printer switch-on uses ink. Leave on 24/7?

[Jules]

First off, I've just bought an Epson R300 printer. What a machine!
It prints beautifully, quickly, reads all memory cards, and prints directly on printable CD's and DVD's. A bargain at £129 I'd say.

Anyway, been reading the manual and it talks about a portion of ink being used up when the printer is switched on.
So if like me, you print an occasional document and switch the printer off afterwards, your just wasting ink!

So is it a good idea to leave your printer on 24/7 just for the occasions when you actually use it?
Surely this would make your ink last loads longer!

[SeaneyC]

I also thought this, and even though it parks the heads, the ink still tries to dry out, and then the nozzles get clogged, and you actually waste more ink trying to clean the heads again!

I probably use my printer twice a month for some small documents (under 5 pages) and do a few colour photo prints once a month, (probably around 2 or 3 A3 and A4 prints) and find that if i don't turn the printer off, print heads clog up a bit. This is on an old 1270 printer, i don't know what the situation is like with the new inks.

[azzo]

Don't ask me where on the internet I read it. But I have read that you should leave 'modern' printers on 24/7 as they do 'self' maintenance to prevent ink drying out. Take from this what you want but I used to switch my printers off (lexmark z52/hp deskjet something) and the ink always dryed out. Not got an inkjet now because of this so perhaps its time to buy one again - If leaving it on does in fact prevent drying.
Azzo.