# Leaving an Epson Printer On, or Off



## steinr98 (Nov 11, 2018)

I just read an article on Epon printers that said you should leave your printer on as this keeps the heads powered on and the ink will then not dry up in the head quite so quickly. Any thoughts on this- If I do not use my printer for a couple of weeks(Down in AZ and super dry) the heads sometime dry up and I waste tons of ink to clean the heads.


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## BeenThere (Nov 11, 2018)

Try leaving it on and see if you still have the issue. In N.C. I turn my 3880 off when not using and have not had an issue or clog in 3 years. Sometimes it is off for a month or two.


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## Graphic.Artifacts (Nov 11, 2018)

Opposite of my experience. The only time I've had problems with my Epson 3800 heads clogging is when it was inadvertently left on for an extended period. That printer has been in storage unused for up to a year and started up just fine with no clogged heads. Pennsylvania has a much more humid climate of course. The Epson 420, which is the worst printer for clogged heads I have ever owned, also seems to be aggravated by being left on although it's so prone to head clogs almost anything can jam it up. My Canon printer shuts itself off after an hour or so of idle.


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## Frodo (Nov 11, 2018)

I suggest that the main thing is to run your printer every couple of weeks at least, even if just a head check. I do that with my Epson P600.


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## steinr98 (Nov 11, 2018)

Graphic.Artifacts said:


> Opposite of my experience. The only time I've had problems with my Epson 3800 heads clogging is when it was inadvertently left on for an extended period. That printer has been in storage unused for up to a year and started up just fine with no clogged heads. Pennsylvania has a much more humid climate of course. The Epson 420, which is the worst printer for clogged heads I have ever owned, also seems to be aggravated by being left on although it's so prone to head clogs almost anything can jam it up. My Canon printer shuts itself off after an hour or so of idle.





Graphic.Artifacts said:


> Opposite of my experience. The only time I've had problems with my Epson 3800 heads clogging is when it was inadvertently left on for an extended period. That printer has been in storage unused for up to a year and started up just fine with no clogged heads. Pennsylvania has a much more humid climate of course. The Epson 420, which is the worst printer for clogged heads I have ever owned, also seems to be aggravated by being left on although it's so prone to head clogs almost anything can jam it up. My Canon printer shuts itself off after an hour or so of idle.


Yes Here in AZ I have to print at least a 4x6 to keep the heads in operation- probably more efficient than cleaning heads all the time! Looking for an easier way!


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 11, 2018)

The heat from leaving my printer on will clog the ink overnight, but when I turn it off, I can wait a month without drying out. Try it both ways and do what works for you.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 11, 2018)

steinr98 said:


> Yes Here in AZ I have to print at least a 4x6 to keep the heads in operation- probably more efficient than cleaning heads all the time! Looking for an easier way!


BTW ... You can clean individual colors by printing a page of just one color. I've used that to put a tank of head cleaner thru just one channel so that I can clean up a single offending one.

https://www.marruttusa.com/printer-maintenance/inkjet-printer-purge-files.php


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## privatebydesign (Nov 11, 2018)

I would never buy another Epson printer that has the piezo style print heads, they are just too unreliable and wasteful. I have 'saved' several 4900 and 7900 printers from the scrap heap, I have consigned several of both to the scrap heap long before they should have been due entirely to unreliable piezo print heads.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 12, 2018)

privatebydesign said:


> I would never buy another Epson printer that has the piezo style print heads, they are just too unreliable and wasteful. I have 'saved' several 4900 and 7900 printers from the scrap heap, I have consigned several of both to the scrap heap long before they should have been due entirely to unreliable piezo print heads.



I bought a old 7600 from the scrap heap to go with my 3880. That 7600 is a reliable workhorse, even though it is obsolete. My 3880 clogs to easily. I use Cone inks in it with huge reservoirs, even so, the cost of ink wasted in cleaning it is very high. I don't know if Canon printers are less wasteful.


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## privatebydesign (Nov 12, 2018)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I bought a old 7600 from the scrap heap to go with my 3880. That 7600 is a reliable workhorse, even though it is obsolete. My 3880 clogs to easily. I use Cone inks in it with huge reservoirs, even so, the cost of ink wasted in cleaning it is very high. I don't know if Canon printers are less wasteful.


My imagePROGRAF PRO-2000 has been considerably cheaper to run than my Epson 4900's and 7900's...


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## steinr98 (Nov 12, 2018)

Thanks for the suggestions! I have the P600- One coment I had from a fellow area person was to bag the printer and put a dish of water inside and keep it locked down until I use it-not bad for AZ... the old story.. it is a dry heat! I will give a few of the suggestions a try!! I do know that if I print a small photo once a week I can beat the dry aird air here!!


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## stevelee (Nov 12, 2018)

I have had several Epson inkjets over the years. The first was an old one my uncle gave me. It may have been an 800, but I’m not sure after all these years; it had one ink cartridge with four colors. It clogged all the time. 

My previous printer was a 1900. I did have to run test cycles and cleaning from time to time, but it was much more usable than the previous one. 

Now I have the R3000, and sometimes it goes through tests and cleanings before printing, but automatically, so I don’t mess with it. I don’t print with it very often, but I’ve never had a clog that I had to do anything about. It has cartridges for matte black and “photo” black that use the same nozzles, so switching back and forth would use a lot of ink. Plain paper, CDs, and probably something else can use either black, so I just use the photo black all the time. Consequently the matte cartridge is old, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it would present problems. It’s not worth wasting both inks to test it out. 

I’m still amazed at the quality of prints I get on first try printing out of Photoshop, but using “Printer manages colors.”


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## stevelee (Nov 12, 2018)

So my main point was that I have had quite different experiences with three different printers of the same brand.


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## BeenThere (Nov 12, 2018)

privatebydesign said:


> My imagePROGRAF PRO-2000 has been considerably cheaper to run than my Epson 4900's and 7900's...


My imagePROGRAF went to the recyclers due to clogged heads. Replace the heads once, but clogged again within 6 mos. I think you just have to use them a lot to get reasonable value.


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## privatebydesign (Nov 12, 2018)

BeenThere said:


> My imagePROGRAF went to the recyclers due to clogged heads. Replace the heads once, but clogged again within 6 mos. I think you just have to use them a lot to get reasonable value.


What generation?

The difference between Canon and Epson print heads is that you can't buy Epson printheads. Canon printheads are readily available and not outrageously priced. Also Epson print heads have no spare nozzles so every single nozzle has to work for every pass on every print, Canon print heads have spare nozzles that can be mapped into the pattern as and when they become clogged.

There will always be outliers but the Epson piezo heads have a horrific reliability reputation and that aligns with my personal experiences.


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## Frodo (Nov 12, 2018)

Hmmm. Some strong views on Epson vs Canon. There is extensive discussion over at Luminous Landscape. 
In summary, modern printers are more reliable than older ones. @stevelee : the P800 is a relatively new printer, so probably not the one you are thinking of.
Canon and Epson produce similar quality prints. 
Canons tend to waste more ink during print cleaning cycles, but if Epson heads go, you can't get a replacement (as privatebydesign notes) and you need a new printer. 
Regularly used printers have the least problems.
Dry climates seem to give more problems with printers. 
I've had my P600 for 16 months. Once or twice the head check has shown a clogged nozzle, but a subsequent check resolved that. Only once did I need to do a head cleaning.
Please don't flame me! These are my perceptions from LuLa over the years. I've shot Canon photo gear since the late 1970s, but chose to get an Epson printer, so I'm not wedded to Epson.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 12, 2018)

steinr98 said:


> Thanks for the suggestions! I have the P600- One coment I had from a fellow area person was to bag the printer and put a dish of water inside and keep it locked down until I use it-not bad for AZ... the old story.. it is a dry heat! I will give a few of the suggestions a try!! I do know that if I print a small photo once a week I can beat the dry aird air here!!


Thats a good idea. I put a dropper of water into the place where the print head sits on my Epson 7600. I only use it ~twice a year to make large prints for a event, but fire it up every 2-3 months. The water seems to work. I picked that up from a recommendation one one of the web sites. I should try it with my 3880.


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## privatebydesign (Nov 12, 2018)

Putting a tray of water in with the printer might make you feel better but as all these printers have sealed docking stations I don't really see how it can make much, if any, difference.


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## stevelee (Nov 13, 2018)

Frodo said:


> @stevelee : the P800 is a relatively new printer, so probably not the one you are thinking of.


Yes, it was definitely not a P800. I think it was the original Stylus 800, and I forgot to mention a Stylus 1500 that I bought used very cheap. The latter was probably the same technology, just taking bigger paper. Both had similar clogging issues but served me decently otherwise until I could afford something better.


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## YuengLinger (Nov 25, 2018)

I've had an Epson 3880 for nearly five years. Yes, it does clog up occasionally, especially as the ink gets older. I try to use it every couple of weeks to keep ink flowing, but I can forget and let it go for a month. And then I have bursts of using it heavily a few times a year.

I have a good TUMI cover for it, which helps keep dust off and out of the printer. Furthermore, I check my paper before loading to make sure there aren't bits and flakes that can mess up a print and get down in the printer itself. I sometimes wipe paper, especially matte sheets, with a microfiber cloth, but I usually just fillip the sheets with my finger before loading. It helps.

I would NOT leave my printer on when not in use. I have the auto-off set for one hour.

I've watched quite a few videos by Jose Rodriguez, a printer maintenance wizard. Here's one that worked for my rare clogs:


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## ejenner (Mar 15, 2019)

Living in Denver, it is definitely dry, although not as hot as AZ. I use the water glass technique - cover 3880 with the plastic it came in, which has some holes in the top and leave a cup of water under the plastic.

While I definitely leave it longer than I should without printing, I have not had a clog (although point taken about having differnt experiences with the same printer). So anyway, a long winder way of saying +1 for the cover it with a cup of water under the cover (and refill or make it a bug enough cup - I would say I use a small jug)


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