Best Practices for Humidity Control in Printing Environments

Humidity control is important in printing environments. It affects the quality of your prints. Moreover, it also affects the performance of your tool.

Let’s discuss the problem caused by too high or too low moisture levels in the air. It includes:

paper jams
ink smudges
poor print quality, etc.

Here are some best practices in Printing humidification. These will help you manage humidity levels. By doing this, it will keep your printing process smooth.

How to Control Humidity for Better Printing Results?

1. Keep Humidity at the Right Level

Always maintain the right humidity level.

For most printing environments, the relative humidity (RH) is between 45% and 55%.
For digital printing, aim for around 45–55%.
Other types of printing generally work best with RH levels around 50–55%.

What do you mean by wrinkling?

Suppose the level of moisture is higher in the air. In that case, paper can absorb humidity. This can lead to “curling”. You can also say it wrinkling.

Whereas, if the air is too dry, the paper may become brittle. It results in static buildup. This can cause paper jams.

You can avoid these problems by maintaining a stable RH level.

2. Monitor Humidity using “Hygrometer”

You have to check the humidity levels regularly in your printing environment. For this, use a hygrometer. This tool is used to measure the moisture level in the air

By monitoring the humidity with this tool, you can take quick action if levels start to go outside the ideal range.
Place the tool in different areas of the printing space. This is to get an accurate reading of the overall humidity.

3. Adjust Humidity with the Right Equipment

Use a humidifier for low humidity levels. This is to add moisture to the air.
You can use a dehumidifier to remove the excess humidity.

Both of these are effective tools for Printing humidification.

4. Store Paper in a Controlled Environment

It is necessary to keep the Paper in a controlled environment.

The storage area for your paper should have stable humidity and temperature levels. These have to be the same as those in the printing space. This will help prevent the paper from absorbing too much moisture or drying out.

A bad quality paper can lead to poor print quality. This results in paper jams.

5. Protect Paper using Shrink Wrap

Paper can easily absorb moisture from the air.

To protect your paper, keep it wrapped in waterproof shrink wrap. This prevents moisture from affecting the paper.
Also, try to keep your paper away from places that tend to have higher moisture levels.

6. Let the Paper Adjust to the Room Temperature

Your paper may have been stored in an area with a different temperature or humidity level than your printing room. In that case, let the paper adjust to the printing room environment before using it. This process is called acclimatization.

Simply leave the paper in the printing area for a few hours. This way it can adapt to the room’s conditions. This step can prevent the paper from warping or curling when it is used for printing.

7. Install an Air Barrier for Extra Protection

To reduce the risk of moisture problems, install an air barrier in your printing facility. This is an important part of Printing humidification.

The barrier can control the movement of air between different areas of the building.

This can help reduce condensation.
It can prevent moisture from entering the printing space. This can be particularly useful if your facility is located in a humid climate.

8. Dehumidify Air Entering from Outside

Your printing space may draw in air from outside. In that case, dehumidify that air before it enters the facility.

Outdoor air has a higher moisture content. It increases during rainy seasons. In this situation, you can use an outdoor air dehumidifier. It reduces the amount of moisture entering your printing space. This can keep the humidity level stable.

9. Use an Exhaust Fan to Control Pressure

An exhaust fan can create a slight negative pressure in the room. This means that more air is leaving the room than entering it.

This helps to reduce the moisture level.
An exhaust fan also removes any excess humidity from the air. By doing so, it creates a more stable environment for printing.

10. Impact of Humidity on the Quality of the Printing

It affects the quality of your prints.

For example, static electricity can build up if the humidity is too low.

This causes the paper to stick together. It resulted in paper jams in the printer. This will no doubt, slow down your work.

In an environment with high RH levels, the toner may not adhere properly to the paper.

This results in poor print quality.
The ink or toner can appear smudged or uneven.
Also, the finished product may not meet your quality standards.

Conclusion

In a printing environment, you have to maintain a RH level. This is essential for smooth operations and obtaining high-quality results. Taking simple steps to monitor and manage RH levels can make a big difference in the quality of your prints.

Contact Hydrofogger for the best humidifiers for your printing setup. We have a skilled support team to assist you if required.