something amiss.
I turn mine off and when I turn it on it does a nozzle check, but rarely follows that up with a clean. Also when I wake it from sleep if it's been a while will do the same thing.
Same with my p5000.
not sure why Epson reverted to this, this was complained about with the previous models, and finally they changed it so the only time it ever did a nozzle check/auto clean was when the blacks were switched. the problem is if I have one single missing nozzle I would like the option of printing anyway as that rarely shows up in the final work, but ANC will force a clean.
Not sure why epson doesn't understand when a users sets a parameter to not doing nozzle checks that means all of the time.
Wayne,
It's not that they don't understand - they do - they've heard all the complaints and suggestions in spades, they know how these machines work in intimate detail, yet we have what we have, which they can amend in firmware at their discretion. Given the technology, they've designed these algorithms specifically to protect the longevity and performance of the printhead. So let's simply accept that those of us buying this technology are buying what Epson thinks is best for the protection and longevity of the print head, which is the most expensive component of the printer. Given the cost and inconvenience of replacing these print heads, I have no doubt they are looking at longer-term reputational risk and firmly decided that more cleaning is better than more head replacements. Of course, change the technology and it may be a different talk-show, but here and now let us remain focused on what it is.
As such, there are two parallel maintenance streams: (A) the one they leave in the hands of users to manage as they see fit, and (B) the one over which the user has no control. Your complaint is about (B). (B) consists of those periodic Admin panel deep clean of all channels that uses over $50-worth of ink. The firmware has a program that looks at time and throughput to determine when it should be triggered. We do have the option of ignoring it, but the nag notice will remain in place till we do it. So we can place a bet with Epson that these cleanings can be safely ignored, but maybe they can't be - we would only know over the longer term - play at our own risk and peril. (B) also consists of periodic auto nozzle checks that are triggered if the printer has been left unused for a certain period of time; as you note, these may or may not trigger some cleaning. This is something most users would do manually anyhow under the same conditions, so it's no big deal. Turning to (A), as users we do have the option of turning off everything automatic about cleanings that they allow us to control and do it manually as we wish.
So in sum, having now used this machine for quite a while with a variety of usage patterns, I think they've struck a reasonable menu of options in terms of what they leave to our own discretion and what they consider mandatory based on their knowledge of the technology and what's needed to protect it. All that said, I too would like to see a product design - inks and printhead - less prone to requiring all this maintenance, but not at the cost of the print quality I've become accustomed to. So maybe one of these days there will emerge something that doesn't involve a compromise between cleaning, reliability and quality, but the technology isn't there yet.
As a footnote, I should mention that at least for my own conditions here in Toronto, I've come to the conclusion, based on collected observations, that humidity is the most critical factor for nozzle clogs in a P5000. When humidity is down in the 20% range, if the printer isn't used at least a couple of times a week one channel or another will need cleaning. When humidity is in the 40% range it can go unused for at least 10 days and yield a perfect nozzle check.