DTF Printers in Cold Weather

Essential Guidlines

Following these simple steps will protect your printer and keep your printing reliable.

1. Room Temperature Requirements

DTF printers perform best in a controlled environment.

Cold temperature causes DTF printers, finishers, inks, film and powder to become more sensitive.

Ideal conditions:

  • Temperature: 20–30°C (15°C or 59°F minimum) or 68–86°F
  • Humidity: 50–60%

If it’s too cold:

  • Printers struggle to jet consistently
  • Ink behaves differently, becomes thicker, causing banding and nozzle dropouts
  • White ink will settle faster, turning into a heavy sludge
  • Film absorbs moisture, carries more static, causing poor transfers
  • Adhesive powder will clump and fail to bond correctly, causing patchy prints or fail to hot peel.

 

If your room is under 15°C, you will almost always see print defects.

 

2. Warm-Up Time Before Printing

This is vital and often overlooked. When you bring ink, film and powder in from a cold room, they’ll need time to acclimatise.

How to prevent:

  • Allow your DTF printer to warm up for 30–60 minutes
  • Allow ink bottles and powder to reach room temp before refilling
  • Let the film sit outside its packaging for at least an hour

3. Ink Storage

Never store DTF ink in a cold environment.

Store at:

  • Above 15°C
  • Ideally around 20–24°C

 

If ink drops below 10°C, it will thicken and may not recover.

4. Film Storage

DTF film absorbs moisture.

Avoid:

  • Cold rooms
  • Damp rooms
  • Sudden temperature changes

Best practice:

  • Keep the film sealed when not in use
  • Store upright
  • Keep in a dry, warm room
  • Use a dehumidifier if needed

 

Cold, damp film can lead to under-cured or inconsistent powder bonding.

5. Preventing Static

Cold and dry air causes static.

How to prevent:

  • Keep humidity at 50–60%
  • Keep your room above 15°C, ideally 20°C

6. Printing After the Weekend

If your printer hasn’t been used for a couple of days.

  1. Increase the room temperature for 20–30 minutes beforehand
  2. Run the white ink circulation for longer
  3. Print a nozzle check
  4. Print a small colour print to test