how much ventilation is really needed for digital presses?

[bcr]

we have a very small in-house repro room (4.5 by 6m) with two Ricoh C5310's in.

usually the use is not too heavy, few active hours per day. but in peak periods they'll be running non-stop the whole day.

when that happens, it starts to stink in the room, and i don't know if i'm imagining it, but i think i have a nasty chemical taste in my mouth.

Ricoh said we don't need any special ventilation. No dangerous fumes will be emitted from the machines they said and the room looks fine.

We have two windows which can open slightly for some fresh air, and there is some sort of ventilation system in the ceiling but you can barely notice it is in use.

So this has got me thinking, what level of ventilation /extraction do you really need for this type of equipment? I'm considering asking to get some more industrial level ventilation fitted..

 

[AP90]

I’ve never heard of anyone needing ventilation on anything other than offset, an iGen and Indigo’s. I think you’ll be just fine. I’m sure with the heat your getting a smell from the paper coatings and the toner being melted. But besides that your fine. The biggest problem these presses can output is heat. So in the summer you might need your AC pumping more but that’s it. Get to turn the heat down in the winter lol.

 

[bcr]

I've got an absolutely foul chemical taste in my mouth though? Is that normal?

 

[Cornishpastythighs]

I've got an absolutely foul chemical taste in my mouth though? Is that normal?

Having a foul chemical taste in your mouth is not normal. Something is not right and you may suffer long term affects if someone does not correct the problem

 

[Stickman42]

we have a very small in-house repro room

Is anyone else experiencing the same thing?

I second what AP90 says. Ozone is one byproduct of photocopiers that you may want to look into.

 

[bcr]

Is anyone else experiencing the same thing?

I second what AP90 says. Ozone is one byproduct of photocopiers that you may want to look into.

It's normally only me that's in there for extended periods. Other people come and go for shorter periods.

Colleague of mine with an office 15m away said the smell was coming out of the room and stinking out the entire corridor today

 

[Stickman42]

I'd press harder with Ricoh then. Can you get a tech in there to see what's up? There's usually ozone filters in place - maybe they're overdue to be changed.

Many moons ago we had clients tell us our work "stinks". They were right! Turns out the cause was Nashua toner being used in our DocuTechs. A new batch solved that problem.

 

[namelessentity]

NCR will make the copy room stink for hours after I run large batches. Certain cotton stocks will make the room smell sweet as well. If you're running shells you're also gonna have fumes from whatever they put on the press sheets as well. I'm not sure if it's harmful, but ventilation wouldn't be a bad idea to at least keep the room smelling neutral.

 

[pdan]

It's Ozone.

 

[kslight]

I have a Ricoh 7210 in a small enclosed room along with our other toys. Machine itself doesn’t seem to make a significant / unpleasant smell, but different papers / brands will. What paper are you running through it?

I did notice some initial outgassing when the machine was installed but it’s since dissipated.

“In the old days” of digital printing, our larger Xerox equipment had dedicated factory vent kits not unlike what you have on a dryer. Those were largely to exhaust the heat though. I haven’t seen anything like that on a modern digital printer. There are filters on the machine that should be changed (I assume your machine has a parts life counter like ours).

I have a Roland solvent printer in a separate room and *that* will make some high level stink when running a lot of posters, we have an industrial air scrubber in that room but many people don’t even use such a device with that type of printer either.

 

[TJPrinter]

If it’s ozone this maybe helpful to read . It’s from Xerox but should pertain to the Ricoh too.

 

[bcr]

I have a Ricoh 7210 in a small enclosed room along with our other toys. Machine itself doesn’t seem to make a significant / unpleasant smell, but different papers / brands will. What paper are you running through it?

I did notice some initial outgassing when the machine was installed but it’s since dissipated.

“In the old days” of digital printing, our larger Xerox equipment had dedicated factory vent kits not unlike what you have on a dryer. Those were largely to exhaust the heat though. I haven’t seen anything like that on a modern digital printer. There are filters on the machine that should be changed (I assume your machine has a parts life counter like ours).

I have a Roland solvent printer in a separate room and *that* will make some high level stink when running a lot of posters, we have an industrial air scrubber in that room but many people don’t even use such a device with that type of printer either.

90% of what we print is plain old 80gsm white office paper.

 

[Bill Ward]

We run Canon digital presses and I just go ahead and assume they are releasing toner into the air. We run an Austin air purifier in the print room and I have a smaller one in my office as well. I get a funky buttered popcorn-like smell occasionally that I figured was toner, but I don't get it too often so I'm not sure. The smell when we run big NCR jobs is the the one that gets me.

 

[Sertech]

Ozone is generated on some copier/printers. Typically your eyes will burn and you'll get headaches. Any other smells could be from the process. Extra ventilation never hurts. The old kodak digipress had a smell I don't think I'll ever forget.

 

[smalloffsetpressexperts]

Ozone created by coronas used to a dry process that uses electrostatic charges on a light-sensitive photoreceptor to first attract and then transfer toner particles onto paper. Besides that there are fusers and oils.
The CDC has an article you should read Ozone and Your Health. Also consider reading

Earth Science in Action | August 29, 2022Monitoring Ground-Level Ozone in a Warming World​

They also require some amounts of electricity. Can windmills and solar panels power a digtal copier? They may be called a press to me they are copiers and they may produce toxins

 

[smalloffsetpressexperts]

Ozone created by coronas used to a dry process that uses electrostatic charges on a light-sensitive photoreceptor to first attract and then transfer toner particles onto paper. Besides that there are fusers and oils.
The CDC has an article you should read Ozone and Your Health. Also consider reading

Earth Science in Action | August 29, 2022Monitoring Ground-Level Ozone in a Warming World​

They also require some amounts of electricity. Can windmills and solar panels power a digtal copier? They may be called a press to me they are copiers and they may produce toxins

BCR thanks for a . I hope and wish more experts would reply to you

 

[bcr]

BCR thanks for a . I hope and wish more experts would reply to you

thanks. i'm thinking about ordering an ozone detector and then went down a bit of a rabbit hole looking at air quality detectors etc.

 

[Stickman42]

You can certainly take steps to make your print environment cleaner/safer. But there are harmful aspects in just about all walks of life. Did you ever ask your servicing organization to look at the ozone filtration in your machine? Has this issue been present since the machine was installed or did it recently develop?

 

[Shawnd]

I would absolutely run an air purifier in that room that has the exhaust ducted out. Small particles of toner are present in our printing area with 2 Ricoh digital presses even with the "filters" they installed on the machines.

Look into the Jett air cleaners or the Duster's (Duster 2000 Fume Control | Island Clean Air)

 

[smalloffsetpressexperts]

thanks. i'm thinking about ordering an ozone detector and then went down a bit of a rabbit hole looking at air quality detectors etc.

Good for you, It is your health and others working in the trade that should be aware of the digital machines and chemicals used for coating and UV may harm some people over time. I have worked in Offset shops, Hybird shops and all Digital all of which have their own pollution.
I would like to know the effect these machines may contribute to global warming