About to buy Epson 7900 have a question

[gnomore]

We are about to buy an Epson 7900. We will not be running alot of production through the printer. It will be sporadic. My question is, if I was to generate a scheduled task through windows to print a 1 inch by 1 inch patch of each of the 11 colors every 12 hours would that be enough to keep the print head unclogged?

[mstevensphoto]

that seems excessive to me. Although I switched to canon to avoid clogging issues I frequently go a solid week without printing and have no issues. The sales reps suggestion was to leave the printer on and let it sleep. it wakes itself up and does maintenance as it thinks it needs to - about every three days.

[LPJay]

To add a second unhelpful reply: I switched from Canon to Epson to avoid replacing heads more often than I thought I should. Only time will tell if that was a wise decision. 

I leave my 7900 on, but I've disabled ANC (auto-nozzle check), so the printer doesn't check for nozzle clogs and doesn't clean itself. Instead, prior to running a print job I make a nozzle check print. This is quick and easy, uses very little ink, and prints on plain bond paper. I left the sleep time-out at the default. My printer spends most of its time sleeping. I'm a little jealous.

I print two or three days a week, sometimes a little more, sometimes less. I find clogs now and then, clean the affected channel pairs, and get on with printing. This is less convenient than the Canon, which was always ready to print (except when it wasn't because it decided to clean before the print job started, which happened more often than one would expect of a printer that's supposed to keep its heads clean). I've found I can run a nozzle check and then print my job perhaps 85% of the time. The remaining 15% requires cleaning and then running a second nozzle check to verify the clog is gone; it nearly always is. This sounds inconvenient, but it's really quite quick and easy. If you've time to kill you can see much more detail about my workflow, and my trials and tribulations with the 7900 here: http://lifewitha7900.blogspot.com/. Like all blogs, older postings disappear into the mists of time, never to be read more than a week or so after posting. But I wanted to have a long-running record of my experience with the machine, and the blog is it.

  --Jay
  http://www.lumen-perfectus.com

[langier]

After most of 2011 shut off, I started my 4000 up for printing a couple of months ago and haven't shut it off since. It hasn't needed a cleaning for quite a while.

With my 9800 and 9900, I shut them down when I'm not using them, sometimes for a day, sometimes for weeks. Once I turn them on, I almost always run a nozzle check. The 9800 seldom needs a cleaning, the 9900 needs it more frequently since I've been running dozens of rolls of canvas in the year I've had it. It't the link that drives you nuts, but the print quality and the auto cutting of the canvas that makes my 9900 the star in my studio.

I'd say do whatever suits you best and don't worry about running paper and ink every few hours. It's not worth the effort and simply wastes supplies.

[dgberg]

To add a second unhelpful reply: I switched from Canon to Epson to avoid replacing heads more often than I thought I should. Only time will tell if that was a wise decision.  

I leave my 7900 on, but I've disabled ANC (auto-nozzle check), so the printer doesn't check for nozzle clogs and doesn't clean itself. Instead, prior to running a print job I make a nozzle check print. This is quick and easy, uses very little ink, and prints on plain bond paper. I left the sleep time-out at the default. My printer spends most of its time sleeping. I'm a little jealous.

I print two or three days a week, sometimes a little more, sometimes less. I find clogs now and then, clean the affected channel pairs, and get on with printing. This is less convenient than the Canon, which was always ready to print (except when it wasn't because it decided to clean before the print job started, which happened more often than one would expect of a printer that's supposed to keep its heads clean). I've found I can run a nozzle check and then print my job perhaps 85% of the time. The remaining 15% requires cleaning and then running a second nozzle check to verify the clog is gone; it nearly always is. This sounds inconvenient, but it's really quite quick and easy. If you've time to kill you can see much more detail about my workflow, and my trials and tribulations with the 7900 here: http://lifewitha7900.blogspot.com/. Like all blogs, older postings disappear into the mists of time, never to be read more than a week or so after posting. But I wanted to have a long-running record of my experience with the machine, and the blog is it.

  --Jay
  http://www.lumen-perfectus.com

Certainly do not want to hijack the thread so apologies in advance for a side note question.
Read your blog and saw you have no interest in printing on canvas. Just curious why you would let that work get away. The 7900  is in its element printing canvas. Don't want to get into the finishing aspect? Just curious.

[gnomore]

Correct me if I am wrong but I was under the assumption these printers will use about 1.5ml per sqft of coverage. As there is 144 sq inches to a sqft I calculate 13 prints of all 11 1x1 strips per 1.5ml. So my rough calculations say about 4 ml of ink per month to set up that routine if it were running once a day. Media costs would probably be the biggy, since your losing an inch of your media a day. So if it is good stock 30 inches a month. Back to that in a bit.

My thoughts for considering this are reading the many experiences on this forum with users and their 7900 with regards to print head clogging. I have seen that alot of users are disabling auto nozzle check. Now correct me if I am wrong, which being that I don't own the machine I probably am... but when you have to actually run the printer through a nozzle cleaning cycle *not the nozzle check*, I thought I remember reading somewhere this can use up to 10ml of ink. The only reason I even considered creating the scheduled task in the first place is out of hope maybe I can run ink through the print head frequently enough that it would not require actual cleanings.

Technically I could make the print area for each color 2 or 3 millimeters wide, about 2 inches long "width wise on the roll" and then depending on how thin of a slice the 7900 could cut off, cut off like .25 inches with each print. Something like that could be programmed to run every 12 hours, 24 hours.... 6 hours... 3 hours... whatever is needed.

I guess the biggest question for me would be which method would actually be best for the printer? Would it be better on the printer to just do my prints as needed and let it sit days or up to a week at a time and do a nozzle check before each print? Or the method I propose and possibly even a nozzle check before each print on top of that. And a final thought, would a routine that has it basically cutting a strip every 12-24 hours end up costing me a cutting blade in the long term? Or are these blades sturdy enough that should not be an issue?

I appreciate your thoughts.

Edited to add additional question:
In lieu of all of the issues I have read about with print clogging issues and major issues after the warranty expires I plan on buying this with my American Express which extends the manufacturer warranty by 1 year.

[dgberg]

I believe you might be over thinking this. These machines may need a loving nudge once in a while but I would not be drawn in by all the negative Internet hype on the subject.
Many flock here with their problems not their successes.
It's just not necessary at all to do what you are proposing. I had both the 7900 (Now sold) and 9900. The 9900 is used pretty much for my 36" and larger work and would sometimes sit for weeks at a time unused.
Put a piece of paper in do a nozzle check,pairs clean if required and print. Less then 3 minutes for nozzle check and about 5 if it needed a clean.
The only thing your process will do for sure is chew up your ink and paper supply.


As a side note my 7900 ran perfectly for 3 years with daily nozzle checks and pairs cleans when needed. Sold it in perfect running order to a gentleman in Ca. and he has a channel that will not clear right out of the box. Am waiting to hear how he made out. So it does happen.

[gnomore]

I will take your advice then and not run any scheduled task. I will just stick with the nozzle checks and cleaning when necessary. Do you leave your 9900 turned on all the time? I was planning on just leaving the 7900 turned on 24/7.

[dgberg]

I will take your advice then and not run any scheduled task. I will just stick with the nozzle checks and cleaning when necessary. Do you leave your 9900 turned on all the time? I was planning on just leaving the 7900 turned on 24/7.

Off all the time. Its not really doing anything when left on anyway.
I believe Wayne Fox may have written a blog on this subject?

[Garrick L]

I believe you might be over thinking this. These machines may need a loving nudge once in a while but I would not be drawn in by all the negative Internet hype on the subject.
Many flock here with their problems not their successes.
It's just not necessary at all to do what you are proposing. I had both the 7900 (Now sold) and 9900 and the 9900 was used pretty much for my 36" and larger work and would sometimes sit for weeks at a time unused.
Put a piece of paper in do a nozzle check,pairs clean if required and print. Less then 3 minutes for nozzle check and about 5 if it needed a clean.
The only thing your process will do for sure is chew up your ink and paper supply.


As a side note my 7900 ran perfectly for 3 years with daily nozzle checks and pairs cleans when needed. Sold it in perfect running order to a gentleman in Ca. and he has a channel that will not clear right out of the box. Am waiting to hear how he made out. So it does happen.

I second this. Granted my 7900 isn't very old yet, but frankly with how easy the 7900 is running sheet stock, I get four nozzle check printouts per plain piece of 8.5 X 11 paper and have never yet had to run a second "pairs cleaning".  Oh, and I too disabled the auto nozzle check and leave mine powered on all the time.

Garrick Liddell Photography

I

[Randy Carone]

Turn the printer off when not in use. Why waste power when leaving it on serves no useful purpose?

[Garrick L]

Turn the printer off when not in use. Why waste power when leaving it on serves no useful purpose?

Because I have found that leaving the machine on, which I was told sitting in standby that it burns about the equivalent energy as a single christmas tree light bulb, not to mention leaving it on eliminates the "rain dance" the printer goes through every time it's powered up which I would think would burn even more energy but can't substantiate this.

Just my $.02  

-Garrick

[LPJay]

Certainly do not want to hijack the thread so apologies in advance for a side note question.
Read your blog and saw you have no interest in printing on canvas. Just curious why you would let that work get away. The 7900  is in its element printing canvas. Don't want to get into the finishing aspect? Just curious.

That's it exactly, Dan. I do a little contract work, more to keep the printer running than because I want the work or enjoy doing it. Printing my own work is the reason I have the printer, but since it's sitting here anyway, I don't turn down many print jobs. I just have no interest in taking on the learning curve for doing canvas properly. I'll stick with the papers I know and love.

[gnomore]

Just checked with my wifes moving company *ops manager for a united agent*, they can receive the printer shipment, then move it to our house and set it up for 240.00 with insurance in case anything goes wrong, printer gets damaged, walls damaged etc. Lexmark charges 75 dollars extra for liftgate service which will not be required if we send it to the moving company. So 165 dollars extra seems like a small price to me to have this thing moved in and not have to deal with the hassle and potential injury of moving this upstairs.

One question I have though, I am trying to get dimensions sent to them. The only dimensions online state that the 7900 is 54" (W) x 27" (D) x 48" (H) Weight: 187 lb. The height measurement seems to be taken with the stand attached. Does anyone know the height of just the printer unit without the stand attached? That is how it will have to be lifted up the stairs.

[Farmer]

27 inches.

[gnomore]

So just to make sure without the stand it is

54"(W) x 27"(D) x 27"(H) @ about 190 lbs

[gnomore]

I am starting to wonder if maybe my stairs are to small to get this thing up. I cut out a cardboard template, 27" wide x 54 " long and snapped some pictures of the stairwell with it in it.
















I dont see any way this thing makes it up to the second floor unless one of its sides is literally put on the landing and then "slid over" to the next set of stairs. Will that harm the printer?

[LPJay]

You've got a challenge ahead of you, but you'll have that whether you purchase the 7900 or any other 24-inch machine. These things are large, and the Epson is perhaps the largest of the large. The Epson is also somewhat heavier than, say, the Canon iPF 6300.

There are lots of set-up videos and other tutorials on the Web. Google is your friend. Some of these tutorials show the machine being carried, lifted onto the stand, etc. It's designed to be lifted and carried by four people; it has four grippy hand-holds near the bottom corners. It would be awkward, and perhaps less than safe, to stand the printer on end to navigate your stairway, but it's certainly been done by others -- as I said, there are lots of stories on the Web.

Good luck, whatever your final choice in large-format printer.

[jack777]

9900 is definitely design for four people to carry don't know about 24" but if you divide 44" by 2 it means 2 guys are enough:) When we were moving printers to another location we needed to put them almost vertically in some corridors. Apparently that caused no harm:) However you will need nerves of steel on a staircase like that.

[richardhagen]

if your stairs are wide enough, i don't think getting up the stairs will be a problem. i had the exact same issue with my 7900 - getting up 2 flights of stairs. they will have to uncrate the printer before putting it on the stairs. when they reach the landing, they will put it on its side, tilt it and carry it up the next flight of stairs. it will take a minimum of two people. when i bought mine, the company delivered it, set it up on the stand and made sure that when it got turned on, everything worked as it should.

rh