should I power off PIXMA printer when not in use?

[mfeldstein]

I know this will save power, but will it also induce extra printhead cleaning cycles and so cost extra ink?  I have an MG5420 printer but I assume the answer applies to a lot of other Canon printers.

[Ramona]

Hi mfeldstein,

You can reduce the amount of ink used by the printer by leaving your printer on so that it goes into power save mode instead of turning it off after each use.  Each time you turn off and then back on your printer, the print head nozzles will be cleaned during printer initialization.  By letting the printer go into power save mode, it will reduce the amount of cleanings that are performed and as a result, use less ink.

Hope this helps!

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[mfeldstein]

I followed your advice and changed the ECO setting to never "auto power off". Will the printer still go into power save mode by itself?

[Mr_Bear]

Hi All,

I'm still new at posting in the forums, so I apologize if my inquiry here wasn't done properly or in the right place.
As a follow up to the question of using a "power saver mode" or "turning off the printer" to save ink used by the "cleaning and/or alignment" that is performed whenever the printer is turned back on after it has been turned off:
I just bought a TR8620a printer and was looking at the "Auto Power" settings in the IJ Printer Assistant tool - specifically the option to "Disable" the "Auto Power Off" feature (see screen shot).  I assume that by disabling that feature, the printer will remain "on" continuously.

What I'm not sure about is: does it still go into some sort of low power mode/power saver mode? - or is it really fully on - with even the LCD panel lit up?  Is there a built-in safety to cap the print heads to keep them from drying out?
I have an MG6120 that would use up ink if it was "asleep" or "off" for an extended period of time, and I'm looking to find the best/safest way to prevent that with my new printer.

I've searched the manual and Googled it and it seems most would say "leave the printer on" all the time - but I don't know if there are any drawbacks in doing that, aside from using more electricity.  I couldn't find a setting that specifically said "Power Saver".
Any help/clarifications would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.
-Marty

[jrhoffman75]

If the printer is connected by Wi-Fi then it will never fully shut off regardless of the setting that may be applied in the driver. That is because the printer needs to be "awake" to listed for a Wi-Fi signal to start printing.

I think the actual response is printer dependent (or at least printer family dependent). I say that because I have read where the Pro-100 and Pro-10 have different printer timer settings. I have never found an actual Canon document discussing the timer.

For the Pro-100 (which I have) there are three timers - 60 hr, 120 hr and 240 hr. If the printer is operated and then operated again less than 60 hours apart there is no cycle. Greater than 60 hours but less than 120 hrs there is a shorter cycle. >120 and <240 longer. Greater than 240 the maximum (Equivalent to a cold start.). All the cycling is directed at cleaning any potential nozzle clogs. 

My TR8620a has an LCD screen. The screen blacks out after period of time after any use.

[Mr_Bear]

Hi John,
Thank you again for the extra info and insight.  I took a little time double checking power setting options on my old MG6120, which is also only connected with a USB (no Wi-Fi).  The only similarities I found in the MG6100 series "Printer Properties" dialog box >Advanced, were like the "Auto Power On and Off" settings in the IJ Printer Assistant Tool - I marked up a screenshot for the specifics (to compare against screenshot attached in previous email).

So, I guess the "final answer" for me is to leave the printer on all the time, thus postponing/reducing the number of cleaning cycles.  As you noted with your Pro series printers, the TR8620a needs to be "awake" so it can recognize when a print job is being sent to it (as opposed to listening for a Wi-Fi wake-up call in your case).

Apparently no harm is done in terms of things "drying out" when the printer is left on 24/7.  Thank you for letting me know that the LCD screen does go dark even under those conditions.  Whatever sleep mode/power saver mode the printer goes into is not easily found in the online or PDF version of the manual.

As a final comment, your options that are incremental in "hours" apparently don't apply to the TR8620a - but in Googling the question, I did find a whole thread in another forum that specifically mentions your equipment and options, and supports your conclusions.  I've included the link for that if you are interested:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4184351 

Thanks again.
-Marty