# Best Humidifier for sublimation????



## Cjoe Design (Jun 3, 2008)

I am finally breaking down and getting a humidifier to put in my office where my 4880 Epson Sublimation printer is. I don't know which type to buy. Cool, Warm, Sonic, which is better for keeping the print heads clear? It is a small 14X12 room. I am just sick of nozzle clogs and I have done everything else including buying a whole new printer and using the Printer Jockey program that runs timed prints daily.

I live way up in the mountains and I am making the 200 mile round trip to civilization this weekend. I want to make sure I get the right humidifier the first time.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

I dont have a sub printer, but I do have a dtg which requires alot of humidity  The type I use is the hot steam one from vicks and it works great. I tried the cold mist one, and it just did not put out enough humidity at all. Hope this helps some


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## conde tech (Nov 15, 2007)

Start raising both ink levers at night....it wil help prevent the ink from running back into the cart at night...lower and do a nozzle check when you get started in the morning. It may eliminate the need for humidifier.


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## Cjoe Design (Jun 3, 2008)

I live at 6000 feet where I am lucky to have 15% humidity so I think I will try the humidifier and see cause I have spent about 2400.00 in dye since August probably due to the head cleanings.

I have heard different stories on the proper Humidity levels.
40% or more. One thread even suggested trying to keep the room at 75-80%. That seems kind of high and seems like it would cause moisture problems with all my apparel since they are stored in the same room. Or would the pre-pressing still eliminate that problem.


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## conde tech (Nov 15, 2007)

Try raising think levers first. An enclosed area with 75-80% is high. Then again, I am normally 75-100%....outside. Having constant enclosed high humidity can have an effect on your substrates and paper.


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## BRC (Mar 27, 2007)

If you go much above 50% in a cool dry climate you will have more problems than just your shirts. You will see moisture starting to condense on the inside of your windows. At that point you need to cut it back a little. I have a whole house humidifier that keeps it about 45% (about 10 gallons a day) and have little problems with head clogs.


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## JaeAmera (Dec 25, 2006)

40% to 50% is ideal.

I have a humidity system that self adjusts to keep humidity at proper levels. Do not forget to mount a humidity sensor in your room, it will let you know when problems may occur.

I have tested humidity levels for printing dye sublimation several times. If i purposely let the humidity in my print room drop below 20 /25% for two days; i will get banning and a possible clogged jet or two in some nozzles.

If I bring the humidity back up to around 50%, after a day or so, the problems cleared themselves. If not, a minor head clean clears it to perfection.

I prefer sonic humidifiers as they don't make a lot of noise and they give off tons of moisture.

I have tried all the tricks in the book for the most part to prevent clogged nozzles, the most surefire method for keeping head clogs to a minimum (for me, 3 or less a year on 4 printers) is to incorporate humidity into your workflow.

Hope this helps

Jae'


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## Cjoe Design (Jun 3, 2008)

Thanks so much for that informative post. I heard that the Ionic ones were good. I have only seen the small ones that seem like you would have to fill too often but I will keep looking.


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## Cjoe Design (Jun 3, 2008)

I ended up buying a Venta Humidifier. It was by far the most expensive one I saw but its design allows it to humidify the air without creating moisture droplets on items in the room thus eliminating any of the mold or damp furniture issues that the less expensive models have. It also does not require wicks or replacable filters so in the long run it should be a good deal.

Sawgrass recomends a relative humidity of 40-60% I have a hydrometer next to the printer area and keeping a humidity of 55%

My original humidity was about 25% so it is signifacantly higher due to the Venta.

I just got the new dye today and hopefully back up and running in a few.


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## allysonhill (Jul 19, 2013)

After recommendations from posts here on the forums about humidifiers I went with the largest one I could get at home depot for my small 200sqft workspace and I'm very glad I did! It is meant to humidify a whole house up to 4000 sqft. This humidifier completely cleared up my print head clogging problems, thank goodness!!! The only negatives so far are that it doesn't have an alert to let me know when the water is out, the fan can be loud and it can be chilly. But, when I'm operating my heat press I find the fan to be very refreshing! It's just loud if you need to talk on the phone, but it all depends on the humidity level in the room at the time, if it's low then the fan has to run harder to keep it up. (another member suggested using a foot switch power switch to easily turn it off for important phone calls) Positives are that I don't have to fill it as often, especially if I will be out of town for a day or two. It has 2 water tanks to fill and they are narrow and rectangular so if my sink is full of dirty dishes I can still get it under the faucet The humidity reading seems accurate to the digital hygrometer I have located in the room, sometimes a small difference. 

AIRCARE 5 Gal. Evaporative Humidifier for 4,000 sq. ft.-HD1409 - The Home Depot


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## SunState (Mar 5, 2014)

Watch that the humidity doesn't mess up your paper. I live in the tropics and need a dehumidifier for my paper.


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

Same in the UK at the moment, 70%, having to keep paper and substrates in sealed boxes, the heads don't clog though! haha.


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## okprinter (Sep 6, 2014)

I have to keep my paper in a different room... I never leave it loaded, even my plain paper I use for nozzle checks.. Keep in a different room and load when I print

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk


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## inkjetparts (Apr 2, 2016)

I usually recommend 40% to 50% humidity and recommend leaving the rolls of paper in the room so they can acclimate. If your using a good ink you should be OK in this range.


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## monkeyman2 (Aug 7, 2008)

I had an interesting discussion with a rep for my DTG printer and he pointed out that I didn't need to create enough humidity for the whole room - just the area where the print heads are. 

His suggestion was that I get a humidifier with a hose exhaust direct the moisture towards the general area where the print heads are located.

Since our humidifier didn't have a hose exhaust, we put a cone over the exhaust vent and then ran a small hose from the top of the cone. It's not the prettiest thing but it works great. since we keep the moisture in such a small area we don't have to worry about the humidity affecting anything else.

We run it on low - the humidifier stays nice and quiet and we can fill it every other day.


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## duke-317 (Mar 23, 2008)

this was very helpful


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