Printer problem - Epson

[don't ask]

Hello folks - I am an old gal with an old PC (Athlon 1700xp or something similar) running Windows 98SE and an old printer EPSONC44UX.

Printer was bought in late 2003 and yesterday it started not printing for me. When I ask it to print I get message telling me something along the lines of "Service Required - parts of your printer are at the end of their servicable life" .... and something about contacting a technician.

So - it really is dead then? I saw somewhere about Epson printers stopping regardless when they have reached an alloted amount of pages printed.

Guess I am looking for any advices before I (such a canny Scot I am) start shopping for a new one which I can't afford!

Do I specially have to look out for a printer which will work under Win 98?

[deuces wild]

This may help:

http://tinyurl.com/s4rl3

[CurlyWhirly]

Printer was bought in late 2003 and yesterday it started not printing for me. When I ask it to print I get message telling me something along the lines of "Service Required - parts of your printer are at the end of their servicable life" .... and something about contacting a technician.

So - it really is dead then?

Exactly the same thing happened to me with my Epson C40UX after around 3 years and I just scrapped it and bought another printer as IMHO it would have been uneconomical to repair it.

I saw somewhere about Epson printers stopping regardless when they have reached an alloted amount of pages printed.

I also read that some time ago and wonder if it's true?

[rong]

http://www.ssclg.com/epsone.shtml try this it seams to do what you need. Came from here http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=115570

[catgate]

I had a Canon "somethingorother", and it was a known fact that after a preset time period a message would appear that maintenance was required (mine was "Waste ink tank needs emptying, take it to be serviced"...there was no waste ink let alone tank). However I found a fix on the 'net to reset the thing, but after only a few weeks it went off again.

They are a disposable item these days so I disposed of it and bought a cheap Epson R200.

Edit:-

Do I specially have to look out for a printer which will work under Win 98?

You may find, as I did, that if you are running W98 some of your old legacy stuff may not print on a new printer if the prog. is DOS based. There is available, though, a little utility called DOSPRINT that will translate ASCI into "modern".

[CurlyWhirly]

I had a Canon "somethingorother", and it was a known fact that after a preset time period a message would appear that maintenance was required (mine was "Waste ink tank needs emptying, take it to be serviced"...there was no waste ink let alone tank). However I found a fix on the 'net to reset the thing, but after only a few weeks it went off again.

At the time I scrapped my old printer, I didn't even know that it was possible to reset it to prolong the life!

They are a disposable item these days so I disposed of it and bought a cheap Epson R200.

If I had known about the 'fix' then I would have tried it out but if it didn't work (or only worked for a short time) then I would just scrap it and buy another printer as they aren't that expensive nowadays (for a basic printer I mean).

[Boris]

rong's suggestion does work :)

I've used it successfully several times.

I think that (technically) you are supposed to replace a sponge on the printer at the same time that you run the tool, but I know of at least 3 Epsons I've tried it on where the "fix" has allowed another 18 months of life with no replacement of the sponge.

I saw somewhere about Epson printers stopping regardless when they have reached an alloted amount of pages printed.

I also read that some time ago and wonder if it's true?

Yes it is - approx 8,000 pages as far as I'm aware.

[deuces wild]

The Epson printers we had in the past were all junk.....I will never buy another one again. Noting but HP's and a Canon in our house now. :D

[andsome]

A friend had a printer pack up. It would have cost £30 for an agent to look at it. She bought a new on for a little more than £40. I certainly wouldn't consider a repair on an old one. I disagree with DW, we have never had anything but Epsons in three homes in our family, and have always had good service from them.

[don't ask]

Aww - thanks everyone for such a quick response

You have given me a lot to think about .... and my thinking gear won't engage properly at the moment

I have downloaded from rong's link - now I need to think to absorb what it all means and how to do it

I will try some light housework (second thoughts - maybe watch a DVD) and see if my sluggish brainbox will work for me.

Look forward to giving it a go - thanks lots and lots.

andsome - I have had 2 printers in the past 12 years - both Epson - I certainly had more than value for money with the first one, I loved it so much - the second one I didn't like so well because its software was a bit 'bossy' (I don't like printers not printing for me when I know darn well there IS ink there) - but there you go - I am an old git and don't like senseless change but I had hoped the second one would have been as good as the first was had been.

Will let you know how I get on.

[dadyassa]

The Epson printers we had in the past were all junk.....I will never buy another one again. Noting but HP's and a Canon in our house now. :D

I got an Epsom laserjet, no trouble at all for past 5 years.

I also have an HP 3 in 1, also no trouble at all, touch wood, only had it a couple of months, since giving my HP printer to my daughter.

[catgate]

I got an Epsom laserjet, no trouble at all for past 5 years.

Well they are a race apart.

[CurlyWhirly]

I saw somewhere about Epson printers stopping regardless when they have reached an alloted amount of pages printed.

I also read that some time ago and wonder if it's true?

Yes it is - approx 8,000 pages as far as I'm aware.

So there was probably nothing wrong with my printer when I had that message as it's just a pre-defined limit then?

I think that the printer should continue to work until it really has worn out and not when Epson say so

[catgate]

So there was probably nothing wrong with my printer when I had that message as it's just a pre-defined limit then?

I think that the printer should continue to work until it really has worn out and not when Epson say so

From my experience of the same thing with Canon it would appear that if you take your printer to be serviced, and handed over a sum of servicing money, which would be almost enough to buy a new printer, it will be reset and off you go again for another period.

The scheme seems to have been thought up to get round the printer manufacturer's loss of revenue due all the world's printer users using "compatible" cartridges.

When you compare the cost of "genuine" manufacturers cartridges with the cost of the printer itself you can see from where they expect to gain the bulk of their income.

[dadyassa]

I got an Epsom laserjet, no trouble at all for past 5 years.

Well they are a race apart.

:lol: :lol: All right on the flat, dont know about jumping it though ;) ;)

Done a lot more than 8000 pages as well.

[don't ask]

Hubby ran the utility for me and reset the printer - it is going again - hurrah!!! (Don't know for how long - presumably you can keep resetting it? - but it certainly got me out of the immediate problem).

Oh you lovely guys

Thank you so much for telling me about the utility and giving the links.

I too think a printer should continue to work until it has really worn out - not when Epson determine I should buy a new one - I was also really cross that there was no warning that something could be needing attention in the near future - it just peremptorily told me one day without any advance warning that it wouldn't print. I must admit to feeling somewhat used and ripped off.

Thanks once again folks - you are a lovely bunch

[Boris]

Hubby ran the utility for me and reset the printer - it is going again - hurrah!!! (Don't know for how long - presumably you can keep resetting it? - but it certainly got me out of the immediate problem).

Well it should last for a bit longer :) . If you don't get 5 years use out of one you're unlucky.

With printers where the print head is in the printer (not in the cartridge) - the head will eventually wear out. A new head will cost you more than a new printer.

[don't ask]

Thanks for the info Boris, much appreciated.

[deuces wild]

I disagree with DW, we have never had anything but Epsons in three homes in our family, and have always had good service from them.

Perhaps it was the particular models we had.............C80 and C82. Both failed (I believe due to clogged printer heads), including the replacement they gave us when the first C80 failed near the end of the warranty.

Those models are absolute junk and gave me a sour feeling about Epson products. ;)

[CurlyWhirly]

The scheme seems to have been thought up to get round the printer manufacturer's loss of revenue due all the world's printer users using "compatible" cartridges.

When you compare the cost of "genuine" manufacturers cartridges with the cost of the printer itself you can see from where they expect to gain the bulk of their income.

Well I will admit to using compatible ink cartridges as I have no intention of buying an 'official' Epson colour and black ink cartridge at over £30 when I can buy the equivalent compatible for only £8 (£5 for the colour and £3 for the black).

I would rather pay more for the hardware than pay top whack for official Epson ink cartridges.

[andsome]

I paid £21.99 for 6 colour and £9.42 for 3 black on my last orders with Choice Stationery Supplies, including V.A.T. I have used them for several years, and also pay a fraction of the price for photo paper.

[don't ask]

Has anyone ever used http://www.mx2.co.uk/ for their compatible cartridges (they do 'real' ones too) and photo &etc paper - quality amazing and price fantastic. I (currently) pay £2.19 for colour cartridge and £2.50 for black one (less if you buy in bulk) and a modest carriage charge.

Do give them a look (they are offshore in Guernsey - I usually get my stuff in 3/4 days) - I particularly like their double sided matte paper (I sometimes get the job of printing double sided cd inserts for our lad's band and also use it for any photo printing).

No I don't work for them - just used them for years now and I am so chuffed with the help that I thought I would share what I feel is a good link.

[andsome]

I have also bought their double sided matt photo paper and been very pleased with it.

[djohn]

I had an Epson color 600 for 3 years, it never missed a beat, but they are very thirsty, or where on ink. Mine used to head clean before every print job and a deep clean was required if I had not used it for a few days. Back then they were quite expensive, think I paid just over £300 for mine but like all thinks PC they are now cheap as chips.

If you can do a bit of maintenance to your printer then fine but otherwise never send for service as it will be cheaper to buy new, unless of course your printer is an expensive one to start with. I always recommend Cannon and HP these days for a couple of reasons. HP replaces the print heads with each cartridge change so virtually a new printer each time. Cannon [Mine is i850] Have the best of both worlds. Cheap cannon ink tanks with one for each colour and if the head goes it just clips out to be replaced with a new one. I bought a spare head at the time I bought the printer two years or so back but not yet needed to use it even though I have printed 5,000 pages and gone through at least 5 lots of ink tanks.

I do a lot of full colour posters and 10x8 photos for the housing scheme where I live and this is why I use a lot of ink/paper. Early last year they bought me a quite expensive laser printer as a gift for all the free work I do, though they do pay for paper and ink from the social funds. I enjoy setting out the 4 page newsletter and posters for all the entertainment and coach outings, keeps my mind occupied and makes me feel I'm doing my bit toward helping out in the scheme.

:)

[rong]

Someone I help has a cannon printer that stopped working so I took the print head out and washed it in warm water witch cleaned the jets and it worked again and still is.