switch off or leave on?

[geesbert]

A couple of years ago the common knowledge was to keep Inkjet printer switched on all the times, as they would go through a cleaning process much more often when switched on and off.

Is this still true with modern printers?

[Ernst Dinkla]

I do both for my Z3100 and Z3200. Depending on fluctuations in work, holidays etc I keep both ready or not. The firmware scheduled squirting of some ink through the nozzles isn't expensive and the printers have no print quality issues when kept on. There might be a waste on energy though. The reason to switch them off can be the energy, the sound (my 3200) and the fact that I do not like to keep equipment powered on during holidays. I don't think it is cheaper as the initialisation takes energy, more ink is squirted then too with a cleaning cycle. The printers have no print quality issues either when switched off. The printers tend to loose connection to the printer utilty software (not the driver) when they are kept on power and that is solved by a switching off/on cycle. In that sense you can better switch them off.

Sorry HP only and not a definitive answer. Life is often like that.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/

[hsmeets]

As far the current canon iPF series concerns: yes.

My current "guestimate" is that mine use about 1ml of ink for daily clean.

In my case that works out to (12*€65)/(12*130ml)=0,50 euro a day. When I offset that against the daily costs of living on this planet :-) : 50ct is nothing to worry about....

[geesbert]

yes, leave it on or yes, switch it off?

[hsmeets]

"yes" as in "leave it on"    for canon's.

[PeterAit]

I think it depends on the printer. And anyway, that regular cleaning may save you a lot of grief down the road! I turn my 4880 off.

[Aristoc]

Turning on and off can mean either turning off the printer at the power bar, or turning it off a the printer on/off switch. If you turn the printer off at the on/off switch, there is still power going to the printer. A very small amount. Some have said, and I wouldn't dare try it, that if you switched your printer off at the power bar(and not at the on/off switch), the print head would not park properly. Therefore, it could become dry and clog. However, turning off the printer FIRST at the on/off switch and letting it shut down, would ensure that the print head parked properly first.

[Randy Carone]

When I'm not using my Epson 3800 I turn it off. Not one clog since I plugged it in, in October 2009.

[teddillard]

Leave it on.  No two ways about it...     Canon, HP, Epson...  don't matter.

[Randy Carone]

Ted,

What is the advantage of leaving an Epson printer on at all times?

[Rhossydd]

Simple answer; If your printer has an on/off switch use it, it's there for a reason.

When you power off Epsons they park their heads to prevent the heads drying out and clogging. I've always done that with all my Epsons (6 now) and have only had head clogs when they haven't been used for more than six months.

[teddillard]

Ted,

What is the advantage of leaving an Epson printer on at all times?

They don't clog.   

I've seen it with countless printers over the last ten years.  Customer reports clogging problems, is turning the printers off.  Customer is told to leave printer on.  No more clogging problems.  Switch notwithstanding... 

[Randy Carone]

I've also heard the heads of Epson printers park more firmly on the capping station when powered down, which is why I asked Ted the question. I'm always trying to learn (and try) new information, as long as the suggestions are backed up with facts.

[teddillard]

I honestly think, and backed up from what I've seen, it really depends on your environmental conditions.  Sometimes whatever you do it will work fine.  Sometimes not, it depends on the environment.

The best advice I can give you is if whatever you're doing is working, then go with it.  If you're having trouble, try the other option (...on or off, depending on what you're doing now).  I've seen several situations where people still get clogging, and invariably it's a dry environment- either a/c (summer) or dry heat (winter).  A humidifier is always a viable, and common, option.

[rothberg]

So, I have just replaced my 4800 with a 4900
I left the 4800 on all the time with great success and no noticeable ink usage

The 4900 seems to turn it's self off after an hour of idle time.
The first 4900 shipped arrived DOA and so I am suspicious
of the power supply

[Wayne Fox]

I've also heard the heads of Epson printers park more firmly on the capping station when powered down, which is why I asked Ted the question. I'm always trying to learn (and try) new information, as long as the suggestions are backed up with facts.

Canon and HP printers constantly prime the nozzles with minute amounts of ink so they are better left on unless not being used for a few days.

You are right in that Epsons cap the head when powered off.  I have had much better luck with the Epson 7900 when I keep it powered off when not in use, but my 11880 doesn't seem to care either way. 

Ted is right, humidity plays a big role in this for all brands of printers, either extending head life for HP's and Canon's or reducing cleaning cycles for Epson's. Tough to do in the cold of winter ...

[rodsncones]

My new 4900 powers off after a time out as well.  There is no info on this in the owners manual. I called support and they were unaware of this feature. It does not appear that it can be disabled either. 

I asked why and was told it caps the heads to reduce clogging and saves energy. FYI this printer uses 8 watts in standby mode. 

I imagine it would be easy to disable this feature with a firmware update if enough owners request it.  From the post above, it would appear to shut down after one hour of idle time. I have not timed mine.

[Randy Carone]

Why would you want the 4900 to NOT turn off after an hour? Does it use ink when it comes out of sleep mode?

[rodsncones]

It is not the sleep/standby mode that Rothberg and I are talking about with the new 4900.  It is an automatic total power down/shut down.  

The 4900 turns itself off completely after an hour or so according to Rothberg's timing. The power light goes off and you have to press power again to turn it on.  It then goes through a start up cycle that takes time. I have not timed the start up cycle, but it is not instant.

The 4900 goes into sleep/standby mode fairly quickly.  This mode is different than the auto shut off. I would gues it goes into this mode after 5 minutes of inactivity. I have not timed this either, though.

In sleep/standby mode, the lcd screen goes black, but the power light remains on.  All you need to do to "wake it up" is push the menu button or, I presume, send it a print job.  The manual specs only 8 watts of power used in standby/sleep mode. Moreover, it is nearly silent in this mode as well.

Like Rothberg, I used to leave my 4800 powered on all the time so that I did not have to wait for it to go through its power up ritual.

Regardless, according to the Epson Pro support guy I talked to, the best thing to do, in general, with Epson Pro printers is to shut-em down. Obviously, the Epson engineers thought this was important enough to include an auto shutdown feature in the new 4900. This is currently not user defeatable.

I would ask if the other new Epson printers include the auto shutdown feature? I assume the older 7900 and 9900 do not shut themselves down?

I hope this helps enlighten this discussion. it did for me.

[JohnBrew]

They don't clog.   

I've seen it with countless printers over the last ten years.  Customer reports clogging problems, is turning the printers off.  Customer is told to leave printer on.  No more clogging problems.  Switch notwithstanding... 

I have always turned off my Epson printers. I bought a 3800 when they came out. I've never had a clog. I once went a month without using the printer even though I've been told it needed to be used at least once a week - when I finally needed to make a print it was perfect.