I've a short note from Canon that answers a query I had about when the new large printers such as the PRO-2000 agitate their ink tanks. My old iPF8300 wakes up every so often to do this.
This isn't needed for the new printers. Canon UK kindly sent me this:
Agitation of PRO-Series (PRO-2000/PRO-4000)
In order to make the best of the performance of new LUCIA-PRO inks, the agitation of ink tank of PRO-Series has been improved compared to the previous imagePROGRAF series (iPF6400/iPF8400). As a result, PRO-Series can agitate the ink tank more effectively in a shorter period, and less frequency than before.
For the previous models, the agitation was required every so often even in sleep mode. On the other hand, PRO-Series has introduced the effective agitation technology, that enables “background agitation” during printing, or printer’s operation, so it requires far less agitation in the sleep mode than that of previous model
Even if the printer remains OFF for several months, there would be no issues on quality of the printer. In this case, when it turns ON, an automatic agitation might take place during start-up, depending on the status of the printer. However, the time needed for the agitation can be less than previous models thanks to the improvement of the agitation method introduced into PRO-Series.
The improved agitation enables PRO-Series to supply print the head with stable LUCIA-PRO inks maintaining an even density at all times, and this results in more reliable print quality
All the above are not officially announced by Canon, and they are not guaranteed under all customer environments. However, we believe that we have improved many technologies which have been introduced into PRO-Series, and the accumulation of these enables our new printers to be more stable & reliable suitable for professional customers. The new agitation technology is one of them.
From
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/printers/canon_news.html
