#264332 - 03/09/2005 07:20
Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Does anyone know if it's safe to leave an inkjet printer turned on all the time?
In my case, it's a Canon S820.
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#264333 - 03/09/2005 07:22
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5916
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
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I can't see any reason why it would be anymore dangerous that leaving any other bit of computer equipment turned on ?
_________________________
Remind me to change my signature to something more interesting someday
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#264334 - 03/09/2005 07:53
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: andy]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
I can't see any reason why it would be anymore dangerous that leaving any other bit of computer equipment turned on ?
Mine stays on all the time (Lexmark Z705) and doesn't seem to be suffering.
The jets get bunged up, but that's because I don't actually use it that often. That'd happen even if it was turned off.
_________________________
-- roger
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#264335 - 03/09/2005 08:06
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
The jets get bunged up, but that's because I don't actually use it that often.
Yeah, Epson printers have the exact same problem. I haven't seen that happen to my Canon printer. And that's the sort of thing that I was asking about. And yeah, I got the impression that stuff happened whether you had the printer turned on or not.
So there's nothing in the ink delivery system that stays "heated up" or anything when the printer is left on?
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#264336 - 03/09/2005 11:04
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14496
Loc: Canada
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The user guide for the printer should say.
Some inkjets don't keep the heads "sealed" when powered-on, and they'll clog much more quickly than when turned off.
But the more obvious point, is that.. I though the USA was experiencing a bit of an energy crunch these days / years .. ???
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#264337 - 05/09/2005 16:34
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: mlord]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
The user guide for the printer should say.
It doesn't. First place I looked. It talks about turning the printer off and unplugging it if you're going to move it, but nothing about turning it off when not in use.
Quote:
Some inkjets don't keep the heads "sealed" when powered-on, and they'll clog much more quickly than when turned off.
Wish I knew if there was a way to find out about that for this specific (canon s820) printer.
Quote:
But the more obvious point, is that.. I though the USA was experiencing a bit of an energy crunch these days / years .. ???
I don't think it really uses much energy to speak of when it's not actively printing. Not sure, though.
Most laser printers have a built-in powersaving mode, where they "sleep" if left untouched for a while. The fact that this printer doesn't have that feature makes me think it simply doesn't need that feature.
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#264338 - 05/09/2005 16:36
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tfabris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2489
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My hp 980cxi is on all day and has been for years. Never had my ink dry up or any other issues.
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#264339 - 05/09/2005 18:52
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tfabris]
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member
Registered: 19/03/2002
Posts: 144
Loc: Florida, USA
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Laser printers have sleep mode to turn off the fuser primarily. inkjets dont require such
hot running voltage-drawing components, so you're probably looking at the kind of draw a VCR or cable box has when it's not printing. i'd imagine.
_________________________
::: shadow45
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#264340 - 04/10/2005 16:33
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: mlord]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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Dragging this one back up... Quote:
Some inkjets don't keep the heads "sealed" when powered-on, and they'll clog much more quickly than when turned off.
On further inspection, this appears to be the case for my Lexmark. Even though it's USB and should have no distinction between on and off (it turns itself 'on' automatically when you start a print job, e.g.), it 'parks' the heads when 'off'.
It doesn't mention this in the user guide.
On that note, here's a page on Lexmark's site about cleaning the nozzles manually. I just did this and it appears to work.
_________________________
-- roger
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#264341 - 12/09/2006 17:34
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
Quote:
Some inkjets don't keep the heads "sealed" when powered-on, and they'll clog much more quickly than when turned off.
Wish I knew if there was a way to find out about that for this specific (canon s820) printer.
It appears as though that's the case for my Canon s820. I left it turned on for months, and I had printing problems where certain colors wouldn't print. Now, I leave it off most of the time and I don't have those problems any more.
HOWEVER... and this is the reason I'm digging up this old thread...
It seems to consume colored ink voraciously, even when I'm not printing any color documents. I just went through an entire set of brand new color ink cartridges after only having printed black text. In fact, the color cartridges reported empty well before the black cartridge even got low.
Does anyone know why an inkjet printer might consume color ink in that way?
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#264342 - 12/09/2006 17:42
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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I believe that they waste ink when they're calibrating. It's possible that each time you turn it on it calibrates and spews out colored ink. Probably black, too, but I bet it's rated for way more pages than the color cartridges.
That's just a guess, though.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
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#264343 - 12/09/2006 17:45
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Man. That's a lot of ink to waste, going through entire sets of cartridges like that.
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#264344 - 12/09/2006 17:59
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tfabris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
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Quote:
That's a lot of ink to waste
Right, but they're in the bussiness of selling ink. The printer bussiness is a necessary side business. Bite the bullet and buy a laser printer.
Matthew
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#264345 - 12/09/2006 18:03
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: matthew_k]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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I do still like to print glossy photos sometimes, so I'd prefer just to use this printer, as it does do well on the photo printing. However, I'm now going to start investigating aftermarket refill kits instead of ponying up for the Canon ones.
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#264346 - 12/09/2006 20:26
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
I do still like to print glossy photos sometimes
There are plenty of online places that'll do that for you. Next-day delivery for a good price.
_________________________
-- roger
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#264347 - 12/09/2006 22:30
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tfabris]
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old hand
Registered: 01/10/2002
Posts: 1039
Loc: Fullerton, Calif.
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There may be a way around this problem. I rarely print colour, but my printer complains if there's no colour cartridge. What I do is to keep an empty colour cartridge in it and put in the full one when I need it.
I suspect that if a printer parks the heads when you turn it off, you can hear that happen. My HPs don't do anything on power off, so I leave it on.
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#264348 - 13/09/2006 12:58
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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Quote:
However, I'm now going to start investigating aftermarket refill kits instead of ponying up for the Canon ones.
Are the print heads inside the cartridge or part of the printer in your Canon? HP ones have them inside the cartridge which is why they're more expensive whilst Epson have them as part of the printer itself. My friends with Epson printers have had huge problems with the heads clogging up and the only solution is to buy a new printer.
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#264349 - 13/09/2006 13:55
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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I'm aware of the problem with Epson printers clogging up, for that very reason. My daughter's printer clogged all the time and I had to clean it.
I believe the Canon printer is similar to the Epsons in that the print heads are part of the printer. However, their more aggressive cleaning scheme (which I suppose is responsible for my extra ink consumption) keeps it from clogging much.
The aforementioned trick about empty color cartridges is an interesting idea. I wonder if that would work without causing clogs.
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#264350 - 13/09/2006 13:59
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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On every inkjet printer I've ever had, when you put in a new ink cartridge, it primes the ink path, which means wasted ink again every time you put in the full cartridges.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
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#264351 - 13/09/2006 14:51
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Quote:
My friends with Epson printers have had huge problems with the heads clogging up and the only solution is to buy a new printer.
Many times with Epson printers (specifically the C8x series), it's not the print heads at all. Through much research and dissection of my own Epson printers, I discovered another common problem. There's a clear tube that connects just below the print head cleaning thingy that conveys the ink that's been forced through the print heads to a reservoir in the bottom of the printer. This tube can become clogged with dry ink or get dislodged, causing the print head cleaning process to not function. If you're patient enough to take the thing apart and clean out or reattach the ink tube occasionally, you can keep them running for quite a while. Unfortunately, they still require the normal print head cleaning quite often and waste a lot of ink.
Picture of ink tube here.
_________________________
~ John
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#264352 - 13/09/2006 16:11
Re: Leaving an inkjet printer turned on?
[Re: wfaulk]
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old hand
Registered: 01/10/2002
Posts: 1039
Loc: Fullerton, Calif.
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I don't mind the wasted ink every time I put the cartridge in. I use colour so seldom that if I left the colour in, I would get to use it that one time. I can get several useages out of it by takin' it out.
Besides, it uses very little colour ink for alighment.
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