strategies for leaving 7600 idle for a few weeks

[John Chardine]

Hi all- I will be needing to leave my Epson 7600 idle for up to 6-7 weeks at a time, maybe a couple of times a year, and am wondering about the best strategy to avoid clogging problems etc. I know that running flushing fluid through the system would be the best but I want to avoid this if possible and for a relatively short time like 6-7 weeks it may not be necessary anyway.

My partner will be at the house when I'm away but I would not want to ask her to do anything semi-technical like loading a piece of paper and running a nozzle chick every few days.

I have noticed that occasionally when I turn the printer on it goes through what sounds like a cleaning cycle on its own. Perhaps I can just ask her to turn the printer on every few days? Maybe I could get her to run a cleaning cycle (press button for 3 sec, not too technical!) once in a while- but how often? Maybe if I just leave the printer on it will look after itself?

Any hints and tips would be greatly appreciated.

[na goodman]

If you don't want to involve her at all you could probably look at Harvey Head Cleaner while you're away. You can download a trial version to try.

http://www.harveyheadcleaner.com/evalcopy.htm

[Ken Doo]

I would make an effort to make sure that humidity levels are consistent, preferably in the 40-60% range.

ken

[John Chardine]

Thanks everyone. I'm an inveterate Mac user since 1984 so I'll have to figure out a way of using the Windows machine I currently use as a boat anchor to run the software mentioned.

[Wayne Fox]

I would suggest shutting it down, keeping the humidity at 40-50%, and turning it on when you get back, print a couple of pages then try a nozzle check and clean.

Bottom line, you will most likely have some clogs, even if you run the software.  While that may help, it probably isn't enough to prevent all clogs.  Even a 7600 that is used daily has little chance of not getting some clogs in that period of time, meaning you are going to have to clean the machine anyway.  Since you can't clean channels, but just the whole head, I seriously doubt anything you do with that particular printer will make things any better than just shutting it down other than humidity control.

[John Chardine]

Thanks Wayne. That's good advice. I spoke with the previous owner of the printer yesterday, and he reported leaving the printer off for up to a couple of months, and after a cleaning cycle, it was back to normal.

[PeterAit]

Doesn't the 7600 take roll paper? That's what I do with my 7900 when I am away for a while - load a roll of cheap paper and ask the missus to run a nozzle check every couple of days - it's only a few button presses. And, she can do it without removing the clear plastic dust cover.

[PeterAit]

And on the same topic, why oh why won't the printer makers include a feature to run a nozzle check every so often? It seems it would be trivial.

[fike]

I have a 7880 and I leave it on all the time.  It goes to sleep when unused.  I have frequentlu left it unused for weeks at a time and only occasionally have I needed to clean the nozzles when coming back to it. 

[John Chardine]

More good ideas. Thanks to all!