Maintenance·5 November 2025·4 min read
Printhead Care: Get 50% More Life From Your Most Expensive Spare
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Written by
Hardik Shah, Head of Product
We replace a lot of printheads. Some of them are genuinely worn out. Most of them are killed by avoidable mistakes — the most common being a customer who wiped the head with isopropyl alcohol on a paper towel, leaving fibre residue that scored the head on the next print.
The right way to clean a printhead is with a printhead cleaning pen or lint-free wipe pre-soaked in 99.9% IPA. Wipe in one direction only, gently, after every roll change. Never use a paper towel. Never use water.
The second most common killer is mismatched ribbon width. If your ribbon is narrower than your label, the unprotected portion of the printhead grinds directly against the label or platen and burns out. Always order ribbon at least 2 mm wider than the widest label you print.
And finally — energy settings. Running at higher print darkness than your media needs is the fastest way to age a printhead. If you are using a ribbon designed for low-energy printing (like our W-200), turn the darkness down. The print will be just as good and the head will last twice as long.
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