How to reset "waste ink" errors
- Epson
printers...
Most Epson (and other) ink printers use a
waste ink tank or ink pads to catch the ink used
during printhead charging or cleaning. Every time you replace an ink cartridge,
press the "clean printhead" button, or even just turn your printer off or on,
small amount of ink is pumped out of the ink cartridges into the waste tank.
After a certain number of printhead
priming/cleaning cycles is executed, the waste ink tank fills up. To prevent the
ink from overflowing and leaking out of the printer, Epson printers are
programmed to shut down before the tank is full. Usually there is no warning
this is about to happen. One minute you're happily printing, next the printer
comes to a griding halt with all the warning lights flashing and message like
"some parts inside your printer have reached the end of their useful
life and need replacing", or "your printer requires servicing" or something like
that.
The printer
refuses to do anything. When this happens, you can either take your
printer to an Epson repairer and have it serviced, or deal with the
waste tank yourself and reset the printer error.
Click here
to find more information on waste ink tanks and how to deal with
them.
To reset the waste ink error you will need
to download a reset program. This resets the printer counters back to 0 and the
printer will work again. If you have older Epson, you should be able to find a
free reset utility at: ssclg.com/epsone.shtml.
Note: SSC have stopped updating the reset utility for new
printers few years back, so if your Epson is more recent, you might have to find
the software elsewhere. You can find resets for most Epsons by doing a google
search for: "maintenance error reset Epson XXXXXX" (enter your model number
instead of XXXXX eg. TX800W). Be prepared to pay $10-15 for this.
How to use SSC
reset utility for Epson printers
The SSC software (if available for
your model) is quite easy to use, but some people may
find the instructions below helpful.
You might want to check the forum
on the SSC website, before deciding to download, or use the program.
The program
is not authorised by Epson.
After you download the software, install it
in "program files". Make sure the printer is connected to
computer via USB or parallel cable and turn the printer on.
A new icon should appear on your desktop
somewhere. It looks like a little printer. Click it and a window like this should open. Select a printer model
from the lower dropdown menu that matches yours...
If you have several printers installed on your computer,
select the one you are wanting to use the software with this time -
from the top dropdown menu...
This is what the window should look like for an Epson R310
printer...
Click the "Ink monitor" tab and the window should
change to something like this. Click the "Refresh" button to check that the
software is communicating with the printer ok. If it isn't, you will get a
message: "Printer not ready" or similar. If so, switch the printer off &
on again, then try again. If you can't get the software to
communicate - it will not work...
If the window looks like this (above), the program is
communicating ok and you are half way there. Close the window and a new icon
should appear in your tool bar (near the clock in right bottom corner)...looks
like a printer with rainbow above it. Right click it and menu like
this should pop up...
Left click the "protection counter", and
select "reset
protection counter". A dialog box should open with question: "Have you
replaced the ink pad?" Click yes. If the reset works, you should then get a
message: "Waste counter was reset" (or something to that meaning). You can
then go back and click "protection counter" again, then "counter value"
which should now be zero. Turn the printer off for couple of minutes, if the
lights are still flashing, then turn it back on again and it should work as
usual. You can
resume using the printer, but you should think about dealing with the waste ink pad.
If you still can't work it out or have problems, contact us for more info.
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