The '5 minute' label printer fix that ate my whole shift
Manager handed me a label printer that was jamming every other tag and said it just needed a quick look. I figured the sensor was dirty, but after 20 minutes of wiping and test printing it got worse. Turns out the thermal head was wearing unevenly, and the replacement part had to come from a distributor. I spent close to 3 hours swapping it out while the line backed up and customers kept asking where their orders were. The old printer wasn't even that old, just a bad batch of labels had gunked it up. Has anyone else had a 'simple' equipment fix that ended up eating an entire shift? I want to know if I missed some faster trick.
Ah yes, the classic "quick look" that turns into a full blown repair job. Gotta love when a manager says five minutes and means five hours. That uneven thermal head thing is the worst because you can clean sensors all day and it won't do a thing. Next time check the print quality first, if the tags look faded on one side you know the head is done before you even open it up. Three hours though? At least you got a story out of it, even if the line didn't.