Thanks for the advice. I think I'll just leave it on. I think I can afford 2w per hour As for ink waste, I do plan to go with Precision Colors, so the cost is not such a big issue and it has to be better than the Epson 1400/1430. In my last endeavor I filled the ink cartridges four times before I got everything sorted out and I was able to print a half dozen 11x14s. Calculate the cost per print for those images at OEM prices!

I'm new to the Pixma Pro-100 - I have not even unboxed it yet. However, I have lots of experience with the Epson 1400 and 1430 printers, and I've read this post and seen many of Jose Rodriquez' videos. I have some questions about all this concern over the head cleaning cycles in this printer.

I understand the idea of the printer doing a cleaning every 120 or 480 hours, but is this based on OPERATIONAL hours? If the machine is off for a week, how many hours does that count for? With the Epsons, I've always assumed that it does a cleaning every time you turn it on - at least that is what it sounds like each time it is powered up. If the printer does a cleaning every time it is turned on, I would assume it would be better to just always leave it on and let it do its cleanings as necessary unless you don't print for days on end. However, if the printer caps the head and does not do a cleaning on power up, it would be better to shut it down after each use. What is recommended?

I've also seen reference to the Qimage software for tracking cleanings and, presumably, for doing single channel cleanings. Is this software recommended with the Pro-100? I have a number of final print techniques that I have developed with the Epson printers and have never felt the need for additional software. Does Qimage have a freeware version with just printer utility and logging features?