Pixma Pro-1 ink usage

[kbruechle]

Are there any settings that would decrease the ink usage on the Pixma Pro-1?

I print about once a week, and every time that I turn the printer on, it goes thru some sort of ink charging. Right now almost all of my ink is low, and I have not really printed much since I bought the printer November 21, 2015. . Maybe about four 11-14 prints, about ten 8x10 prints, six 5x7 prints and 8 note cards.
Are there any settings I can change to help save the amount of ink used?
I use Lightroom and print from Lightroom.

Thanks,

Karen

[jrhoffman75]

http://daydull.com/tips-tutorials/should-i-power-off-my-printer-when-its-not-in-use/

Everytime you power on the printer goes through a cleaning cycle. If you leave it powered on it will go through a cycle based on some algorithm involving on time in the printer driver.

If the printer is in an area that you occupy frequently you could try leaving it on and see if you ever hear it self-cleaning.

I have a Pixma PRO-100 that is connected via wifi, so it is always powered on. I have never heard it self-clean and I am in the room 6-8 hours a day. Sometimes i print several times a week and other times could be two weeks between printing.

Can't hurt to try leaving it on. They aren't big power consumers when idle.

[kbruechle]

I just spoke to a canon rep, and he said to leave the pixma pro-1 on all the time because it is made to be left on.

Karen

[Stoneysnapper]

I went to a Print workshop about 18 months ago and at that I was told not to turn off my printer, also a Canon Pro-1. It made a huge difference. So that advice is spot on. Also I established that day not to print at "High Quality". Since then I have been using Standard Quality and in Club competitions I enter, my prints are regularly praised for their quality. 

[kbruechle]

Thanks so much. I will change my print quality to standard. 

[jrhoffman75]

Info from Red River Paer site:

5) Choose Your Quality Level Wisely

The highest quality setting your printer offers may not be the best choice for your prints. The top quality choice may not be much better looking than the next level down. What you will notice is a much slower print speed and increased ink usage. Try this - make a print at the top quality and one a step down. Now ask five people if they can tell the difference. We bet most will not.

Here are some quality settings we avoid:

Epson Best Photo RPM
Canon quality setting 1 on their pigment ink models
HP Maximum DPI

(Italics added by me)

[kbruechle]

Thanks, I will try that.  Just happy there are ways to save ink.

[HoddyP]

I leave my Pixma Pro 1 on all the time, I print every 1 to 2 weeks.   The printer goes through a jet cleaning exercise if I wait much longer than 1 week.    I have to print a black page every week to avoid the hugely wasteful head cleaning.   Even so,   75% of the ink is used for head cleaning.   Makes printing with this machine very expensive.   I have asked Canon why they don't provide an option to disable the the automatic head cleaning function and allow one the check jet performance so head clening can be manually selected when needed, like my Epson 2100 did.   No response.

[Stoneysnapper]

Got to agree, I leave mine on all the time, its incedible how the ink goes down just by the printer priming itself to print. 

I think it prints very well but the wasted ink usuage if not used regularly is very poor. 

Brian