Re: Epson 1650 - Epson printer power

[Arthur Entlich <artistic@ampsc.com>]

I can't speak for the 1200 printer.  I have two Pros (one wide carriage 
version), a 850, and a 880 (which I haven't yet unpacked).  I have 
worked with 740's and 640's and 660's, and a few others.  There is more 
happening in the capping process than meets the eye.  There is a very 
simple valve system that is capped on the side of the ink capping 
system, buy having it pushed over all the way to the right.  It is a two 
way valve which is either left open to the air, or is pressed against a 
bumper to seal it so it only opens to to purge pump tubes.  In some 
models it is spring loaded.  When the printer shuts down fully, the head 
is moved a fraction of an inch further to the right to press this 
rubberized valve onto the bumper to seal it off, which prevents drying 
of the heads.  In the basic "on" homing position, this valve is not 
fully closed, other than during part of the cleaning cycle.

The movement is subtle, but it makes a difference.  Also, there is a 
latching prong that moves up so the head will not move if the printer is 
jarred or moved.  This prong does come up on some models after a certain 
latency period without printing, but if you just unplug the unit, or 
turn it off via the power bar, it may not complete its cycle if the 
printer has not been sitting long enough after it finishes printing.

In spite of some of Epson's explanations being a little self serving 
(like in my first Epson Stylus Color manual it suggesting that using 
non-Epson papers might damage the printer) Epson does have a legitimate 
reason for suggesting the printer be turned off via the power button
on the printer.

Art

Bill Fernandez wrote:

> I had occasion to partially disassemble my Epson 1200 recently, and I 
> can't see how it would be possible for the power on/off state to have 
> any effect whatsoever on whether the heads are capped.  There's a very 
> simple mechanical mechanism that moves the cap into place whenever the 
> print head carriage is parked.  As long as the carriaage is parked the 
> heads are capped, whether moved under power or by hand with the power off.
> 
> --Bill
> 
> 
>>> ...The Epsons only require that the be kept plugged in to a live AC 
>>> source because they use a trickle amount to maintain some memory for 
>>> head calibration purposes.
>>
>>
>> ... on the Epson list is seems to be accepted that at least Epson 
>> printers should be left on in order that the print heads be properly 
>> seated and thus not dry out.  I don't know about any "calibration".
> 



-
Turn off HTML mail features. Keep quoted material short. Use accurate
subject lines. http://www.leben.com/lists for list instructions.