Epson : Self Destruction Printers

All this talk about re-cycling to create a less wasteful green environment. Piffle. I bought a beautiful Epson printer (RX 520) two years ago. It is ( was ) everything I could wish for. But in its guts is an absorbant strip, which soaks up ink each time it cleans the ink cartridges. When after a little time it becomes saturated the machine simply stops functioning - until it is serviced. Only an approved agency can do that   ...   and yes, you guessed it; the cost exceeds the price of buying a new one.

Where on earth is the sense in that? It will be gut-wrenching to throw into the skip a beautiful printer / fax / copier etc; presumably all in perfect working order   ...   for want of a little strip. It will be like taking a car to the scrapyard because a plug isn't firing properly. What an awful throwaway society we endure.

Have to agree. I've bought new printers in the past because they are cheaper than buying the ink cartrides. My lofts full of printers!!!

I was always under the impression that the printer was the "loss leader" with the ultimate aim of selling more ink.

When you buy a printer the ink cartridges are only normally 30% full anyway!

I have no problem with the quality of Epson printer, Infact I used to use their professional range in a previous life.

The ink cartridges do have little computer chips on the side which tell the printer how much ink is left in them, however this is not the case. The chips work on the basis that per page that you print 60% will be black and the rest in colour. Regardless of your usage (you may only ever print text in black and never use colour) each time you print a page the printer will think you have used some colour and consequently tell you that you are out of ink when you are not.

I purchased a chip resetter of Ebay for about £10. This fooled the printer/pc that the chip when showing empty was infact full. I would get an extra 20% life out of my cartridges. By the way I was using special sublimation ink cartridges at £100 each and my printer took 8 cartridges in total, so you can imagine how much I saved in a year. Best £10 investment I ever made!

 Hi

Have a look at these links you might find them useful.

Regards

martin

 http://inkjetprinterhelp.us/c60wip1.html  or thishttp://inkjetprinterhelp.us/epsonSSC.html

I use bulk ink systems on two of my Epson printers, 1 sublimation and 1 inkjet. Works out a fraction of the price of cartridges.

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone   ...   and Martin, if that works then you take a bow and a round of applause; if it lives up to its promise.

I may owe you a beer but tomorrow when I am not so knackered and my concentration isn't impaired by the previous night's imbibing.

Awwww! Me being thick I soon found that nothing is text book when it comes to these things. By it saying, 'Have you replaced the ink pad?' I gather I am supposed to dismantle as first URL suggests, then get a pad and replace it before I move on to SSC and follow your instructions.

I though the SSC might have been a way of getting around the necessity of a pad. I think my nearest supplier is a 90-mile round trip away in Alicante. And, I can just about operate a washing machine -   :o( 

The pad will presumab

Mike;

If you follow the video you shouldnt have to replace the pad; just click yes when the software asks the question...

Hi, I know the previous post is 2 years old now, but for anyone else with an Epson printer that has the same or similar problems, PLEASE dont go chucking your printer out at the first sign of a problem.

This particular problem is caused by a counter on the mainboard of the printer reaching its limit after so many print-outs. The usual signs are: all lights flashing continuously, and a message asking you to take the printer to your nearest service center. The counter is designed to eliminate excess ink getting onto your printouts....you have all probably had it at some stage, where you get a large amount of ink (usually at the bottom of the page) spread everywhere. The ink spillage has come from the waste pad as it can no longer absorbe the waste ink from the cartridge. The waste pad is located underneath the cartridge carriage when it is at rest, and the waste pad is conected by a small tube to a large sponge contained in the rear (usually) of the printer. In the case of the RX520 (and most other Epson printers) there is a small door on the back of the printer that can be accessed by removing one small screw. In here the sponge can be exchanged or cleaned. Also the waste pad can be bought for a small amount and changed also, as it is only held in place by a couple of small plastic pegs.

If on the other hand you dont mind the odd messy printout, you can forget all about the servicing, and reset the printers internal clocks yourself very easily and in about 20 seconds. This is done by using a very small maintainance programme that allows you to reset all the counters, do powerfull head cleaning, and a host of other things.

If anyone on EOS needs the software, just email me and I will send it with instructions.

Bill.........................  costa cartridge   633 0800 33

If you had posted this a month or so ago, I probably wouldn't have had to go out and buy a new SX218 from Carrefour. Ho hum. At least I didn't bin the old DX4000, so maybe next time I pop into your shop I'll bring it with me. Swap it for a new cartridge or two perhaps??

I'm sure we wil be able to sort something out!!!

   costa cartridge