How long can I use an All in One printer and NOT ever ever print?

[OM2]

Crazy idea: I get a cheap Canon all in One printer - like the MX320, NOT for printing, but JUST for the ADF scanning - so I can scan 30 pages automatically

How long can I go like this??

The problem is that the printer will no doubt start sucking ink every time I start it up like a greedy monster!
And this will be the ONLY way in which ink is wasted

But let's say this is true... how long can I go like this? Without ever printing?

Thanks!!


Omar

 

[stratman]

Find a service manual for the printer or another Canon printer that uses the same print head and use their maintenance cycle ink waste amounts to figure it out. Or, keep a record and let us know.

 

[fotofreek]

If I were to make a wise-guy answer, I'd say --- until it clogs! Refill the carts and print a nozzle check a few times a week. Better to suck up ink for $1 US than $13 US. Didn't someone post a comment recently that once the printer function stops working an AIO becomes a great doorstop. If you are never going to print with it, someone can post an answer to the question - can you just run it with empty carts, burn out the nozzles, but have the priner continue to function. If this printer has the function of bypassing the cart message that you are out of ink, that would be possible.

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

Refill it with pharmacist's cleaning solution. 20% isopropyl alcohol in distilled water. No ink, no fuss. Near zero cost. Maintenance cycles don't gum up the waste pad.

 

[OM2]

Refill it with pharmacist's cleaning solution. 20% isopropyl alcohol in distilled water. No ink, no fuss. Near zero cost. Maintenance cycles don't gum up the waste pad.

now that sounds really kewl!

Refill the carts and print a nozzle check a few times a week.

aaah... well there lies the problem!

a canon mx320 comes with 2 ink carts
how easy is it to refill?
i've looked at 2 threads on this forum from people who have probs refilling - not sure if this is a general thing or not though
(i asked martin from octoink, he told me that these are a lot harder to refill and one should stay away from them!)

 

[nche11]

The piano teacher across the street from my house has an ip4300. She ran out of ink from her PGI-5 a very long time ago. Probably at least one year ago. She asked me to refill it for her but I forgot to do it and she never asked again. I discovered that she simply put the printer aside and kept using the other printer which is a HP AIO. I finally remembered to go across the street to look at it.

She had the PGI-5 cart pulled out and shut down the printer. I don't know how long she had the cart pulled. After refilling the PGI-5 the nozzle check printed a blank grid pattern. The print head was completely dried up and clogged. The amazing thing is all the rest 4 photo colors were perfect. This tells me one thing. I am convinced that to store a printer it is OK to just keep the carts in the printer then leave it alone. this printer was purchased about 6 years ago when it was on sale in our local computer store. The 4 OEM CLI-8 photo ink cartridges still have more than 50% of ink. I refilled the PGI-5 for her once probably 3 years ago.

Just make sure the cartridges are not empty. The printer will be fine without printing for a long time.

 

[OM2]

The piano teacher across the street from my house has an ip4300. She ran out of ink from her PGI-5 a very long time ago. Probably at least one year ago. She asked me to refill it for her but I forgot to do it and she never asked again. I discovered that she simply put the printer aside and kept using the other printer which is a HP AIO. I finally remembered to go across the street to look at it.

She had the PGI-5 cart pulled out and shut down the printer. I don't know how long she had the cart pulled. After refilling the PGI-5 the nozzle check printed a blank grid pattern. The print head was completely dried up and clogged. The amazing thing is all the rest 4 photo colors were perfect. This tells me one thing. I am convinced that to store a printer it is OK to just keep the carts in the printer then leave it alone. this printer was purchased about 6 years ago when it was on sale in our local computer store. The 4 OEM CLI-8 photo ink cartridges still have more than 50% of ink. I refilled the PGI-5 for her once probably 3 years ago.

Just make sure the cartridges are not empty. The printer will be fine without printing for a long time.

see that sounds good to me
but it's just all the damn sucking noise that is made that worries me!!
sllluuurp and sucking - the damn filthy printer sounds as though it's stealing ink - what else would it be doing!!

 

[nche11]

As far as I know the printer will execute cleaning cycles only before printing. If you never print it will never do any cleaning cycles. A MP780 is sitting a few feet away from me. It is powered on most of the time. It is quiet most of the time too. The noise you are talking about is the noise of rollers rolling. It only happens when the printer is idle (after a print job) for 30 seconds. The printer will park the print head over the purge unit to enter the idle state. It does a paper path checking to eject any jammed paper. That's the noise you heard. If you never print it should never do that.

 

[OM2]

thanks for that, that really helps

 

[guyg]

Just a thought, I may be off base. From my understanding Canon uses negative pressure on the cartrigides, so the purge pump would be applying a vacuum. What would happen if you wrapped cellophane around the ink cart? It should allow a vacuum to be pulled and prevent the ink from being drawn out of the cart. It might just work.