Epson 4100 manual Static Electricity

90 Maintenance

STATIC ELECTRICITY

Static electricity occurs when objects become electrically charged. When charged with static electricity, objects tend to attract or repel other objects.

Static electricity can build up on paper. The printer paper can become charged with static electricity as it moves from the feeder slot to the printer's acoustic hood. If the static electricity is not discharged from the paper as it exits the printer, the paper tends to cling to the printer (or printer stand) and resist stacking.

Fortunately, the acoustic hood is designed to draw off this static electricity. For this reason, the manufacturer recommends that you always use the acoustic hood to reduce static electricity, as well as to reduce printer noise. If you do use the printer without the acoustic hood, there are still ways to control or eliminate static electricity.

Temperature, humidity, and other factors influence static buildup:

•Low relative humidity tends to encourage static buildup. Prefer to keep the relative humidity in the printer room above 40%.

In general, since warmer environments tend to have higher relative humidity levels, prefer a warmer room to a colder one.

•Avoid storing paper in an overly dry location. Instead, store paper at the same temperature and humidity levels of the printer, or allow paper to acclimate overnight before loading that paper in the printer.

Besides encouraging static electricity, an overly dry location robs paper of its built-in moisture content. (Typically, 5% of paper weight is water.) When paper loses this built-in moisture, it curls.