Epson D120 "Service required"
in [Printers]
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From: JohnSmith on 27 Nov 2009 18:43 Hi. I have an Epson D120, just over a year old. The status monitor is showing the message " Service Required. Parts inside your printer are near the end of their service life. See your printer documentation. That says "The waste ink pad in the printer is saturated. Contact your dealer to replace it." After reading in here, and googling, I presume this is really a counter on a chip causing the message. Any ideas how to get rid of it? The SSC Service Utility doen't recognise the printer. There doen't seem to a front panel reset option documented anywhere I'm in the UK, BTW. -- John Smith
From: Arthur Entlich on 28 Nov 2009 08:40 I hate to say this but you really need to contact your MP or whomever is responsible for your consumer legislation. In the US and Canada due to pressure and legal arguments, Epson was forced to supply the small propriety software required to reset that counter (It is held in an EEPROM within the printer). The reason for it is to protect your furniture and carpets from being damaged to ink leaking out of the waste ink pads. However, not only doesn't Epson make mention of this limitation, or that it will just shut the printer down with a few moment's notice, but also the numbers are set rather conservatively such that most people have found they can reset the number at least once without leaking ink. Further, Epson printers are no capable of actually knowing how much ink does go down the waste ink tube since the printer only counts the supposed amount, based upon a totally unclogged head. When nozzles are clogged less ink is released during cleaning and purging. In some cases, no ink is removed (a full head clog) and yet your ink levels on the cartridge are reduced, as well as the amount f use you can get from the waste ink cartridges before they shut the system down as well. My suggestion for most people is to install a waste ink tube extension and bring it outside the printer and into a clear bottle of some type. You will then see just how much ink gets wasted, and also be able to keep track of the ink without soiling the waste ink pads anymore than has been done. The cost to having the waste ink pads professionally replaced in not of get economic value.., as it usually cost nearly the price of a new printer which comes with new inks as the cost of getting the old one repaired. The UK and the European Union should take Epson to task on this. It is wasteful, unnecessary, and IMHO a rip off to the consumer and the environment. Art If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste, I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog: http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/ JohnSmith wrote: > Hi. I have an Epson D120, just over a year old. The status monitor is > showing the message " Service Required. Parts inside your printer are > near the end of their service life. See your printer documentation. > > That says "The waste ink pad in the printer is saturated. Contact your > dealer to replace it." > > After reading in here, and googling, I presume this is really a counter > on a chip causing the message. > > Any ideas how to get rid of it? > > The SSC Service Utility doen't recognise the printer. There doen't seem > to a front panel reset option documented anywhere > > > I'm in the UK, BTW. >
From: Jan Alter on 28 Nov 2009 09:52 http://www.epson.co.uk/Support Having checked out the Epson UK support site above I'm dismayed that you have to contact a support person to get help downloading drivers and utilities for your printer. They don't seem to be obviously available. It does appear that you can do an online chat without cost. In the U.S. drivers are on the Epson site. However, Epson should have a piece of utility software that will reset the diaper on your printer. I did not use the SSC utility for a Stylus 880 I have, but a downloaded utility from Epson that reset the counter the last time all its red lights came blaring at me to indicate that the printer should have its waste styrofoam sponge replaced. Looking over the U.S. Epson website today I found that I could not find that utility anymore. Most likely I would have to contact Epson myself to get it now if it were needed. With that said I am right behind Art with his criticism to Epson for the intentional waste of ink that could be recycled back to the printer cartridge, intentional difficulty in refilling of cartridges, and its throw away attitude of the printer when the software screams 'My pants are full of ink. Replace me now'. Although Epson is constantly advertising how environmentally friendly it is to the world it is really one of the most hostile companies of all. Jan Alter bearpuf(a)verizon.net "JohnSmith" <me(a)privacy.net> wrote in message news:Xns9CD0F13CE4C3Brekrul(a)195.188.240.200... > Hi. I have an Epson D120, just over a year old. The status monitor is > showing the message " Service Required. Parts inside your printer are > near the end of their service life. See your printer documentation. > > That says "The waste ink pad in the printer is saturated. Contact your > dealer to replace it." > > After reading in here, and googling, I presume this is really a counter > on a chip causing the message. > > Any ideas how to get rid of it? > > The SSC Service Utility doen't recognise the printer. There doen't seem > to a front panel reset option documented anywhere > > > I'm in the UK, BTW. > > -- > John Smith
From: RCC on 28 Nov 2009 12:41 In message <Xns9CD0F13CE4C3Brekrul(a)195.188.240.200>, JohnSmith <me(a)privacy.net> writes >Hi. I have an Epson D120, just over a year old. The status monitor is >showing the message " Service Required. Parts inside your printer are >near the end of their service life. See your printer documentation. > >That says "The waste ink pad in the printer is saturated. Contact your >dealer to replace it." > >After reading in here, and googling, I presume this is really a counter >on a chip causing the message. > >Any ideas how to get rid of it? > >The SSC Service Utility doen't recognise the printer. There doen't seem >to a front panel reset option documented anywhere > > >I'm in the UK, BTW. > I have the same printer, in UK, almost 2 years old, well used, as yet no message like yours but I fear the worst. If you do find a solution please post, but I suspect you will find that the cost of 'authorised repair' exceeds the cost of buying new. I have used Epsons for years, but as the price of ink has gone from high to exorbitant (I now use compatibles) and the way it stops printing with almost no notice when ink is low, and the way it says it is empty when there is loads of ink in the cartridge, has made me realise they have become a rip off company. Cartridge life seems very short. My last printer was an 880 which lasted many years and which could be controlled via the SSC utility. Buying another Epson was a mistake. Sadly I have 2 - the 120 and a Dx8400 which uses the same carts. The D120 was pitched as a small/home office machine with twin black ink carts for speed and convenience, and I use it on our home network, children's homework, my work, my wife's work. No mention of limited total life in the advertising! I guess they hope you will need a working printer (I do) so will rush out and buy a new one. Even if repair was economic it could take days or weeks. The answer is likely to be ditch the printer and buy non Epson. The Kodak approach seems OK - pay more for printer, less for ink. I wonder if they have a hidden 'lifetime limit' like the Epson has? I ramble, and sadly can't help, but share your forthcoming anger! -- Richard C
From: RCC on 28 Nov 2009 15:34
In message <BU6ijLEHDWELFw2f(a)cowling1.demon.co.uk>, RCC <richard(a)mapson_cowling1.demon.co.uk> writes >In message <Xns9CD0F13CE4C3Brekrul(a)195.188.240.200>, JohnSmith ><me(a)privacy.net> writes >>Hi. I have an Epson D120, just over a year old. The status monitor is >>showing the message " Service Required. Parts inside your printer are >>near the end of their service life. See your printer documentation. >> >>That says "The waste ink pad in the printer is saturated. Contact your >>dealer to replace it." >> >>After reading in here, and googling, I presume this is really a counter >>on a chip causing the message. >> >>Any ideas how to get rid of it? >> >>The SSC Service Utility doen't recognise the printer. There doen't seem >>to a front panel reset option documented anywhere >> >> >>I'm in the UK, BTW. >> > Http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3806&p=1 I found this thread, starts to get interesting towards the bottom but the inference is that UK models have no chance/hope of it working. Grrrr - who can you trust to give a fair deal these days? -- Richard C |