REQ- Inkjet Maintenance App

Hi all,
I'm looking for an application I once had that ran a minimal print job every
time the
system was booted.

By minimal I mean something like a very short test pattern, merley a single
line.

This was to prevent inkjet heads from drying should you print VERY
infrequently.

Anyone ever hear of this?

Thanks!

-Bill in Colorado

On Oct 19, 4:09 am, "Bill" <ridingduo_at_hotmail_dot_com> wrote:
> Hi all,
> I'm looking for an application I once had that ran a minimal print job every
> time the
> system was booted.
>
> By minimal I mean something like a very short test pattern, merley a single
> line.
>
> This was to prevent inkjet heads from drying should you print VERY
> infrequently.
>
> Anyone ever hear of this?
>
> Thanks!
>
> -Bill in Colorado

Just Google for six color test print pages. I use one with six bands.
I placed the picture in Word and that way I can shorten the image to
use less ink if I want. As long as all the colors are printing, the
heads are not clogged. You should find one at the link below.

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2646

On 19-Oct-2009, Al <albundy2@mailinator.com> wrote:

> > I'm looking for an application I once had that ran a
>> minimal print job every time the system was booted.

The print nozzle test pattern for my Epson seems
to keep the heads clear. However the printer seems
to do a head clean cycle, wasting ink, when it is
switched on after it has not been used for a few
days.

On Oct 19, 10:16 am, "Ato_Zee" <ato_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 19-Oct-2009, Al <albun...@mailinator.com> wrote:
>
> > > I'm looking for an application I once had that ran a
> >> minimal print job every time the system was booted.
>
> The print nozzle test pattern for my Epson seems
> to keep the heads clear. However the printer seems
> to do a head clean cycle, wasting ink, when it is
> switched on after it has not been used for a few
> days.

I bet the OP doesn't have an Epson or Canon that automatically wastes
ink.
I like the fact the my HP printers leave the cleaning up to me. They
can afford to do that because the print head is in the cart and
clogging doesn't hurt the printer itself.
The OP could also just make up a color document in Word and shortcut
it to the desk top. As suggested so often, he could switch to a laser
that allows sleep time without penalty.

I don't know which app this is, but there are a number of them.

However, it is not a good idea with many inkjet printers.

Firstly, you would have to keep the printer "on" all the time, or turn
it on with a power bar, which is also not a good idea.

Some inkjet printer require a complete shut down to seal the heads.
Other printers have an "off timer" and will, on being turned on, go
through a complete cleaning cycle. These cleaning cycles use up 2-5% of
the ink in the cartridge per cleaning. SO, if you don't need the printer
that day, you have used up a lot of ink for very little benefit.

Unless you are in a very warm/dry climate, or your printer has a bad
capping mechanism, or bad inks, it should be able to handle lack of use
for weeks or months at a time with clogging. If you are talking about
the printer sitting for over 3 months, then, yes, a cleaning cycle or a
test print makes sense during that interval.

Art




If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste,
I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog:

http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/

Bill wrote:
> Hi all,
> I'm looking for an application I once had that ran a minimal print job every
> time the
> system was booted.
>
> By minimal I mean something like a very short test pattern, merley a single
> line.
>
> This was to prevent inkjet heads from drying should you print VERY
> infrequently.
>
> Anyone ever hear of this?
>
> Thanks!
>
> -Bill in Colorado
>
>