• Following a bit of a step back from the usual photo + text installation guides the value of video “How to” guides has been impressed upon me so here’s the second in a series of guides

     

    Unlike the DX4400 video (which was video 1), the P50 waste tube is attached to a plastic nipple which in turn is part of a solid internal tank type arrangement. Removing the tube from the nipple is a bit more involved but this video covers the process as well as how to modify the trapdoor and a few gotcha’s to watch out for.

    Constructive feedback welcome so I can improve on the next version

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  • This information is now pretty out of date (or was) but there have been a number of strong indications that Epson decided to up the ante when it comes to third party consumables through the use of a clever firmware update system available with newer Epson printers.

    The update(s) shut the doors on third party consumables that work with earlier firmware versions and effectively tie your printer into using only Epson OEM/Original cartridges.

    This issue was resolved with new chip designs (v6.0) but the issue may be making a comeback as of early 2014 with reports of Epson Expression (XP) models hitting issues and some indication that other printers like the PX730WD, Artisan 837, etc.. also showing symptoms.

    In short, if you don’t want to be forced to use Epson original consumables, don’t install any firmware updates

    Read more…

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  • General 17.06.2011 No Comments

    Thursday (16th June) night was a bit of a riot with some 90+ visitors a minute descending on a site that normally picks up three or four so it was quite an interesting time trying to keep the server running through it all

    For those interested in what sparked it all, this is the reddit link.

    All the comments have been very interesting and when I get 15 minutes to myself I’ll be putting together a response to them all.

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  • 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.

    Read more…

  • 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.

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  • It never fails to amaze just how little common sense is applied when it comes to the issue of the “Service Required” message on inkjet printers. We know it’s a technical device but ink is a fluid and a very messy one that doesn’t just give up physics because it’s in a printer?…

    The reason we say this is not because anyones IQ has suddenly disappeared into a vacuum, nor has anyones ability to discern the North Star in the middle of a hail storm, disappeared… No? No!… The reason I say this is because a significant proportion of you reading this article believe it is perfectly acceptable to reset a printers waste ink counter and think “Done!”

    But what about the ink?

    Erm… Hello! Resetting a couple of bits of data in a printers memory chip does not remove all the ink Read more…

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  • General 02.03.2010 No Comments

    C’mon, admit it… You’ve had a printer for over 9 months now and it’s looking a little tired and scratched. The shiny exterior has lost the sparkle and there’s even a coffee cup stain on the lid. But what’s this? You’ve just seen the latest model from Canon or Epson, or whoever and wow! It’s got like an LCD screen on it, touch controls and the cartridges are cheaper than your current model…

    Usually at this point you get a sort of dream sequence of you dancing through a meadow, hand in hand with your new printer while it makes you a cup of fresh coffee and…

    POP!

    Yes, it’s a dream… A lousy pipe dream, and here’s a few reasons why that all singing, all dancing printer you saw may not be better after all

    More…

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  • 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.

    Read more…

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  • General 17.02.2010 No Comments

    It seems that having a baby, especially your first, really takes up a lot of your time so the Waste Ink-lings have been few and far between..

    However…

    There’s been quite a few developments over the past few months, especially when it comes to the accessibility of suitable reset utilities. It seems Epson are now treating waste counter resets in the same way they treat consumables. Not good news…

    I’ll be blogging about this, as well as adding guides for the P50, B40W, R1900 and a much improved QuickFind tool (via OctoInkjet)… So, watch this space

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  • General 09.02.2010 No Comments

    A small problem with a security update pretty much disabled the site for roughly 12 hours but it’s now fixed so apologies for anyone desperate to get to the site articles, we’re now back up and running again.