Power Off Procedure?

[stratman]

60-hour cleaning thing is just a myth, the printer will do what it has to do anyway

According to my MP830 Service Manual

If 24 to 60 hours have elapsed since the previous Black cleaning till the start of the next printing.

However, there is an asterisk (*) to this Condition:

When 24 to 60 hours have elapsed since the previous Black cleaning, timer cleaning - 0 is performed. However, this cleaning will be conducted up to 5 times from the printer installation, and no further timer cleaning - 0 will be performed.

Could this be the source of people's contention - a mistaken belief - that printing something before 60 hours prevents the 60 hour cleaning when in fact the printer is programmed to stop the 60 hour cleanings on its own?

Other food for thought... the automatic programmed cleaning cycles are said in the Service Manual to explicitly begin after a specific time frame since last cleaning, not last printing.

I understand these are the rules for my MP830 and could be quite different for other printers.

 

[stratman]

Speaking of disagreements on cleaning cycles...

There has been disagreement on whether a cartridge removed from the print head and then the same cartridge put back in the print head - without doing anything else to the cartridge - will trigger a cleaning cycle.

The following found in the Canon Pro9000 Service Manual, page 2-2 of the Technical Reference section:

*1: If an ink tank is removed for 60 seconds or longer, cleaning is performed.
(Cleaning is performed according to the period of time an ink tank is removed from the print head, regardless of whether the ink tank is actually replaced or not. If the same ink tank is removed and installed back multiple number of times, cleaning is performed based on the accumulated period of time the ink tank is removed.)

 

[palombian]

Also known as "Total Cost of Ownership" (TCO).

... What you do not want to do is buy the expensive printer too often.

....

For peace of mind the best way is - as @stratman suggests - to write off the tools, ink etc against the purchase of OEM ink.

From then on it is "on the house".

For most printers this point is reached after a few refills.

The resetter, ink etc are in many cases linked to the printer and become worthless without it.​

This drives us refillers to hoard similar printers for continuity.
Since older generations of printers are in general easier to refill, the waste ink counter can be reset etc, we tend to value them higher.
It can be a trap, you have to stop somewhere.

 

[palombian]

According to my MP830 Service Manual



However, there is an asterisk (*) to this Condition:



Could this be the source of people's contention - a mistaken belief - that printing something before 60 hours prevents the 60 hour cleaning when in fact the printer is programmed to stop the 60 hour cleanings on its own?

Other food for thought... the automatic programmed cleaning cycles are said in the Service Manual to explicitly begin after a specific time frame since last cleaning, not last printing.

I understand these are the rules for my MP830 and could be quite different for other printers.

Very good point: since the count starts from the previous CLEANING, printing something does not set it to 0.
Attached the details from the PRO 9500.
It can be more economical to shut off the printer for a longer period and group the print jobs as already suggested.

 

[arw4]

Also known as "Total Cost of Ownership" (TCO).

I think @palombian 's point is that since quality refill ink is inexpensive when compared to OEM ink then the lifetime of an expensive PRO printer is the key factor in TCO. You are going to buy ink and paper regardless. A resetter and tools for refilling are initial up front costs that generally last a long time and are well offset, as are the bulk ink costs, over time when compared to the costs of OEM ink alone. What you do not want to do is buy the expensive printer too often.

Of course, what your intent and expectations with/of your prints may shift priorities and costs. For example, if you plan on selling your prints then OEM inks are probably advisable.

Yep, absolutely agree, and of course I was in fact further supporting @palombian's viewpoint. Taking it a stage further, you could factor in the time you invest in "total cost of ownership". A replacement printer could involve reading more instruction manuals, carefully setting things up, trialling and experimenting, profiling, using different printing applications etc. At the other end of the scale, with a inexpensive workhorse printer assigned to low grade printing tasks, there's very much a limit to what lengths you would go to try to keep it running.

 

[stratman]

Very good point: since the count starts from the previous CLEANING, printing something does not set it to 0.
Attached the details from the PRO 9500.
It can be more economical to shut off the printer for a longer period and group the print jobs as already suggested.

Your PDF has its own asterisk that makes an even more strict policy on cartridge removal and cleanings!

*1: Cleaning is performed when an ink tank is removed from the print head, regardless of whether it is actually replaced with a new one or not.

 

[palombian]

Yep, absolutely agree, and of course I was in fact further supporting @palombian's viewpoint. Taking it a stage further, you could factor in the time you invest in "total cost of ownership". A replacement printer could involve reading more instruction manuals, carefully setting things up, trialling and experimenting, profiling, using different printing applications etc. At the other end of the scale, with a inexpensive workhorse printer assigned to low grade printing tasks, there's very much a limit to what lengths you would go to try to keep it running.

That's why I decided to build off my printers using 525/526 cartridges.
I never had one living long enough to need a waste ink counter reset, and I doubt someone ever mounted a potty.

Resetters for the successors (latest resettable=570/571) are more expensive (€50), this makes the pay-back period longer.

In the short term, buying a replacement 525/526 printer for less than €50 could be tempting ...

 

[palombian]

*1: Cleaning is performed when an ink tank is removed from the print head, regardless of whether it is actually replaced with a new one or not.

I also read that up to 10 days the cleaning takes 1.4+1.8=3.2ml, afterwards 2.5+2.8=5.3ml up to 20 days.
Changing all carts 2.5+2.8=5.3ml.

The cleaning occurs "before the start of printing", not when the printer is switched on.
So printing a nozzle check every 2 days could be more expensive than leaving the printer off (I observed indeed purge action every other nozzle check).

Scheduling longer intervals does not make much sense. From 20 days 4.2+4.7=8.9ml is used, purging a complete set of cartridges (140ml) in half a year.
This confirms you better print with your printer than leave it alone and fiddle with nozzle check schedules and the like.

Also, according to this schedule changing carts between 10 and 20 days should be free, it does a cleaning anyway.
That's why I do not care to change to my separate ink set for matte paper (with matte black in the PBK, and leftovers with too much gloss difference in others).

All this based on the 9500 Mk I. I do not have a service manual for the Mk II, but according to Canon sales people and my own experience it consumes less.

 

[stratman]

@palombian - the only reasons I see for nozzle checks are to help diagnose a problem or to prevent a print head clog. However, the best way to prevent clogs is to print, print, print! The good Canon printers love being run like a thoroughbred horse to stay fit.

Also, according to this schedule changing carts between 10 and 20 days should be free, it does a cleaning anyway.

I do not understand. Please clarify.

 

[palombian]

@palombian - the only reasons I see for nozzle checks are to help diagnose a problem or to prevent a print head clog. However, the best way to prevent clogs is to print, print, print! The good Canon printers love being run like a thoroughbred horse to stay fit.


I do not understand. Please clarify.

- I did not print between 240 and 480 hours and switch the printer on
- before starting a print job I change the cartridges
- the printer does a cleaning using 2.5+2.8=5.3ml ink
- I start the print job and the printer sees a cleaning occured 5 minutes ago, hence no further cleaning

If I did not change carts the printer would have entered a cleaning cycle with 2.5+2.8=5.3ml ink before printing.

PS: The PRO9500 cloggs very seldom or never if used say once every month, but I often do a nozzle check (on the back of a used sheet) before printing just to be sure, it is almost free.

My experiment with regular (auto) nozzle checks - something where @jtoolman believes in - maybe is meant for other types or brands of printers (if the ink will be used anyway for unclogging, better anticipate).
But I could not experience, or prove with the manual (for my printer) that it helps for ink economy on it's own.