OK to use the cutter for cutting canvas?

[mcrepsej]

I have an Epson 9900 but can not see in the manual if you have to use the cutter to cut off canvas or not?
It handles it fine but maybe it wears too much on the cutter.

[Garnick]

I have an Epson 9900 but can not see in the manual if you have to use the cutter to cut off canvas or not?
It handles it fine but maybe it wears too much on the cutter.

This question has been posted here in the recent past and the answer is almost always the same, no problem.  I believe the 9900 has a rotary cutter, so the wear and tear seems to be minimum compared to the usual blade configuration.  I've been printing and cutting canvas on mine for 4 years and the cutter still does a fine job on any substrate.  The only thing I would suggest is to clean the paper path after each canvas printing session.  I typically use a vacuum with a snout to get into the crevasses as much as possible.  Cutting canvas can definitely leave more residue on the rollers etc than any other material, although some fine art papers also leave fibers behind.  A good cleaning can certainly save time and paper by not allowing these fibers to block the ink path and then leave white spots on the print.  Usually they can be fixed rather easily, but not always.  A bit of preventive maintenance can go a long way.

Gary       

[Dan Wells]

It's a bit more subtle than that, because it depends on the printer (the previous answer is correct in the case of the original poster's 7900)... The Epson 7900 and 9900, plus their close cousins the 7890 and 9890 have a rotary cutter specifically designed to cut canvas.The 17" 4900 appears to use a different rotary cutter, but probably also cuts canvas. All older Epsons, with the possible exception of 60" models, used a blade (non-rotary) cutter that will dull almost right away if used on canvas. I'm almost certain that the Canon iPF 8300 and 8400 (and probably older 44" and 60" models) have a rotary cutter, but most of  the smaller iPF series do not (automatic cut is actually disabled on canvas and other thick media), with the possible exception of the 6400. The most common HP DesignJets, the Z3100 and Z3200, have a blade cutter, and are not designed to cut canvas. Generally, the wider and newer a given printer is, the more likely it is to cut canvas correctly (I am not aware of any 17" printer other than the Epson 4900 that does cut canvas, nor of any 60" model that does NOT).

[jferrari]

I have an Epson 9900 but can not see in the manual if you have to use the cutter to cut off canvas or not?
It handles it fine but maybe it wears too much on the cutter.

You do not have to use the cutter if you don't want to, it can be turned off in the Epson Remote Panel applet. If you do choose to use it, it performs very well for a very long time.    - Jim