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DTF printer guide · Epson 4720 head

Epson 4720 DTF printer maintenance

The Epson 4720 head prints excellent DTF transfers for far less than industrial heads like the I3200. The catch is the white ink: it settles fast, and a head left without care for a day or two starts to clog. This routine keeps it printing.

What damages the print head

  • White ink sedimentThe white pigment settles quickly and hardens into sludge in tanks, lines and dampers.
  • Dry nozzlesInk left open to the air dries in the nozzles and blocks them.
  • Dust and powderHot-melt powder and dust that reach the head stick to the nozzle plate.
  • Too much cleaningRepeated power cleans waste ink and wear out the capping station.
  • Low humidityDry air makes ink dry faster and builds up static.
  • Long idle timeInk that sits still in the lines thickens and stops flowing.

Daily routine

Tick each step as you go. Your ticks reset every morning.

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Before printing

While printing

End of day

Is your print room right?

Aim for 18–28°C and 45–65% humidity. Move the sliders to your room’s readings.

Good conditions Ink stays wet in the nozzles and static stays low.

Troubleshooting

Missing or weak whiteThe nozzle check shows weak white, or no white at all.
  1. Check the white dampers. With the carriage cover off, they should be at least 85% full. If they hold air or are half empty, draw ink through with a syringe at the nozzle end.
  2. Check the filter in the white ink circulation line and replace it if it’s clogged with settled white.
  3. Check the pump line: draw gently with a syringe from the waste ink tube under the capping station and make sure ink flows freely.
  4. Run a short purge from the RIP instead of repeated power cleans.

Never force ink with a high-pressure syringe — it can damage the membranes inside the head.

Banding or lines in the coloursHorizontal lines or missing colours in the print.
  1. Print a nozzle check and note exactly which channels are missing: cyan, magenta, yellow or black.
  2. Clean the encoder strip — the thin clear strip behind the carriage — with distilled water, not alcohol. Dust or ink mist on it causes stripes.
  3. Check the ink level sensors and feed lines. Pinched or twisted lines starve the head when the carriage speeds up.
Colours mixingWhite shows through coloured areas, or colours mix inside the cap.
  1. Check the cap. If the waste ink pump is failing, old ink floods the cap and is drawn back into the other nozzles. Clean the rubber seal.
  2. Check the clearance under the head. Ink drops on the head frame can touch the wet film and drag colour across it.
  3. If it happens overnight, the carriage isn’t parking centred on the cap. Re-align its parking position.
Ink dripping on the filmHeavy drops of ink land on the film while printing.
  1. This is usually dust or fibres stuck under the head, forming a wick that ink runs down.
  2. Clean around the edge of the head’s underside by hand, without touching the nozzles with anything that sheds fibres.
  3. Check the room temperature. Ink above about 30°C thins out and drips more easily.

Reference notes

Hardware4720-01

Bleeding the dampers

Each damper has a thin internal membrane. If air fills more than about 30% of the damper, the head runs short of ink. Draw the air out slowly with a plastic-tip syringe at a 45° angle until clean ink fills the syringe, then refit.

Never push ink backwards through a damper — it tears the membrane.

RIP settings4720-02

White underbase resolution

For standard textiles, print the white underbase at 720 × 1440 DPI rather than 1440 × 1440. A thick white layer stays wet underneath and cracks after curing.

It also uses about 25% less white ink, with prints just as bright.

RIP settings4720-03

White choke

White should never show past the edge of the colour. Set a 2–3 pixel white choke in CADlink or AcroRIP to hide small registration errors.

For text smaller than 12 pt, use a 1-pixel choke so thin strokes don’t drop out.

Cleaning4720-04

Safe cleaning fluids

Don’t use glass cleaner or pure isopropyl alcohol (IPA) on the 4720 head — IPA strips the nozzle coating and causes bleeding. Use a mild, glycol-based cleaning solution made for DTF pigment ink.

Solvent cleaners can dissolve the glue that holds the nozzle plate.

Hardware4720-05

Protect the head cables

The flat ribbon cables carry the firing signals. Ink running down the back of the carriage can reach the head contacts, so tape the connections or fit a drip shield.

A shorted head cable can damage the main board.

Idle time4720-06

Leaving it for 3–7 days

Soak the capping station sponge with moisturising (humectant) fluid, park the carriage on the cap, and cover the carriage track with clean plastic film to keep the moisture in.

For up to 7 days this avoids flushing the ink lines.

Need a technician, parts or ink?

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