DTF film has a coating that, when heated and applied to fabric or an object, releases the ink. This layer, which is based on water, is prone to static electricity and attracts and responds to moisture.
The film's covering may collect moisture during the US's colder, wetter months, which may draw adhesive powder to places where it is not needed. Since moisture improves a film's capacity to dissipate static electricity, you should earth your finishing unit to let the typical amounts drop out. You could discover that it's harder to shake off the powder from the blank sections of film during the colder months of the year in the US or in extremely humid conditions. There are a few pointers that can be useful in these situations.
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Make sure your roll of film is at room temperature (18c - 22c) before starting to print.
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Turning up the temperature on the film bed to 60c can help, bizarrely reducing it to 40c can also help when using low ink coverage.
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Do not be tempted to turn film paddle (beats the powder off the film) up to high as this will only generate more static electricity and increase the problem, unless using an ionising bar.
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Make sure the film path from the printer and the powder chamber are cleaned with an anti static spray, the paddle blades also. The more powder on the walls of the powder chamber the worse the static.
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In severe cases a powered ionising anti static bar can be retro fitted into your powder machine. This must be done by a Sublistar technician if your equipment is under warranty or covered by an extended service agreement.
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If powder is sticking in the warmer months this could be caused by your humidity being to low. The optimum humidity is 60%, you can increase this with a humidifier if you need to.
Air conditioning reduces moisture in the room and can help reduce static electricity in the winter but also increase it in the summer. Not everyone suffers from static and humidity issues, it is generally down to the environment where the printer is located.
Please contact us at sales01@subli-star.com, if you need further assistance with a static electricity problem.
