Brother device 'cleaning'

[Puddin' Man]

I have a Brother MFC-J410W multi-fuction printer (fax, copier, etc) running on my
little wireless LAN.

'Most every day, it wakes up and grinds a little with the display saying
'cleaning'.

I think maybe it is just wasting ink or other resource that Brother wants
me to buy from them.

To keep the device from 'cleaning', should it be practical to just wire
an inline switch on the power cord? Switch the device on only when I
need to print, etc?

Thx,
P

"Law Without Equity Is No Law At All. It Is A Form Of Jungle Rule."

 

[terryc]

To keep the device from 'cleaning', should it be practical to just wire
an inline switch on the power cord? Switch the device on only when I
need to print, etc?

You could try it, but you might find that it still does a cleaning
session each time it powers on.

 

[Puddin' Man]

You could try it, but you might find that it still does a cleaning
session each time it powers on.

and that would likely surprise me nary a whit.

Other consequences of such a switching scheme?

P

"Law Without Equity Is No Law At All. It Is A Form Of Jungle Rule."

 

[Jon Danniken]

I have a Brother MFC-J410W multi-fuction printer (fax, copier, etc) running on my
little wireless LAN.

'Most every day, it wakes up and grinds a little with the display saying
'cleaning'.

I think maybe it is just wasting ink or other resource that Brother wants
me to buy from them.

To keep the device from 'cleaning', should it be practical to just wire
an inline switch on the power cord? Switch the device on only when I
need to print, etc?

I hate peripheral components that don't have an on/off switch. My Epson
scanner is like this, insisting to always be on, and going through it's
motions everytime I boot up the computer.

Considering that I scan something once or twice a year, at most, this is
foolish.

I unplug it from the wall when it is not in use.

Jon

 

[GMAN]

and that would likely surprise me nary a whit.

Other consequences of such a switching scheme?

P

"Law Without Equity Is No Law At All. It Is A Form Of Jungle Rule."

Switching it off like that can cause the ink carts not to park properly and
youll leak or dry out.

 

[GMAN]

I hate peripheral components that don't have an on/off switch. My Epson
scanner is like this, insisting to always be on, and going through it's
motions everytime I boot up the computer.

Considering that I scan something once or twice a year, at most, this is
foolish.

I unplug it from the wall when it is not in use.

Jon

The idea of a multifunction is for it to be left on at all times.

 

[Paul]

and that would likely surprise me nary a whit.

Other consequences of such a switching scheme?

P

It really depends on how tightly the inkjet cap fits over
the print head. The ink could dry in the pump portion. But
this is a risk you run with any of these things.

Paul

 

[Puddin' Man]

It really depends on how tightly the inkjet cap fits over
the print head. The ink could dry in the pump portion.

Not certain I follow ...

But
this is a risk you run with any of these things.

Assume for a moment that it is never switched off while active
(powered). And only switched on when device service (i.e. a
print stream) is about to be requested.

Any problem foreseen in this scenario?

Thx,
P

"Law Without Equity Is No Law At All. It Is A Form Of Jungle Rule."

 

[Paul]

Not certain I follow ...


Assume for a moment that it is never switched off while active
(powered). And only switched on when device service (i.e. a
print stream) is about to be requested.

Any problem foreseen in this scenario?

Thx,
P

If the device remains powered at all times, and cleans
itself once a day, after some period of time (months),
it will pump the reservoir dry. It uses ink as a solvent,
to flush the plumbing.

If, on the other hand, you turn off the power, then the
ink sits in the cartridge. The head assembly has very small
diameter plumbing inside. It's if the ink dries in there,
that the printing will stop. So if the cartridge sits
unused for two years (no printing *or* cleaning cycles
to flush the plumbing), eventually the ink could
dry up at a critical point and clog something.

Turning off power is an excellent solution, to the wasting
of the ink. What we can't be certain of, is how
prone to clogging the thing is, when stored. You
could let it sit for two years, powered off, and
then go to use it, and find blotchy printing from
a clogged nozzle or pumping section.

If you let it pump its brains out, once a day,
for two years on end, yes, it'll be ready to print
on the day you need it. But, during that interval,
you might have to change the cartridge a time or two.

To know what the best policy would be, you'd have to
know how many cleaning cycles you can get from
a cartridge before it's pumped dry. To get some idea
how wasteful it is. If you could get 10,000 cycles
like that from it, you wouldn't care. Whereas if it
emptied the cart in 90 days, you'd want to leave
it powered off when not used.

Paul

 

[Puddin' Man]

If the device remains powered at all times, and cleans
itself once a day, after some period of time (months),
it will pump the reservoir dry. It uses ink as a solvent,
to flush the plumbing.

If, on the other hand, you turn off the power, then the
ink sits in the cartridge. The head assembly has very small
diameter plumbing inside. It's if the ink dries in there,
that the printing will stop. So if the cartridge sits
unused for two years (no printing *or* cleaning cycles
to flush the plumbing), eventually the ink could
dry up at a critical point and clog something.

Turning off power is an excellent solution, to the wasting
of the ink. What we can't be certain of, is how
prone to clogging the thing is, when stored. You
could let it sit for two years, powered off, and
then go to use it, and find blotchy printing from
a clogged nozzle or pumping section.

Aha. You've made me aware of the critical detail that
I omitted from the OP. Usage.

On average, the print function (print, copy) gets
used 2 to 3 times per week, producing about that
many pages.

If you let it pump its brains out, once a day,
for two years on end, yes, it'll be ready to print
on the day you need it. But, during that interval,
you might have to change the cartridge a time or two.

To know what the best policy would be, you'd have to
know how many cleaning cycles you can get from
a cartridge before it's pumped dry. To get some idea
how wasteful it is. If you could get 10,000 cycles
like that from it, you wouldn't care. Whereas if it
emptied the cart in 90 days, you'd want to leave
it powered off when not used.

I'm going to assume it would waste ink if I allow it
to 'clean' indiscriminately. So I install and use the
switch.

Thanks,
P

"Law Without Equity Is No Law At All. It Is A Form Of Jungle Rule."

 

[Jon Danniken]

The idea of a multifunction is for it to be left on at all times.

It's just a scanner, not a printer/copier. In any case, I find it silly
unless you are using the thing every day, and I wouldn't think that the
majority of users do that.

Jon

 

[GMAN]

It's just a scanner, not a printer/copier. In any case, I find it silly
unless you are using the thing every day, and I wouldn't think that the
majority of users do that.

Jon

I got you and Mr Puddin confused. His IS a multifunction. Also , when his
printer or your scanner goes to sleep mode, it usually draw less than that of
a kids nightlight.

 

[Jon Danniken]

I got you and Mr Puddin confused. His IS a multifunction. Also , when his
printer or your scanner goes to sleep mode, it usually draw less than that of
a kids nightlight.

Yes, but every time you power up or reboot the computer, it has to go
through it's motions once again.

I have had this scanner for five years; that would be about 2,200 times
the little motor moves the scanbar back and forth, and the light comes on.

Compare this to the dozen or two instances in which I have used the
scanner, and it is pretty easy to see that I have saved a lot of wear
and tear on the unit by leaving it unplugged when it is not in use.

Jon