This is what Epson told me when I emailed them last week onwhether I should leave on or turn off.
From a mechanical standpoint the positon of the Printhead whether the
printers at rest or powered off, as it pertains to the potential for
nozzles drying out makes no difference. I always recommend powering the
printer off to avoid potential issues with power surges. As with any
inkjet printer the longer you go without using the printer the more likely
you are to need head cleaning to achieve a high quality print. The only
real option you have to mitigate this issue is to print/clean the printer
on a regular basis like once a week.
Pete
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Since I have heard so many different opinions on the leave it on turn it off thing
thought I would also email Epson and see if they were consistent with their recommendations
on this. I also asked if the auto cleaning cycle I mentioned earlier was normal.
Here is their reply:
"Mechanically speaking there is no difference how the print head rests
whether the machine is off or on the biggest factor in reducing required
cleanings is consistent use of the printer. The process is usually referred
to as a Priming cycle and is used to ensure ink is available in all
nozzles. The printer does not have a sensor in each nozzle to determine if
ink is there so as a preventative measure the engineers have designed the
printer to occasionally prime before prints, when powering on/off, and
occasionally during printing to cool the print head. These cycles are all
necessary to keep the printer running in optimal condition and cannot be
disabled. The alternative would be to always leave the printer on but over
time the printer would perform the same sort of cleaning as it does when
you turn the printer off. So in the end the same amount of ink is likely to
be expended in operation of the printer. The wide format printers are
designed for high volume printing and as such are at their most efficient
when used consistently."
Sounds like the same guy answered. So it doesn't matter if you leave it on or
off. Expect it to do and occasional auto cleaning cycle to the tune of about 16ml
of ink.
Occasional for me was after 5 days 20 8x10's and 30 4x6's . These cleaning cycles
will need to be factored in to your cost per print.
Bill