Matt,
Here's what happens in my studio/office. Maybe I'm typical, maybe not, I don't know, but FWIW, here goes. I like making photographs and printing them. I also have a huge backlog of scanning, because I'm not a youngster and I have film going back many decades, some of which is worth digitizing and preserving (why I developed some specialization in making and processing scanned images and even wrote a book about it). So the only thing that keeps me from making prints is time and absence from home when I need to travel. So that's my "context". As I said, it is optimal to print every three days or so. Even if I only have time to turn the printer on, run a nozzle check and make a print or two, that's adequate, but normally I would be making more. If I leave the printer off for 5 days I can count on a pair cleaning, and then make several prints or more. And that's it. So yes - 25 prints minimum in 75 days, but on this rhythm, it's basically trouble free, and no waste to speak of. At five day intervals (minimum 15 prints), a pair cleaning really uses very little ink, so again, little waste relative to the volume of prints made, but if I can maintain a 3 day interval cycle so much the better. If I am away for several weeks at a time, then I can count on being into a bigger cleaning issue - BUT so far, no complete power cleans; rather I'll find it needs "Clean>Powerful" on individual pairs, with up to an hour doing the clean-print-clean routine to get the printer back to 100%. It always come back to 100%, but it wastes time, a few sheets of paper and in that case, yes, wastes ink. But there hasn't been a train-smash so far, and the print quality is excellent.
Mark
You know your 900 at least as well as I think i know my 800 !
i have the less sophisticated 800 that i am testing to its limits through (at the moment anyway ) INACTION...you have the more advanced 900 that you have calibrated to "purr" by intelligently matching your print production to the fluidity needs of the printer ....you have clearly demonstrated that it is possible to stay printing once you know the limits of your machine and respect them.
Now put these two methods of management together.. and what are the possibilities...?
1 your method tells us what you need to be producing in terms of regular print output with the 900. .in a going concern scenario...how many days between prints...how long is a safe vacation period ..really practical stuff...make sure your machine matches your workload....not an easy task when one takes note of the many "cries for help " all around us on this thread .....and you have been successful and thats what matters.
2 The method that i have pursued is testing the machine itself in terms of its endurance... Basic things like ....(dormant means no printing )
How long between autos for a dormant 900 = 5 days (thanks to your research Mark )
How long between autos for a dormant 800 = 15 days ( my research )
Over 75 days I know that the 800 had a 80% success rate on its 5 dormant printer auto checks...just one clean to be done. 10 minutes cleaning in 75 days (printer not entirely dormant...2 tiny prints done in 75 days )previous 210 days had similar results....no printing ...
Hypothetically,If you were to do 5 autos on a dormant 900 over 75 days could you guess how many hours it would take to clear your clogs during the 75 day period ?
3 I am of the opinion that the obvious difference in the management of the clog characteristics of the two machines is partially as a result of the different features of the two machines but principally as a result of the way that i manage the 800 on a day to day basis as compared to conventional management methods.
4 i expect to improve on my 80 % success rate provided that i print a photograph once every 15 days at least and continue with my existing auto check routine.
5 i expect that the rate of improvement above 80% clog free ( 10 minutes cleaning time every 75 days) will be directly correlated to
A. The amount of printing done and its frequency over the 75 day period
B the continuation of my existing clog management program in addition to a consistent regular print program like you achieve Mark.
Matt