Waste Ink – lings

Anyone with a brand new Epson printer like the Artisan 710, the PX810FW or the TX1100 will know that any of the supposed reset utilities for your printer will either not work at all or give a 21000068 error just when you think it’s working.

The problem has been an increased level of protection being added to the utilities to stop them being useable if they get released into the public domain and whilst initial efforts by OrTHoTaMiNe were successful in unlocking utilities released between a year to 6 months ago, the approach used proved harder and harder to use.

There’s Hope At Last

Luckily it seems there have been a few other people working the problem from a completely different angle and there is now a new utility (well two to be exact) on the block.

For the uninitiated, this is an introduction and guide on how to use the “AdjProg” utility that is often required to reset the waste ink counter on Epson inkjet printers.

Content:

• How to run the program
• Initial Settings
• Things to avoid
• How to read the current counter and what it means
• Resetting the counter
• Getting out of the utility
• Warnings re: resetting and ignoring the waste ink

This time I’ve covered the D88 printer but the RX685 and R1900 are also on my list for some point in the future.

Low Quality/Resolution (see below for link to higher quality version)

The high quality (800×600 resolution) version is available by clicking this link
…or you can view the iPhone version

My first vidcap tutorial on this subject was a bit long winded and harder to follow so I’ve learned how to keep it short and got it down to 4 minutes (ish) with my new version so hopefully it’s better as a result.

It’s been a while since I had a chance to sit and spend 5 minutes thinking, much less write about the situation with Ink Pad Reset (IPR) tools, but, here at last is a summary of the current situation.

? New to the topic of Waste ink counters, Service required or Ink Pad Resets ?
You might want to read this article to get an introduction to these core issues before you catch up on the latest developments detailed below

New printers, New protection

Last year started with the PX700W, Artisan 800 and similar printers appearing and with them came the realisation that these printers waste counters could only be reset using specific adjustment utilities. Unfortunately it soon became clear that such a utility was going to cost you $50+ and couldn’t be shared.

A few months later a new ‘volunteer’ appeared on the net with the ability to remove the protection restricting these utilities. Unfortunately there was some confusion caused by unlocked adjustment utilities being reported as infected/malware. Once that was cleared up, OrTHoTaMiNe, became synonymous with SSC for anyone with that generation of printers.

Next generation protection

Sadly, since then it seems that someone in the Epson camp has been paying more attention to the grey market of adjustment utilities.

As with Vista, Windows 7 will not run most adjustment utilities without some help.

This approach is currently untested as my Win7 machine is currently down for repair but hopefully it will prove useful and work…

Compatibility Mode – Windows 7

Note: In most cases you will want to run the program in Windows XP SP2 or SP3 mode

If anyone manages to successfully use their adjustment utility/utilities on Windows 7 using this or another approach please do post a comment with any tips

I will update this guide once my own Win7 machine is back up and working

I’ve been wanting to post this message for a VERY long time now so it’s a real sense of achievement and relief that I can unveil a new tool for locating detailed mod, waste ink and reset utility information for most (if not all) Epson Inkjet printers.

The Tool

This link will take you to the tool directly
QuickFind Tool

What Does it Provide

The new tool allows you to locate the key “waste ink” information relating to your printer, specifically:

1. Instructions for modifying your printer (if they exist)
2. A waste counter reset utility (if available)
3. Compatible waste kits
4. Even the sales zone the printer came from

The tool can now be found on its own page complete with introductory information and a guide on how to interpret the information it provides.

Inside the Workforce 600

The Workforce 600 or BX600FW business inkjet printer has a few new tricks up its sleeve which don’t make fitting an external waste tank impossible but certainly indicate that Epson is taking waste ink issues a bit more seriously.

Read on to find out a bit more about the tube shield in this double waste tube printer

Produced with thanks to Carl Baxter for helping provide images of this printer model

Waste ink kits and modifications will help you keep your printer running more smoothly but unless you have a reset utility to deal with the waste-ink or protection counter your printer will remain a brick.

With this in mind I have been spending an inordinate amount of time looking for reset utilities, especially for the newer Epson inkjet printers. Some of the information I’ve developed is disheartening, while other intel’ causes outright concern, so it seemed appropriate to provide an update on what’s out there.

After a bit more digging it was possible to get hold of an IPR (Ink Pad Reset) utility for the RX680 which is one of the newer printers that hasn’t been covered by the older A10 IPR.

Unfortunately the news on this is not good…

Epson have obviously decided that the consumer need even greater protection from themselves when it comes to waste ink pads and have adopted an activation strategy which you would expect in situations where software piracy was an issue, not someone wishing to service their own printer.

Recently I had a query from an Epson customer in Italy, asking about waste ink kits for the relatively new PX800FW which translates to Photo, Multifunction, Fax + Wireless for the uninitiated.

Upshot of the conversation was that I hadn’t seen one of these printers so I couldn’t offer much help but if they wanted to go digging… Great!

The point where you realise you’ve unleashed a monster is always fun!