Canon Pro 4000 settings

[Wil_Hershberger]

I recently took delivery of a Canon Pro 4000. I have printed many images on mat and "glossy" media with no need to change inks – wonderful! The image quality is amazing and I am pleased with the results. I have printed with Epson printers for more than 11 years and always avoided mat papers due to the ink change over inconvenience and expense.
As currently configured, the printer puts itself to sleep after 12 hours though there is a setting to have the printer stay on 24/7. I was wondering if anyone knows what the best practice is regarding printer settings and if the printer is capable of self-maintenance while not being used for a week or two (i.e., can the printer be set up to do a low level cleaning every 3 or 4 days when not in use)?
Thank you,

[Geraldo Garcia]

I cannot say about the Pro 4000, but the previous IPF 8xxx printers wake up, run their maintenance and go back to sleep.

[Wil_Hershberger]

Thank you, Geraldo. Do you know what the interval is between maintenance runs?

[Geraldo Garcia]

I would guess something like every six hours or so, but I may be wrong.
I read somewhere about the Pro 1000 (same inks and  same head of the Pro 4000 but different type of beast) that the new ink/head technology does not require the constant maintenance, so it runs it only when powering on or off.

[keithcooper]

I asked Canon UK about this exact matter, when testing the pro-2000, given I have an iPF8300 that wakes up every so often to shake the inks

The two are quite different in this respect. The PRO range does not do the wake and shake routine

I've added some notes from Canon to my PRO-2000 review

Agitation of PRO-Series (PRO-2000/PRO-4000)

In order to make the best of the performance of new LUCIA-PRO inks, the agitation of ink tank of PRO-Series has been improved compared to the previous imagePROGRAF series (iPF6400/iPF8400). As a result, PRO-Series can agitate the ink tank more effectively in a shorter period, and less frequency than before.

For the previous models, the agitation was required every so often even in sleep mode. On the other hand, PRO-Series has introduced the effective agitation technology, that enables “background agitation” during printing, or printer’s operation, so it requires far less agitation in the sleep mode than that of previous model

Even if the printer remains OFF for several months, there would be no issues on quality of the printer. In this case, when it turns ON, an automatic agitation might take place during start-up, depending on the status of the printer. However, the time needed for the agitation can be less than previous models thanks to the improvement of the agitation method introduced into PRO-Series.

The improved agitation enables PRO-Series to supply print the head with stable LUCIA-PRO inks maintaining an even density at all times, and this results in more reliable print quality

All the above are not officially announced by Canon, and they are not guaranteed under all customer environments. However, we believe that we have improved many technologies which have been introduced into PRO-Series, and the accumulation of these enables our new printers to be more stable & reliable suitable for professional customers. The new agitation technology is one of them.

from http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/canon-imageprograf-pro-2000-printer-review/

[Wil_Hershberger]

Thank you very muck Keith.
So, I would assume that these new Pro line printers do not do a low level clean periodically when not in use. I wonder if that will lead to more clogs when printers have to sit for several weeks.

Thanks again for your input.

[keithcooper]

I'd just note that Canon's comments are about agitating the ink tanks - not cleaning.

The older printers wake to agitate the tanks, and do not perform any cleaning activities at that time AFAIK

[Wil_Hershberger]

Well, as an update, after sitting in sleep mode for 2 weeks there were no clogs! Amazing. Prints look fantastic.

[Abdo]

What do you guys think about this new calibration system from Canon?

http://www.tavco.net/wide-format-plotter-scanner-blog/9-reasons-why-the-canon-pro-4000-and-pro-2000-will-exceed-your-expectations