Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: Garnick on July 06, 2013, 02:41:41 pm
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I know there are a number of members who tend to turn their printer on when it arrives and never power down, thereby insisting that this procedure can prevent issues such as nozzle clogs etc. I'd like to know if there is any empirical evidence to back up this approach or if it is simply anecdotal in nature. Have there been any studies or statistics published concerning this issue? I have no problem adopting this method if I can find some actual evidence of a relationship between this approach and the lack of problems with the printer.
Gary
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Gary, the only advice I have ever received from Epson is to turn it off when not in use. This is meant to insure that the printhead is properly parked in its capping station.
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I would do what the instructions say. After all, every printer manufacturer wants to keep their customers' print heads from clogging. If the instructions don't say anything then it probably does not matter. With my 7900 I leave it on sometimes and off other times, and have never had a serious clog in a year.
On a related note, and as has been mentioned in another thread, I wish the printers had a built-in routine to print a test pattern every so often.
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The one time I left my Epson 3800 on for a couple of weeks, I had the only bad clog ever. Coincidence? I'll leave it on for a couple of days if I'm printing a little each day, then turn it off.
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Any model before x900s I've always left on, 9600, 9800, 7800. But since an Epson tech practically lived here for several days with my 9900, sharing lots of info, I turn the 9900 off every night. The pressure and ink systems are more complex than previous models, more valves etc in the path. The explanation was startup fully repressurizes the entire system, including "filling" up the head itself. On the other hand my 9880 stays on all the time, has Cone B&W inks in it, and is nearly 100% problem free day after day. I can't say turning the 9900 off every night has fixed anything, but it's made things no worse..
Tyler
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I have two HP Z3100 printers that are never turned off and never clog. They go through a cleaning cycle every so often that is very economical on ink. During other times, they are in sleep mode which does not take much energy. Don't plan on changing my practice.
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I do a bit of both. ;)
Epson 9900 is shut off every evening.
Epson 4800 is shut off after each use.
Epson 9890 (converted to B&W K7 Piezography) is most often left on, but with HHC running automatic nozzle checks nightly. I do turn it off on occasion.
No issues with any of these printers.
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I was one of the first Z3100 customers...it's been on 24/7 for years - zero clogs, still on original hardware. just keep feeding it ink, and one belt :)
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If you print with newer Epson printers, you are better off shutting off the machine at night, as this will seal the heads against the capping station and help prevent drying out.
If you have a Canon or HP printer, they use minute amounts of ink to maintain the heads while on, and don't seal as well when off, so they are best left on except for extended times you are away.
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I'm just about to take delivery of a canon 6300.
I'm planning to leave it on to do its thing.
Anyone had head clogging issues with one?
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http://www.schwetzstudios.co.uk
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I turn my 3880 off after every printing session and place a cover on it. Zero clogs in 3+ years.
Sal
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I power off each night with the 9900. I also would never leave a machine on all the time as power surges, lightening etc can ruin a machine. Unless you are working on an industrial setup, the average UPS device will not do much to stop a near by hit of lightening. All it takes is one storm and you not being close by to power off.
As previously pointed out by Wayne, the 9900 is designed to be shut off, so the head will go to the capping station and seal. I recently watched this process with the covers off when I had my dampers replaced.
Paul Caldwell
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I'm just about to take delivery of a canon 6300.
I'm planning to leave it on to do its thing.
Anyone had head clogging issues with one?
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http://www.schwetzstudios.co.uk
I've had clogging issues with my Canon 8300 but only when I've gone for some time (week or more) without printing. First 2 years I had it, printed a lot and no issues, then printed less and replaced both heads over about 4 mo period. Of course, they may have been clogging slowly over the entire time---one doesn't really know with Canon because they simply use the remaining nozzles. I leave the printer on continually as other Canon owners have posted.
Rob P
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I posted this over on EpsonWideFormat for you but I'll repost for you here as well and add a PS.
Well I suppose everything you see here is anecdotal, but I can tell you that my experience with a 9880 left always on and run off a USP and running Harvey Head Cleaner is this; I purchased this printer used about 9 months and save for a few imperfect nozzle checks after it's 300 mile trip in the back of my pickup has not had any bad nozzle checks. It prints first time every time and I have not had any spoiled prints that I can attribute to a printer malfunction/print head clog. Further it is my opinion that Epson printers are disposed to handing out spurious errors codes if the power supply is dirty and or of poor quality. It is generally accepted that continually turning electronics on and off is not a good thing. Again back to the above mentioned Epson printer, I got it home and set it up, sans the USP, and it handed out a number of service call error codes almost immediately. Once I got a UPS for it, no more errors, again in roughly nine months. I live smack in the middle of the lightning capital of the world, so for me this is not an option. So the answer is not only to keep the thing on all the time but to use a UPS to shield the system from all the crap that comes down the power lines. Of course I feel that Harvey Head Cleaner is also part of the answer for preventing head clogs for those of us that do not print every day and or in large amounts. I suppose I could send you a stack of perfect nozzle checks to prove the point.
Later Larry
PS I see that Paul posted a concern over lighting strikes as a reason for turning off the printer. Having looked through the maintenance manual for my printer 9880 it seems to indicate that turning it off does not actually remove power from many of the components, which it would seem therefore are still susceptible to lighting strikes. The only way to isolate is to use a quality UPS or pull the power plug. Other printers may be different, but my guess is many if not all Epson wide format printers work this way.
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I forgot to mention I always unplug also. Point well made as a lightening stoke can still damage a machine just powered off. I have been burned a few times over the years. Always unplug for safety in my environment.
Paul Caldwell
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I sit right next to my Canon and see what it does as it wakes from power saving mode. It regularly wakes up and does a nozzle check, it mechanically shakes the ink carts and it checks temperature and humidity. I know it does these things because it says so on the panel as it's doing them.
It seems to me that it is obviously meant to be left on. When you finish a print, the heads park, then, after about 30 minutes it goes in to power saving mode, (the heads are still parked,) from which it wakes now and then and performs the checks I've described. (No Harvey head cleaner needed).
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Gary,
My 4900 powers itself off after a period of no activity. My guess Epson really thinks it helps to make sure the head is parked properly. One thing I have notice is that humidity as a major role in clogging. We been experiencing the highest humidity here in NY I can ever remember and I haven't drop a nozzle this month. Typically I would need to run a nozzle clean every 5 to 7 days.
Ed
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I forgot to mention I always unplug also. Point well made as a lightening stoke can still damage a machine just powered off. I have been burned a few times over the years. Always unplug for safety in my environment.
Paul Caldwell
I had a bad lightening strike here last April. It hit a very nearby tree, ruptured our water line, unearthed our natural gas line, ruptured the city water main, cracked a basement wall, blew out a bedroom window, blew all of the circuit breakers in our house, wrecked our electric clothes dryer, all of the telephones, cable modem and router, etc., etc. My computer and Epson 7900 were plugged into a 1500 VA CyberPower Pure Sine Wave UPS, which was also destroyed, but the computer and printer were not damaged. I still keep everything plugged in, but not without a good, and properly grounded, UPS. My network cable went through the same UPS, and if that had not been the case I'm convinced the computer and printer would have been damaged even though the power supply was protected. Basically, your system is unprotected if any connected cable from the outside world is unprotected. Each is a potential path for destructive electrical energy.
FWIW, I've had the printer for 4.5 years and turn it off at the control panel whenever I'm not using it.
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Insurance is your friend in electrical storms. Under our polcy all is replaced with new. UPS is kinda OK but usually lightening jumps right through anyway.
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If you print with newer Epson printers, you are better off shutting off the machine at night, as this will seal the heads against the capping station and help prevent drying out.
If you have a Canon or HP printer, they use minute amounts of ink to maintain the heads while on, and don't seal as well when off, so they are best left on except for extended times you are away.
What would you define as an 'extended time'.
Thanks, Brian
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Dean:
I switched to cyberpower 1500's also about 6 months ago. I am glad to see you survived the strike. I had a similar one last August, same type hit a tree about 20 yards from the house and fried one of the 2 loops in my house, pretty much everything "on" at that time was damaged or destroyed.
Paul Caldwell
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Dean:
I switched to cyberpower 1500's also about 6 months ago. I am glad to see you survived the strike. I had a similar one last August, same type hit a tree about 20 yards from the house and fried one of the 2 loops in my house, pretty much everything "on" at that time was damaged or destroyed.
Paul Caldwell
Thanks, Paul. You obviously survived too, but it's a scary experience. I don't think a UPS is a guarantee of lightening protection but it certainly saved me a lot of trouble. Our insurance replaces destroyed items with new ones if they are inexpensive (TV sets, cable modems, UPS-es, etc). They do the same for expensive items but only if they are not repairable or worth repairing. To determine that they pay to have you get a repair estimate. Doing that for the printer and computer, sorting it out with insurance, replacing or repairing the devices, restoring my computer files, etc., would have had me unproductive for a very much longer time. Instead I was up and running again as soon as electrical repairs were done and the mess was cleaned up. I should also mention that my wife's computer, which had its power supply and network connections protected by a 1500 VA APC UPS was also spared, while little else survived. The UPS units actually smelled burned, but everything connected was undamaged. I'm now a real believer in these things!