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Direct Heat Vacuum Platen User Manual
Topics: Level Up
Installing Freejet Support Kit Parts (video)
The Freejet Support Kit consists of the following items:
- Pump
- Pump Soak Pad
- Waste Ink Pad (for spit tray)
- Dampers (8)
- FreeJet Clips (8)
- Ink Tubes (8)
- O-rings (8)
…all of which are consumable parts for the Freejet. Most of these parts will need to be replaced on a regular basis — some within the first year. Having a Support Kit on-hand will minimize downtime, allowing you to usually get your printer back up in minutes, rather than waiting for the parts to be ordered and delivered. As an added benefit, the Support Kit provides $700 worth of parts for only $575 — a discount of almost 20%!
This article will discuss each part in the Support Kit, and serve as a brief How-To Guide for replacing those parts. We recommend reading this entire article before doing any disassembly. You may also wish to review the following video before replacing dampers.
Damper Replacement Video
Dampers, Ink Tubes, Clips, and O-Rings
Tools needed: small or medium needle nose pliers, #2 Phillips head screwdriver
On the top of the print head, locate the staircase-shaped metal plate. This is the Damper Panel.
Two screws hold the damper panel in place.
Use your #2 Phillips head screwdriver to remove the two screws holding the damper panel in place. Slide the damper panel off, then set it and the screws carefully aside.
Damper Removal
It is important to take care to avoid ink spills inside the print head carriage, so note that the dampers have a disc-shaped valve that will release ink from the bottom of the damper if the valve is squeezed from the sides of the diaphragm.
If any ink should spill inside the Print Head Carriage, clean it out immediately. If allowed to remain in the carriage, the ink can drain onto electronics and cause severe and costly damage to the machine.
If any ink should spill inside the Print Head Carriage, clean it out immediately. If allowed to remain in the carriage, the ink can drain onto electronics and cause severe and costly damage to the machine.
Using your needle nose pliers, grasp the brass nut at the front of each damper and gently lift straight up to pull the dampers out of their positions. It may be helpful to slightly rock the damper from front to back to release its seal on the top of the print head nozzles, but avoid rocking side to side.
Only grasp dampers by the brass nut at the front of the damper or by the front and rear outer edge of the rigid frame (not by the wide, thin sides) to avoid accidentally puncturing the thin plastic diaphragm.
Demonstration of proper damper handling, using only the front & back of its frame or the brass nut.
Once dampers have been lifted up, allow them to hang in front of the Print Carriage, for now. Ink may drip from the dampers so it’s recommended to put a scrap shirt, shop rag, or paper towel directly under the dampers.
Unscrew the nut from each of the dampers and slide it up the ink tube a bit to expose the o-ring (to ensure that it doesn’t fall off), then pull the end of the ink tube off of the damper.
Evaluation & Replacement of Ink Tubes, Clips, and O-Rings
At this point we want to evaluate the condition of the printer’s ink tubes, clips, and o-ring. If any of those parts are showing signs of significant wear then this would be a great time to replace them.
Here’s what to look for:
- Ink tubes – Replace when out of round with severe crimping which may restrict ink flow
- Clips – Replace with any sign of brittleness or cracking
- O-rings – Replace if no longer supple or with any sign of cracking, brittleness, or distortion of perfectly round shape
Regardless of their condition, some customers prefer to proactively replace these parts on a regular schedule, all at once, before they impact print quality to minimize future production interruptions.
If replacing only the damper, skip to that section below.
If you are replacing the ink tube, clip, or o-ring, first slide (or roll) the o-ring off of the ink tube, then slide off the brass nut. If replacing the clip, slide that off next.
If you are replacing the ink tube itself, observe where this short ink tube connects to the main ink line as an overlapping, air-tight sleeve.
It is best to push the ink tube off of the main ink line using a thumbnail or a thin, stiff tool (with no sharp edge.) You can also try rotating the ink tube while pulling it off of the main ink line, though pulling may cause the ink tube to stretch and become tighter.
Be careful, and place a drop cloth underneath the ink lines and tubes as you do this, or you’ll risk spilling in the Print Head Carriage!
If replacing more than one ink tube, complete each ink tube (plus clip and o-ring reinstallation or replacement, as needed) before moving on to the next set. Doing them one at a time minimizes the risk posed by spills.
The order of installation for this set of parts is:
- Ink tube
- Clip
- Brass nut (with open end facing the end of the ink tube
- O-ring
Damper Replacement
To attach your new damper, push the open end of the ink tube onto the ink intake port on the front of the damper, and screw the brass nut in place to secure it, making sure the o-ring is on the ink tube and inside the brass nut’s opening. Tighten the nut so it is snug, but be careful to make it only hand tight since the damper’s plastic threads can be easily stripped if overtightened.
After all desired parts have been swapped, gently grasp the first damper by the brass nut, and position it so the open, circular port on the bottom of the damper is pointing straight-down over its matched nozzle post on the print head.
Print head damper posts, which dampers are mounted onto.
Lower the damper straight down and into position, ensuring that the plastic “U-shaped” alignment slot at the front of the damper wraps around the metal tab of the Damper Alignment Bracket.
A U-shaped slot at the front of each damper is aligned with the upright tab on the alignment plate.
Press straight down to the top of the damper, near its rear (immediately above the print head’s associated damper post) to secure it into position. You will feel a slight bit of resistance as the damper mates to the print head post, followed by firm resistance once the damper is fully seated onto the post.
Repeat for any other dampers, ink tubes, o-rings, and/or clips to be replaced.
When complete, with all 8 dampers evenly spaced and at equal height, replace the damper panel and screw it back into place.
Waste Ink Pad
The Waste Ink Pad is located inside the Waste Ink Spit Tray, inside the carriage assembly, at the far left end — opposite the print head carriage’s home position over the pump.
The Waste Ink Tank (or “Spit Tray”) contains the Waste Ink Pad
If your waste ink pad is completely submerged in ink, use a syringe to suction out the excess ink. Once the excess ink is removed, use a pair of needle nose pliers to pull out the soak pad and insert a new soak pad in its place.
Cleaning out the waste ink reservoir and replacing the soak pads
Pump and Pump Soak Pad
The Pump has a more involved replacement procedure which should only be done with the live assistance of an OmniPrint Technician, at least while the printer is under warranty. Also, replacing the pump sometimes requires access to a circuit board that can be damaged if mishandled.
Please contact our Technical Support team to request assistance if you believe the pump needs to be replaced, to avoid potentially damaging your printer and voiding its warranty.
During the pump replacement process, we also replace the Pump Soak Pad, which is placed underneath the pump.
Doubling Up the White Underbase
One of the first skills that we get asked about after people fully grasp the concepts of printing on their Freejet printers is how to achieve more vibrant color on their prints – the way that the image appears on the screen might just not translate to colors that really “pop” when they get onto the T-shirts themselves.
While our typical first concern is to double-check the pretreating process (it simply cannot be overstated that the majority of print issues stem from improper pretreatment), sometimes even on an impeccably pretreated, 100% ringspun, combed cotton, black T-shirt, we just can’t get the image to print the colors that are meant to have high-impact on the eye. It happens, right?
Luckily, there is a convenient, if slightly more expensive, solution to this problem. The Freejet is capable of doubling the resolution of the white underbase layer, laying down nearly twice the amount of ink on the base, ensuring that the top, color layer comes out looking super-vibrant! Best of all, it’s a trick that only takes a few extra steps!
If you’d like to try it, pretreat a dark or black t-shirt, mount it onto a platen, and follow along with the below steps.
First, set up your image as usual. Environment, Sizing, Placement, Margins, White Underbase Choke… all of it, exactly as you would for any other print job. Once you’ve gotten all the way ready to print, make the following changes:
- Access the ‘Print Setup’ window by clicking on the leftmost of the two printer icons near the bottom right corner of the QRip window
- In the ‘Print Setup’ window, click ‘Properties’
- On the ‘Properties’ window, click over to the ‘Device Options’ tab, and verify the current layer displayed in the drop down box is the ‘White Underbase’
- Find the field labeled ‘Resolution’, and change it from the default of ‘1440×1400‘ to ‘2880×1440‘. Then click ‘OK’ to save and exit the Properties window, then click ‘OK’ again to get out of Print Setup.
- Next, find the ‘Underbase(%)’ field, in the toolbar typically near the top left of your DirectRip window. Reduce the value from 100% to 92%. This will keep the Freejet from flooding the shirt. We’re trying to increase the ink flow, but not drown the shirt!
- Put your Freejet into Layer Setting ‘A’. This will cause the printer to pause and wait for our input after printing the white underbase. We do this because want to give the underbase time to set before we print colors on the second layer. Otherwise, we risk bleeding white ink into the color layer.
- Finally, hit Print! The printer will take much longer to print the White Underbase Layer, and use nearly twice the amount of white ink as normal. (When the print job is complete, check ‘Job Info’ in the Queue Manager for the complete details of ink usage.)
- Once printing of the underbase is complete, give the print a while to rest. You don’t want to print the top layer until the underbase has lost most of the shiny liquid lustre. It will appear a bit flatter once it has sufficiently settled. Next, tap ‘Stand-by’ to reset the gantry to the Print Ready position and begin printing the color layer.
- Once the print is complete, gently remove it from the printer, and place it on your heat press. However, before you press it (2 times for 90 seconds at low pressure — pressur setting ‘1’ on a Stahl’s heat press), hover the top of the heat press over the garment for 30 seconds to give the ink a little time to start the curing process.
- Lastly, press the garment in accordance with normal Ink Curing standards for your shirt.
Check out the results! With the right artwork, Double White Underbases can create a dramatic effect, to impress your clients at only a slight increase in cost!
Alternative Platens
Your FreeJet printer package includes one Standard Adult platen, providing printing surface dimensions of 12.5” x 18”. The Standard Adult platen meets the needs of the vast majority of t-shirt print jobs. However, as your clientele and business expand, you may want to extend your offerings for different sizes and types of garments.
Let’s take a look at the types of platens available from OmniPrint to help you address other types of printing.
NOTE: All of OmniPrint’s platens are available for purchase through your OmniPrint sales rep and directly from our online store.
Threadable Adult & Youth Platens
The Threadable Adult platen is the same size as the Standard Adult platen and is very helpful when printing on both sides of a garment, by isolating the front of a garment from the back – for example, to create a full back print on a t-shirt with a pocket on the front, or on a polo shirt with buttons on the front.
OmniPrint Threadable Adult Platen
If a threadable platen is not used in such cases, we’re creating the risk of getting a head strike due to the raised areas. Even if we do set the height appropriately for the highest spot on the garment (where it is lifted a bit by the pocket, seams, or buttons on the front), then our print will not be quite as sharp as it could be, due to the print head being a bit further away from the main body of the garment.
Threadable platens are the solution to this type of otherwise risky situation. OmniPrint offers threadable platens in both the Adult and Youth sizes.
Alternative Sizes and Shapes
When expanding product offerings to include options for much smaller and larger sizes, or to create custom prints on select areas, we want to take advantage of some other types of platens. Using the proper platen size helps greatly to ensure that we’re always creating a perfectly flat print surface by avoiding the presence of seams, stitching, etc., which creates the risk of head strikes or head rubs if printing smaller garments on a platen designed for adult shirts.
It is important to manually set the height of your platen when setting up a print using any platen smaller than the Adult platen. This includes all platens listed below except for the XL Adult platen, along with all of the dual platens. Do not use the automatic height setting feature (‘Function’ + ‘Rear’) when using these smaller platens.
Here’s a brief summary of these alternative platens and their dimensions.
| Platen | Dimensions | Image |
| Chest | 6″ x 6.5″ |  |
| Toddler | 7.5″ x 10″ |  |
| Youth | 10.5″ x 13″ |  |
| XL Adult | 12.625″ x 22.6″ |  |
| Sleeve | 4.25″ x 16.5″ |  |
Positioning the Platen
All platens are always positioned with the end of the platen where the top is flush with the base towards the front of the printer, or to the left when facing the FreeJet control pad. As always, make sure the platen’s base is pressed against the two alignment rails.
Setting Up a Print with Single Platens
The process for setting up a print in DirectRip using one of the above-listed platens is the same as for a Standard Adult platen with one caveat — the print alignment must always be set to Top Center in the Q-Rip window.
Remember that the dimensions of your graphic plus any top margin you may add must fit within the dimensions of the platen. For example, when using the Chest platen the maximum size of the image (after sizing in DirectRip’s Q-Rip window) must be no larger than 6″ wide and 6-1/2″ high.
Dual Platens
When doing a significant volume of smaller garment printing, we want to consider using a Dual Platen, so that we can print two items at the same time. As the name suggests, Dual Platens have two top pieces mounted onto a single base. Of course, this means there can be dual platens only for the sizes of platen tops which are no larger than half the size of the base.
OmniPrint offers dual platens in the Sleeve, Toddler, Youth, and Chest sizes.
OmniPrint Dual Toddler Platen
Setting Up a Print with Dual Platens
We need to use OmniPrint-provided .psd templates (Photoshop files) to duplicate and position (using guide layers) our existing artwork so the images will be perfectly aligned to print in the exact positions of the dual platen tops.
Example of a dual platen template.
In an actual Photoshop template, the above example is a layer that is turned off (so it won’t be printed) after the design images are positioned and before the file is exported for loading into the RIP software.
The Dual Platen template files, in Photoshop format, are available for download at the bottom of this article. The zip file contains templates for the dual sleeve, toddler, youth, and chest platens.
Zipper Hoodie Platen
Printing on zip-up hoodies presents a challenge due to the full-length front zipper and associated seams. The Zipper Hoodie platen takes a unique approach by providing a lowered channel in the center where the zipper of a hoodie can be positioned. This allows us to get a better quality print while reducing the risk of having a head strike on the zipper. It’s still very important to manually set the height very diligently to avoid head strikes and head rubs.
The Zipper Hoodie platen is oriented at a 90-degree angle compared to our other platens, so the hoodie is positioned as what we might consider sideways on the printer. To work with this arrangement, we need to make sure our artwork is also rotated 90-degrees.
OmniPrint’s Hoodie platen
Alternative Platens Summary
We offer a variety of platens to make sure you have the right tools available to print on a wide variety of garments. You can save yourself a lot of time and trouble by making sure you’re using the right tool for the job.
Beyond this support for various garment sizes, OmniPrint also offers platens for printing on hats, shoes, and facemasks.