I have been using the same couple of smooth PEI plates for a couple of years now. (about 2,000 hours print time) For the past several months, I’ve had to scrape the prints off, even with glue. Well, I damaged a plate and finally bought a new one. I never realized that my plates had degraded so much. The new PEI plates require no glue, and I can very easily pop off even the thinnest of prints. The obvious finally hit me. The print plates are (long term) consumables. Strangely enough, I haven’t had to replace a PTFE tube yet.
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Hate to be that guy but at the bottom of every plate page it says
The Smooth PEI plate is considered a consumable part, which will degrade over time. The warranty will only cover manufacturing defects, not cosmetic damage like scratches, dents, or cracks. Defective sheets upon arrival are the only ones covered by the warranty.
But it’s good to know the timeframe, some of mine are probably getting close to that point. One thing I’ve been doing on my newer plates is mainly using the one side by looking at the wipe area wear so I’ve got a bit of comparison when the one side is getting close to its end of life.