage noted
- FastJET, Stormjet or Skywalker listed
Use this note alongside the ICC profile and cartridge note for the same machine. Cleaning habits often explain marks that look like colour trouble at first glance. A clean feed path and a sound profile should be checked together, not as separate guesses.
When wipes matter most
Dust Wipes is a simple print-room note for keeping contamination off the job. Wipe around heads, media edges and finished output carefully so loose dust does not show up as marks, strikes or dirty handling.
Dust usually shows itself first on dark solids, light vinyl and fresh white media edges. Johannesburg and Pretoria sites often battle dry airborne dust, while coastal rooms can hold lint against damp surfaces for longer. That combination changes how often operators should wipe rails, platens and finished prints before packing.
Start before the first job of the shift, not after the marks appear. Keep wipes sealed so they do not collect shop dust before use, and avoid over-wet cloths near heads, encoder strips or open cartridges. A quick check at the take-up side can also stop dirty rub marks on completed output.
Dust marks to catch early
A short routine the operator can repeat on every run keeps checks consistent. Check head area dust, wipe media edges, inspect the feed path, then look at the first metres of output under decent light. That order helps separate contamination from profile, heater or pass setting issues.
Before widening the fault search, compare this swatch note with the matching profile note for the machine in use. A dusty platen or dirty roll edge can mimic ink scatter, weak solids or random spotting. ICC work starts from a test print on your usual roll, together with the RIP version you run.
- Wiping points for daily runs
- First output checked for loose dust
- Notes tied to actual machine use
SA dust and humidity factors
Highveld shops often need more frequent dry wiping around media loading and trimming areas because fine dust settles fast on exposed stock. In Durban and Cape Town, moisture in the air can make lint cling to surfaces that looked clean an hour earlier. Those conditions affect how often wipes are used and where contamination starts.
Power interruptions also matter because idle machines gather dust while media sits open on the stand. After a stoppage, check the exposed leading edge, the platen area and any finished stack waiting for dispatch. Small specks picked up there can travel straight into the next print run.
Operated by Astros Marketing (Pty) Ltd from 2 Makro Place, Sunnyrock 1401.
Wipes, storage and handling
A print-room note on dust wipes for keeping heads, media edges and finished output cleaner on the floor.
Keep a note of which wipe was used, whether it was dry or lightly dampened, and which area was cleaned. Store unopened packs away from trimming dust, carton debris and direct sunlight. When a recurring mark appears, that record helps show whether the problem follows the media, the cleaning routine or the printer setup.
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