Epson 9900 maintenance tank question

[Colorblind]

Hi, I was wondering why does the left maintenance tank on the Epson 9900 doesn't fill in as fast as the right one. Is it based on the printing mode (unidirectional or bidirectional) or some other factors? The Epson manual just explains "On the Epson Stylus Pro 9900, the right tank is used more than the left."

 

[benstarr]

I believe the left tank ends up getting used on larger borderless prints. That said I've worked with too many of these printers to count and I've never seen a drop of ink in the left tank (or middle on an 11880).

I've always just swapped the right and left cartridge at some point when the right was almost full, so that I didn't end up with an empty cartridge when the printer eventually dies.

 

[wonderings]

I think unless you are bringing borderless the print head is never going all the way to the left, which is why they tell you to swap between left and right to extend the life. I have had to change the left maintenance tank on our Epson 9900, but I print as much as I can borderless. One of my favourite features, being able to run a poster and not have any cutting after.