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Is it a good idea to plug an inkjet printer into a power surge protector?

Theminecraftaddict555
Go to solution Solved by StDragon,

For inkjet, it's safe.

 

The reason you never put a laser printer on a UPS is because the fuser roller (think curling iron) pulls a lot of amps to fuse the toner to paper. The UPS can't withstand that sudden surge in demand; let alone the load required to hold it if on battery.

Really nooby question I know. I know that for laserjet printers, it isn't recommended to plug them into power strips, surge protectors, and UPS systems but I'm wondering if the same goes for inkjet printers?

 

If needed, my model is HP Deskjet 3630 All-in-one inkjet printer. 

 

Power surge protector being used: https://www.amazon.com/GE-UltraPro-6-Outlet-Protector-Charging/dp/B087YPKBBF

Don't call me a nerd, it makes me look slightly smarter than you

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An inkjet is a bunch of motors and some electronics.  It has a built in switching power supply similar to a laptop power adapter or a computer power supply, just super simplified. 

The processor inside is powered with 3.3v or 5v, and the motors (advance paper, move print head left and right) run at 24v or something like that. 

 

So I don't know... treat it like any other device in your house, tv, computer, monitor, it's powered the same way those are powered.

It shouldn't use more than 30-50 watts while printing and maybe a couple watts while idle, so it's safe to connect it to a UPS or surge protector.

 

A laser printer... is not such a great idea to put on a UPS.  As it prepares to print a page, it can draw in excess of 1000 watts, so it's not a good idea to start printing something when the power is down and you use the ups to keep systems alive for 5-10 minutes until they properly shut down. 

Also, if the printer is printing something while the power goes down, those 1000w or so of power the printer pulls can overload a UPS. 

 

 

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For inkjet, it's safe.

 

The reason you never put a laser printer on a UPS is because the fuser roller (think curling iron) pulls a lot of amps to fuse the toner to paper. The UPS can't withstand that sudden surge in demand; let alone the load required to hold it if on battery.

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