Made in USA
What Low Humidity Costs a Print Room
Every winter the same three problems arrive with the dry air. Each one means makeready waste, reruns, slower press speeds and, on digital presses, more jams and service calls.
Static, misfeeds and double sheets
As humidity drops, especially below about 35 to 40% RH, static builds on paper and film. Charged sheets cling together or push apart, causing double feeds, jams and misfeeds. Static also pulls dust and powder onto sheets, which shows up as spots and hickeys in the print.
Curl, cracking and lost register
Dry air pulls moisture out of paper edges first, so sheets curl and wave instead of lying flat. Folds crack, and small changes in sheet size push colors out of register.
Why ordinary humidifiers fall short
Humidifiers that release visible mist or uneven output overshoot and leave damp spots on stock and equipment; others cannot keep up with dry winter air. A print room needs steady humidity across the whole floor with no water landing on paper or presses.
What print shops tell us when they call in winter
“They need to maintain 50% RH or their paper curls, causing many issues.” · “The machines run better in the summer than winter.” · “We’ve been fighting static and dry conditions and it really affects our printing process.” · “The humidity got so low in there that the machine wouldn’t run.” · “Our media is drying out and warping.”
From printers, packaging and converting plants that contacted Smart Fog last winter.
Why the Fog Never Wets Your Stock or Presses
A print manager’s first question is whether water will land on a press or a pallet of coated stock. It will not, and here is the mechanism.
4.2-micron droplets
Low-pressure compressed air shears water into droplets of about 4.2 microns — smaller than a red blood cell and roughly one-fifteenth the width of a human hair. A droplet that small has almost no mass, so it evaporates into vapor in the air before gravity can carry it to a surface.
No pump, no boiler, no mist
There is no high-pressure water pump forcing larger drops out of a nozzle, and no boiler adding heat. The air does the work, which is why there are no moving parts in the humidifier head and nothing to rebuild.
Controlled, not sprayed
Sensors in the room and the built-in controller hold the setpoint you choose within 1 to 2% RH. Output rises and falls with demand instead of running on a timer, so there is no overshoot and no damp corner near the unit.
Dry Fog vs. Steam, by the Numbers
Humidifier electricity and the heat it leaves in the press room, per 25 lbs/hr of moisture.
Electricity per 25 lbs/hr of humidity
One ES100 at full output vs. an electric steam humidifier at the same output
Droplet size
Why the fog evaporates in the air instead of landing on surfaces
At 4.2 microns a droplet has so little mass that it evaporates completely before it can reach a floor, product, rack or duct wall — 100% absorption into the air, no wet surfaces, no drain pans. Larger mist droplets fall out of the air and wet whatever is below them.
Low-pressure compressed air does the work: no high-pressure pump, no boiler, no moving parts in the humidifier head.
How Smart Fog Compares in a Press Room
What print managers are usually weighing it against: electric steam, ultrasonic units and high-pressure mist.
What the electricity difference is worth
Energy only, using the per-unit figures above. Your rates and run hours will differ; the form above gets you the number for your shop.
*Assumes 2,000 hours of humidifier run time per heating season at full output and $0.15 per kWh. Does not include the cooling load steam adds to the room, or the makeready waste, reruns and jams that stable humidity removes.
Non-Wetting Humidity Control for the Print Industry
Smart Fog’s dry fog evaporates before it lands, so humidity rises without wetting stock, presses or floors. Sensors and the built-in controller hold your setpoint within 1 to 2% in the press room and in paper storage, so stock stays conditioned until it is used.
ES100 Direct Space (wall or truss mount)
For digital press rooms and commercial shops. No ductwork; ES100-1 covers up to about 1,000 sq ft and ES100-2 up to about 3,000 sq ft, and units combine for larger floors. Full ES100 specs
MS100 Custom Grid
For large web offset floors, corrugated plants and paper warehouses: a custom-configured grid of fog heads sized to the floor plan and air changes.
TS100 In-Duct
Installs in the air handler or supply duct to condition a whole plant through the existing HVAC. No drain pans, no wet duct insulation.
What a system needs on site: a water line (RO or filtered water recommended), compressed air at 85–100 psi (about 2 CFM per unit, oil-free not required — air filters are included), and 110 V for the controller. Plug-and-play installation; no certified installer required. The ES100M mobile unit is available for seasonal rooms or a trial zone. Modbus / BACnet ready.
Matched to How You Print
A room with three digital presses has different constraints from a corrugated plant. The system is sized and placed for each.
Digital: toner and high-speed inkjet
Static elimination and an end to double-feeds on coated and synthetic stocks. RO water keeps mineral dust off printheads and optical sensors, and evaporative cooling offsets press heat in a small room.
Sheetfed and web offset
Tight color register because sheet size stops drifting, flat stacks without wavy or tight edges, and fewer web breaks at speed.
Flexo, packaging and folding carton
Board that folds and die-cuts without score-line cracking, and static held down around fast-moving webs and solvent inks.
Paper and board storage
Rolls and skids conditioned at 45–55% RH before they reach the press, so stock does not need a day or two to acclimatize on the floor.
Printing Humidification FAQs
Will the fog get my paper or presses wet?
No. Smart Fog shears water into 4.2-micron droplets with low-pressure compressed air; droplets that small evaporate completely in the air before they can reach stock, presses or floors. That is why it is used in print rooms, paper storage and even clean rooms with particulate counters. Misting and high-pressure fog systems produce larger droplets that fall out and wet whatever is below them.
What humidity should a press room hold?
Most print shops, digital printing rooms and paper stores hold about 45 to 55% RH. Static builds quickly below roughly 35 to 40% RH, and paper starts to curl as it loses moisture to dry air. Smart Fog holds the setpoint you choose within 1 to 2% RH.
Do I need RO (reverse osmosis) water?
RO or filtered water is recommended. Whatever minerals are in the water end up in the air when the droplet evaporates, so demineralized water is what keeps surfaces, printheads and sensors clean. Smart Fog supplies the water filtration with the system; filter elements are changed as a set when the outlet reading rises above 5 ppm TDS.
Will it leave white dust on printheads or optical sensors?
Not with treated water. White dust is dissolved minerals left behind after evaporation; with RO or demineralized water there are no minerals to leave behind. Ultrasonic and mist units running on tap water are the usual source of white dust in print rooms.
What compressed air do I need?
About 2 CFM per unit at 85 to 100 psi. The air does not have to be oil-free, because air filters are included with the system; a small shop compressor is enough for one or two units.
How hard is it to retrofit around existing ducts and presses?
The ES100 mounts on a wall or truss with a water line, an air line and a 110 V connection, so it fits around existing ductwork without touching the HVAC. Where you would rather keep equipment out of the room entirely, the TS100 goes inside the air handler or supply duct instead.
How fast can we have it running?
Systems are built in Reno, Nevada, and typical lead time is about one week. Installation is plug-and-play: mount the unit, connect water, compressed air and power, set the RH once on the built-in controller. Most shops install it themselves or with their HVAC contractor.
What does it cost to run?
About 0.4 kW per unit at full output, versus roughly 8 kW for an electric steam humidifier producing the same 25 lbs/hr. Because the fog evaporates, it also absorbs heat from the room instead of adding it, which helps offset the heat from presses and dryers.
How do I size it for my shop?
As a starting point, an ES100-1 covers up to about 1,000 sq ft of press room and an ES100-2 up to about 3,000 sq ft; larger floors and paper stores use several units, an MS100 grid or a TS100 in the air handler. Send us your square footage, ceiling height and how many presses are on the floor through the form above and we size it exactly.
Get Your Press Room’s Humidity Under Control
Made in the USA. One-year warranty with an optional 10-year warranty. Typical lead time is about one week.
Call 1-800-921-5230 or request pricing below.