What do you leave on?

[ClintonHammond]

This came up in conversation with some friends of mine over printers and ink usage.

One was complaining that every time he turned his printer on, it goes through a cleaning cycle that uses up a little bit of ink.... One result of which, the colour cartridges he put in some time ago, he never actually printed with, but they're now empty...


"Leave your printer on all the time", suggested someone else.

Now, I donno much about much, but that seems to fly in the face of being "Green"... I mean, I've replaced all my light bulbs with the new fluorescent bulbs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Compact_fluorescent_transpa.png)... I turn off my monitor when I'm not sitting right in front of it... (I leave the tower running cause this old beast is crashy in 'sleep mode') Is leaving my printer on all the time undoing any good that's done?

Is it maybe 'bad' for my printer to be left on all the time?

[Reality Believer]

The printers usually go to sleep after a few minutes, using only about as much power as a night light.

The biggest cost in running a printer is the ink. Color and B&W Laser printers are cheap enough now, constantly buying ink makes no sense. The only exception is if you are printing photo quality prints. Lasers can't quite get the high quality.

[bruto]

It seems to depend on the printer. I had an Epson that gobbled up ink every time it started. My current HP does not.

I doubt it's very harmful to leave the printer on all the time, but since it seems not to affect the ink supply, I turn mine off. I turn everything off when not in use, in part for protection from lightning (I use a power center with individual components switched, and a master switch, so when it's off, it's really off).

[Reclaimer]

I leave my desktop running. My 2 LCD monitors go to sleep after an hour and my HP printer goes into its own form of sleep mode (I think).
The only thing I force into hibernation is my laptop because I hate waiting for it to boot up.

[Beady]

Now, I donno much about much, but that seems to fly in the face of being "Green"... Is leaving my printer on all the time undoing any good that's done?

First, my printer goes into hibernation, all on its own, after a certain period of disuse, and comes back to life automatically when I send it a job.

Second, back when we had a week-long power outage during the New England ice storm of January, 1998, the power company disseminated a lot of info about how many appliances you could hook up to a generator, and the proper way to bring your house back online. Among other tidbits, it apparently takes three times the power to turn something on from a cold state, as it does to keep it running.

[Zep]

The older style inkjets used ink to perform a "jet cleaning" function. If you left the printer turned off, or did not use it for a long time, the ink would dry out in the jets and clog them because it was still relatively thick. So they put in that fancy-dancing startup jig to force ink through the jets to clean it.

These days, most ink is so fine that drying out in the jets is usually not a problem. New inks are designed not to sit on top of the paper in big blobs but to penetrate the paper fibres (or photo-grade plastic surface) as tiny "stains", making splatter- and smudge-free dots. It also helps to make it all quick-drying.

Attributes like the formula, jet velocity, dot volume and heat characteristics of the inks all vary between printer manufacturers, so you have to be careful mixing up inks between printer brands.



Those interested in the older technology of colour printing might care to look at the 1980's Tektronix Phaser printers, which used special coloured wax blocks! They used similar printing technology to inkjets, except they shot hot liquid wax dots onto the paper, which instantly solidified as shiny colour dots (hence the name - phase-change technology). The result was near photo grade prints, although they could be scratched easily too. However to clean the jets on startup, the Phasers used about a tablespoon of wax (about 10% of its ink load!) in the cleaning process! Very expensive!

[Zep]

For those still with CRT (glass tube) monitors on their computers, these typically use 70% to 85% of the total power consumption of a running PC. So you can save that much instantly by turning them off and leaving the PC running.

Next most hungry power sources are fans and disk drives. Windows has Control Panel settings for shutting down various components to save power. If you are only doing browsing and Paltalk and stuff, or leaving the PC on for email overnight, etc, and you have sufficient memory to prevent excess paging, change the power settings to spin down the hard disks after a period of inactivity - 10 mins?

Less disk running = less heat, and some PC's have variable-speed fans based on heat load.

Just a note of warning: If you configure a PC to hibernate after a period of inactivity and it still connected to the network, note that some LAN interfaces have a Wake On LAN function - network activity will wake up the PC. Windows tends to like to leave this enabled by default. So you find your PC constantly hibernating then bursting back into life shortly afterwards. Unless you want that, disable it.

[Beady]

New inks are designed not to sit on top of the paper in big blobs but to penetrate the paper fibres (or photo-grade plastic surface) as tiny "stains", making splatter- and smudge-free dots. It also helps to make it all quick-drying.

So, if ClintonHammond's "friend" is really concerned about energy conservation, he should break down and buy a newer printer. An inkjet printer-scanner-copier-fax can be had for as little as $150 at Staples, so it's not exactly going to kill most budgets.

[Zep]

So, if ClintonHammond's "friend" is really concerned about energy conservation, he should break down and buy a newer printer. An inkjet printer-scanner-copier-fax can be had for as little as $150 at Staples, so it's not exactly going to kill most budgets.You know those bargain buys where you get a little inkjet plus two ink cartridges? The printer is so cheap, and the ink so expensive, that it's usually more cost-effective to chuck out the printer when you have used up the two carts, and then buy a new one! :eek:

Anyway...

Inkjet printers use precious little power, mostly in moving the heads and paper. Scanner engines use most power pushing the scanner about. Fax engines use most power keeping the phone interface running. Most of them are 18V 1A or so, and that's at maximum draw - not a lot at all.

Try hunting for unbranded inks for your inkjet. They often cost a fraction of the branded versions but come from the same factory. And don't use refills unless you can confirm the ink is compatible.

[ClintonHammond]

So back to the subject of power draw...

D'ya think my cordless phones are wasting energy, being left on their charging docks all the time?

[Dan O.]

There are two ways to answer that. All energy consumed by electronics is eventually converted to heat. If you can feel heat radiation from an electronic device or it's charger, it's using power. You could estimate the power used by a device by estimating what size light bulb would give off the same total heat. The other way is to invest in a power meter and actually measure the power the device draws.

[Reality Believer]

So back to the subject of power draw...

D'ya think my cordless phones are wasting energy, being left on their charging docks all the time?

Not really. If they are fully charged, then they don't draw much power. There will be a very small amount of power used to maintain the charge and keep pilot LED lit. The only way avoid this this small drain is to unplug the charging stand from the wall.

If you want to go around the house and determine the worst energy parasites, then you need a Kill-A-Watt meter. You can read directly what the device is drawing. They are only about $30.
https://www.etsenergy.com/images/killawatt.jpg

[ClintonHammond]

I have thought about getting such a meter....

[Beady]

You know those bargain buys where you get a little inkjet plus two ink cartridges? The printer is so cheap, and the ink so expensive, that it's usually more cost-effective to chuck out the printer when you have used up the two carts, and then buy a new one![/spoiler]

I'll rephrase: A Hewlitt-Packard inkjet printer-scanner-copier-fax can be had for as little as $150 at Staples. Ink cartridges are ~$35, so it's not exactly going to kill most budgets.

[Beady]

D'ya think my cordless phones are wasting energy, being left on their charging docks all the time?

If you're going to worry about your cordless phones and computer, then why not worry about your cell phone, microwave, clocks, stereo, cable/satellite receiver, Tivo, DVD, sound system...

Together, I'd be willing to bet that all of these items, combined, draw less power than either a refrigerator, clothes dryer or air conditioner, by itself. If you want to make a meaningful cut in usage, look at your major appliances, and look at the place you live in as a whole.

If you're going to be so anal obsessive, then isolate yourself from the grid, entirely, with a windmill and solar panel. Such a course is both physically and economically possible. I haven't looked into solar panels, yet, but it appears that, after tax credits, a windmill would cost me $8k out of pocket, and would pay for itself (including power buy-backs from the electric company) in less than a decade.

[ClintonHammond]

"If you're going to worry about your cordless phones and computer, then why not worry about your cell phone, microwave, clocks, stereo, cable/satellite receiver, Tivo, DVD, sound system..."

Who said I was 'worried'? Just curious....

[grmcdorman]

Not really. If they are fully charged, then they don't draw much power. There will be a very small amount of power used to maintain the charge and keep pilot LED lit. The only way avoid this this small drain is to unplug the charging stand from the wall.

If you want to go around the house and determine the worst energy parasites, then you need a Kill-A-Watt meter. You can read directly what the device is drawing. They are only about $30.
https://www.etsenergy.com/images/killawatt.jpgSome library systems in Ontario, such as the Mississauga library, will loan them out, so you don't even have to buy one: http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/home?paf_gear_id=9700018&itemId=50100037

[Soapy Sam]

Place a shallow tray of water on top of your computer. Remove the case first.
This will help keep it cool. If spilled it will clean the motherboard. No, really. The water will get warm . Save the planet by using this prewarmed water to make ice cubes in your fridge. It will freeze faster than cold water. No, really.
In winter, substitute glycol for water , but do not use for ice cubes. Make tea with it.
No. Really.

Another energy saving tip is to use old laser pointer batteries to help start your car on cold mornings.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

I'll rephrase: A Hewlitt-Packard inkjet printer-scanner-copier-fax can be had for as little as $150 at Staples. Ink cartridges are ~$35, so it's not exactly going to kill most budgets.

Just went around on this with my wife. New cartridges for her HP inkject $70+ CDN, new all-in-one Lexmarl with equivalent specs + scanner + fax $60 CDN at tigerdirect.ca

Silly girl still wants to buy the HP cartridges. Something about "It does not feel right". :confused:

[Rat]

It does not feel right. It is usually held that inkjet manufacturers these days sell printers at cost, and make profit on the ink. That's why the printers come with 'starter' cartridges that last for 10 seconds. There's no scientific evidence for this, but it is scientific fact.

[ClintonHammond]

"Some library systems in Ontario, such as the Mississauga library, will loan them out"
Now THAT is really cool!

[bruto]

Just went around on this with my wife. New cartridges for her HP inkject $70+ CDN, new all-in-one Lexmarl with equivalent specs + scanner + fax $60 CDN at tigerdirect.ca

Silly girl still wants to buy the HP cartridges. Something about "It does not feel right". :confused:

Doesn't it depend a little on how long the HP cartridges last? If the 70 bucks of HP cartridges last much longer than a Lexmark with starter cartridges, which is quite likely, then she's ahead (assuming similar cost per page of replacement inks) unless she really needs the all-in-one features, and nothing drinks ink like an inkjet copying machine.

[illogical]

If you want to go around the house and determine the worst energy parasites, then you need a Kill-A-Watt meter. You can read directly what the device is drawing. They are only about $30.

this is fine if it does real RMS and handles phase angle.

[illogical]

bruto is right. i know some companies make both low and high volume carts.

you also have to factor in the printer cost. you have to print a lot of pages to recoup the investment cost of an expensive laser.

[illogical]

It is usually held that inkjet manufacturers these days sell printers at cost, and make profit on the ink.

the model in America is to sell the printer for $20 to $30, and the carts for $15 to $30 each. the USB cables will typically be $30, depending on store.

[SphereGuy]

You can also save a little ink by printing in draft or fast mode rather than normal or best mode. I can't tell the difference unless printing photographs on photopaper.

Back to the power issue...

I once serviced a school's computer lab and the first thing I noticed was that every computer and monitor's power cord had a granny knot tied in it. When I inquired about this I was told that if the building was ever to be struck by lightning that the computers would be safe because lightning can't travel around knots. Keep in mind these were also plugged into APC batteries with surge supression.

[Dan O.]

While it is true that a knot in the power cord produces an inductance that will partially block a spike from a lightning strike, it is going to be insignificant to the protection provided by the filtering in a decent UPS. On the other hand, the knot doesn't cost anything.

[note: A power cord knot only protects against common mode power spikes. A differential power surge won't even see the knot.]

[Langis]

It's generally not good practice to turn off a computer if you're going to use it again in less than a couple of hours, give or take. Since I use my computer quite a bit, I leave it on... except at night. =)

[ClintonHammond]

That's my understanding as well Langis.... But I'm not really sure why.... I might just be doing it for anecdotal reasons.

IS it really best to leave your PC on?

[Rat]

My main pc stays on 24 hours, because it's always doing something, whether I'm there or not. My laptop is switched on when I get home in the evening, and switched off when I go to bed. Both are, of course, folding proteins, but I'm not that desperate to reach the top of the chart.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

I leave everything on. It's all Energy* compliant.

~~ Paul

[RSLancastr]

I sometimes leave my shorts on, but that's all. :D

Actually, the manufacturer of my wife's last printer (Epson, I think) recommended turning it off when not in use, otherwise the cartridge wasn't correctly parked, and so the nozzles would get clogged solid.

They ended up sending her a new printer when it happened to the previous one.

Sounded like bad design to me. It should have parked the heads after x minutes of non-use.