Setting Print Head Heat
Typical heat settings are 0-5 for most printer models. Higher heat causes greater wear on the print head, we recommend finding the lowest possible setting that still gives good quality print.
Print head maintenance: Brady Thermal Printers - How to Clean/Extend the Life of Your Printhead.
Note: This is not available for Portable printers.
Confirm Direct Thermal is Off in Driver and On Printer
Some Brady printers support Direct Thermal printing. Direct thermal is a feature that allows the print head to print directly to certain label types without the use of a ribbon. There is a setting in the driver and in the printer display menu called "direct thermal". This feature requires significantly more print energy, it should not be enabled when using a ribbon with your label material. For more information about direct thermal, see: What is Direct Thermal Printing?
Increasing Print Head Heat to Compensate for Poor Quality Print
Always troubleshoot other potential causes before increasing print head temperature. While increasing heat may be an effective workaround, you may be causing unneeded wear on the print head. An incompatible ribbon may cause light print or no print: Ribbon and Label Compatibility.
Additionally, make sure your ribbons always overlap the edge of the label liner - you do not want your labels making direct contact with the print head during printing. For more information about print quality causes and troubleshooting, see: Troubleshooting Print Quality Issues.
Where is the Print Energy Setting on My Brady Printer?
This information is available in your printer's user manual. This knowledge base also contains a collection printer-specific articles providing print head heat adjustment procedures.
- Note: Printers that take smart-cell media (BBP30, BBP31, BBP33, i3300, S3100, S3000, BBP35, BBP37, BBP85, M611, BMP61, BMP71) read print head energy settings from the media chip. This means manually-entered print head temperature settings will not stay persistent through a printer reboot or when changing out label materials.
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