imagePROGRAF PRO-310 Tips on conserving ink and electricity

[richardwaller]

Hi All.

Just got a new PRO-310. Wondering about leaving machine on continually or turning it off when not in use. Which way conserves more ink? Also wondering how much electricity gets used if the printer stays on even when it's not working.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Richard

[SignifDigits]

I cannot speak to the PRO-310 and am sorry that I cannot answer your question.   I have the imagePROGRAPH PRO-1100.

I leave my printer on all the time and have it on a UPS as well as we have random power outages, and the printer does not like power outages.  Leaving it on allows the system to do tank stirring or whatever it thinks it needs to do whenever it thinks it needs to do it.  I believe it's best for most equipment like this to stay on all of the time anyway rather than being power cycled.

As for ink I print off a nozzle check once a week or so to ensure the nozzles remain unclogged if I haven't printed a photo.  I believe the ink, time and energy that it would require to clear a clogged nozzle would be more expensive than doing what I am doing.  Avoiding stress and headaches of clogs from dried ink are worth it to me.  My approach is based upon what I've read of others' experiences.  I've read of others performing system cleaning and head cleaning cycles to get their problems fixed and using a substantial amount of ink.  I am hoping to avoid that.

As I said, I know I didn't answer your question, but I hope you will find the information useful in your deliberations.

[Stephen]

This is the "correct" answer. 😊

[shadowsports]

Power consumption for the Pro 310 is as follows. 

16w when printing

2.4w when idle 

.2 watts when turned off but plugged in. 

I would suggest leaving the printer turned on but in standby for the least amount of ink consumption, as the charging cycle from a powered off state is more substantial and uses more ink.

There's no way around this. These printers will periodically charge themselves even when in standby.  It's also recommended that you print something at least every two weeks to keep the ink flowing.