I tend to agree with the "print more often than less," but I also suggest NOT leaving the printer ON unless you are ready to print. Some models simply don't 'park' the print head in the same place between printing commands and when completely turned OFF, at least that's my explanation of why it sometimes helps to turn the printer OFF when not printing.
I buy my inks from <
InkSupply.com> (but there are other places, of course) and they also sell "cleaning" carts for the R2400. Never used those type carts, there are reports that there is a specific type of 'cleaner' used by techs for cleaning print heads. As I say, I've never used these type carts, but I did try the 'cleaner' on a 1480(?) set up for CIS without much success. The clogging was actually in the supply tubing...
I know pigmented inks are longer lasting and usually recommended for archival prints, but I think they may be more susceptible for print head clogging, but that's just my opinion, based only on the experience I had with a couple of pigment printers and the current dye-based 1400. YMMV.
The ink "supply" software is based solely on algorithms created by the printer maker. First, that means they don't actually measure anything but time and a rough knowledge of the colors used. Measuring the actual ink used simply requires instrumentation that only the US Treasury could afford!
Second, it means the algorithms err on the safe/conservative side. No company wants to have reported that there is plenty of ink and have you discover that you can't finish a print! Of course, many of them then turn around and actually prevent the printer from doing anything, even if you verify there is more than enough ink in the carts! And Epson makes things even trickier by not actually allowing the cart chips to be reset in some chips until that chip reports itself as empty! So, you observe that one color is not printing as it should, refill the cart, reinstall and proceed. But the print "knows" better and will simply halt printing when it says the cart is empty. Usually simply removing and reinstalling is all that needs to be done to 'slap the printer up-side-the-head' and continue...until it decides another cart is empty...
Fortunately, refilling carts is even simpler than just a few years ago. I can refill all six carts in less than ten minutes and have the tools cleaned and stored in another ten.
My twenty minutes is is well worth the cost savings of OEM carts. I can buy eight ounces of ink for what an OEM cart costs! That will allow at least 5-6 refills. Larger quantities are even cheaper per ounce, of course...and you don't even need to know how to use a screw driver!
Opposable thumbs and fingers are all you need!
