Constant printer maintenance despite frequent use

[DeepSparkle]

We only print items a few times a week but every time we do print, our printer runs maintenance and it takes 5 minutes to print a single document. This is extremely obnoxious because it is time consuming and very loud in our office. I can't imagine why the printer would need to perform maintenance every single time it turns on. Can we turn this off?

No, just leave the printer powered on and it will do less maintenance. 

This was the response from HP in 2017, but I have the same question, but it is now closed, and I DO leave my printer powered on.

[Dragon-Fur]

@DeepSparkle 

Welcome to the HP Community.

Printers are meant to be used - once a week is probably sufficient, though more often is better.

That said, Yes - the printer should be left on.

Printer will sleep when it is being ignored (not used).

Why?  Printer does need to go through occasional self-maintenance to keep the ink system from drying / clogging.

Left "on" and sleeping (printer will sleep when not in use) allows the printer wake up when needed to perform necessary maintenance.

Left "off" increases the chance that the ink will dry out (amongst other possible maintenance issues). 

Switching the printer ON from a completely OFF state also forces a much longer "get ready" series of self-checks.

The printer should not require "constant printer maintenance" if the ink system is healthy, the printer is clean, and the printer is used on occasion.  How often does the printer perform self checks?  No idea - printers are different, environments are different, printer age and use are different.  What is true for my printers might not be true for your situation.

Read more about your printer in the printer's User Guide

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