Maintenance
UV printer maintenance: about twenty minutes every other day of use
Keeping one running takes about twenty minutes every other day it's in service. Ink that sits still clogs, so the machine is built to keep it moving: the pump box circulates the ink every twelve hours on its own.
Your printer, your training and your support, all from Wilmington, NC.
The routine
The routine, wherever the machine is
Less upkeep is not no upkeep. Here is all of it.
Every twelve hours
The pump box circulates the ink on its own. Nights, weekends, holidays. Nothing to set.
Every other day of use
About twenty minutes. Pump, clean, swab, empty, spray, test. Taught in training.
Monthly
Wipe the UV lamp glass and lubricate the rails. Covered in training and the documentation.
Once a year
A health check by video call with the support team, timed to when you start a new ink cycle. No site visit.
Longer breaks
Flush, store, prime. Flush the ink, store the machine (in its hard-shell cases on the Pro and Floor Series), and prime it on return.
The wear item
The print head, about $2,000 on the Pro. It wears like a tire, about a year to a year and a half on UV ink. Order the next one after the first year and keep a spare on the shelf.
Slow months
A slow month, and what it means for the ink
The pump box pulls ink through every twelve hours, so a slow month is fine. When you're back, run the checklist and print.
If something comes up, the help desk is open 9am to 8pm ET, seven days, and the team can remote in over Wi-Fi.
Side by side
Maintenance, side by side
Three vertical direct-to-surface printers at this level. All three put a good image on a surface. What separates them is what happens to the ink when nobody is running the machine, and how far away the replacement part is. This is a vertical printing comparison, so the third column is the Pro Series.
What happens
A German machine
A Chinese import
Pro Series
Ink between jobs
Held under vacuum pressure. No circulation
Held under vacuum pressure. No circulation
Gravity feed plus pump box. Circulates every twelve hours on its own
Over a closed weekend
Ink sits until Monday
Ink sits, or a travel mode runs a brief extraction every 48 hours if set
Four circulation cycles run unattended. Nothing to set
Printheads to keep wet
Five
Two
One
Clearing a head
Not published
Syringe flush by hand, with the manufacturer's own caution about rupturing internal membranes
The Clean button on the pump box. No syringe
White ink
Not standard
Included
Included, on the same circulating loop as CMYK
Parts shelf
Germany
China
Wilmington, NC
Support desk
Germany, one year window
Local reseller
The US. Lifetime, seven days
Annual software fee
Yes, after year one
None
None
From the two manufacturers' own published pricing, buyer's guide and maintenance material, 2026. Pro Series figures from the Pro Series specification, spring 2026. Full citations available on request.
Printheads to keep wet
One head, not five
Every head on a machine is a head that can dry out. Fewer heads, less to keep wet, less to replace.
A German machine
5 heads
Ink held under vacuum. No circulation.
A Chinese import
2 heads
Ink sits, unless someone sets a travel mode.
Pro Series
1 head
The pump box circulates the ink every twelve hours.
Over a closed weekend
Four circulation cycles run unattended. Nothing to set.
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
In practice
What it means day to day
The ink moves on its own. Vacuum pressure holds ink still between jobs. The pump box circulates it every twelve hours, weekends included.
One head, not five. One head to keep wet and one to replace, at about $2,000 on the Pro. We'll tell you to keep a spare on the shelf.
Ink and parts from Wilmington. About $160 a litre, about fifty cents a square foot. Parts and ink ship from Wilmington, NC.
No annual software fee. Not in year one, not after.
Trade-offs
Where the other two win
Height. The German machine prints about six inches taller than our eleven feet.
Headline speed. The Chinese import publishes one higher speed figure. Ours is 10 to 20 sq ft an hour, published as a range because it moves with resolution and color mode.
It still needs the routine. Less upkeep is not no upkeep, and skipping it long enough still costs a head.
On video
Maintenance, on video
The team
The people who teach you the routine
The people who train you are the people who pick up the phone after: Chris Borden, Jason Landkammer, Bruno Araujo Moreira, Coy Rierson and Mason Kellum.
Want to see the routine on a real machine?
Call 910-632-0320 or send us the form. Help desk 9am to 8pm ET, seven days. 2157 Dexter St, Wilmington, NC 28403.