Epson waste inks... error...

[3dogs]

Thanks for that information, it has cleared some things up and created yet another question : what chip on the what Maintenance tank? I am going to assume that the thing I am calling a waste tank is in fact the Maintenance tank to use its proper name But that is confusing too, the 3880 has a drawer that the Sales person pulled out, just like a small tool drawer in a plastic tool tote, and inside was a plastic grid and underneath was a white sponge. He said that was where all the purged ink went and it is replaceable......at $20 each well what else? I ask. WE are just the mugs that have bottomless pockets, or so they hope.

BTW many, many thanks for your videos on UTube, its that and Rob and Bob, and The Hat that have gotten me over the line on this, it really IS appreciated, the time and effort you guys put in to helping guys like me who would otherwise not know HOW to get access to the fun part of Photography...........

(I LOVE these Smilies...great toys)

Andrew

 

[jtoolman]

That IS the Maintenace Tank. When it reads full you replace it with a new one. believe me, $20 a pop is a lot cheaper than having Epson service your internal waste pads in printers that do not have separate maintenace tasks. Not to mention that you practically have to gut the entire printer to reach the bottom of the printer chasis and can cost more than the original printer cost.

WHen you buy inks and a set of carts from Inkjetfly.com you get a special Maintenance Tank Chip to replace the original OEM one. That little box your dealer piulled out can be dissassembled and the sponk can be cleaned dried and reinstalled. You would normally need to reset the original chip so it reads empty ( Clean ) before your printer would accept the cleaned reused tank. The chip I have is always empty.
All printers 13 and larger should have this sort of system but only the PRO Epsons seem to feature it.

 

[jnug]

On the one hand I wish there were more Epson printers that were designed with something like a waste tank that was a bit more segregated than the simple pad designs on most of them. The system on the 3800 sounds like it is much more user friendly than mine. I have an Artisan 837 and it has the simplistic pad design that "requires" servicing....mainly I think because a consumer cannot buy the service parts for it.

However the way the 837 is designed I think the user is still better off with one of the waste ink tanks like those that Martin provides because you have a much cleaner system that is segregated from the innards of the printer. Install your tank, wait till the darned counter says you need service, use your reset at that time and just keep on going. If you run into another service message, buy another reset.

But I do think you guys with 3800's have a much better waste ink system to work with at least as far as what Epson provides from the factory. For my part I am just thankful for guys like Martin. Don't mean any disrespect to the other vendors that frequent the site that also have things like waste ink tanks to sell in mentioning Martin's. You are all a Godsend as far as I am concerned.

 

[websnail]

Just on the back of jtoolmans comments about the differences between Pro and desktop printers here's a quick synopsis.

1. Epson printers can potentially last as much as 10 or more years if you look after them... Although newer models seem to be increasingly poorly built with more recycled materials, poorer component quality, etc...

2. The only time you are likely to buy original OEMs is when the printer is:
- brand new
- you're producing professional grade prints and want the longevity so your customer (who bought the print) doesn't come back and hit you with their faded print
- you're paranoid and believe all the marketing blurb about only 3rd party inks clog the printer, etc...
- the new printers may not have compatibles that work with your new printer.

3. Epson and the other OEM's really only make their money on newer printers

4. Desktop printers are (relative to the pro end models) a lot cheaper, much more disposable and, well, easier to accept the risk of clogs, etc... with QED: more people buy 3rd party stuff fairly quickly after buying the printer.


Take all that lot together and you realise that "encouraging" customers to buy new printers is a key way for the OEM's to get their profits on their cartridges.

So, a waste pad that runs out after a year, coupled with a service charge that costs almost as much as the printer is a key way of ensuring that the profits continue to come in.

Naturally they've gone to all this trouble with recycling, reducing the component cost, etc... and also on cartridge recycling too but basically the model is heavily reliant on new printers being purchased on a regular basis.

Pro models are a different kettle of fish with costs exceeding 400+ so maintenance tanks are a must or they'd kill the market... It's a whole different market, ball-game, etc...


Things are changing but even the service centre franchise system ties OEM's into not making things like reset utilities available...

Crazy but it's the way the razor blade model influenced printer sales/pricing...

 

[3dogs]

Epson and the other OEM's really only make their money on newer printers

I read somewhere in DPR (i think) a reported comment from a printer company Executive saying that "their printers were simply viewed as an ink 'delivery' system. Lets be real here, the entry level Pro printer I just bought, even at full retail, about A$2200 is : two domestic fridges, 6 weeks household shopping, annual house/land rates......at one level its not that expensive. On the other hand OEM inks are off the scale of sane!! my 9ml tanks for an Epson Artisan 730 are A$27 x 6 or A$162 a set. assuming I go through them at say 5 tanks a month, A$135 x 12 or A$1620, which is what I paid for the 3880. So over a five year life span I fork out A$8100 To my way of looking at things THAT is where the pot of gold is....

I'm a tad happy with the deal I just got, I lucked a chance visit (in desperation) to a Retailer I bought my screen and a couple of lenses off. I got a brand new, in the box, loaded with a full set + a full spare set + Art paper for what I would shell out for a year on the 730 inks. Effectively that works out at 45% of the retail price.......(a WIN for once!!)

In one way that is frustrating because the vision I had playing in my head was to be getting started on Refills, it looks like more fun than just popping in a new shop bought cart. But then I was heavily into fishing and built my own rods, I think I only ever bought one rod in 55 years in the sport.

Anyway back on track, turns out all I have to do is replace the drawer, the entire unit slips out and a new one is A$20 and self resets. I am sorta 'praying' that that will also continue after I switch to refill cars in about two years

Cheers and thanks again,

Andrew

 

[websnail]

Does sound like you lucked out in a big way...

I've realised with jtoolmans setup he has (?) refillable cartridges with a chip resetter or Auto Reset Chips (ARC's) and if I'm right that means the maintenance tank is covered by them as well... That's one thing to look at, as a further cost saving measure.

Can't argue with your logic though... Wonder if my wife could?

 

[3dogs]

Just looking through the user guide, lower case, whata heapa there is a chip on the maint. tank front right side wall, hopefully jtoolman will shed some light on that one.

Just off topic for a moment what is the situation with 81N carts for the Epson Artisan 730. Mike is saying they MAY be region specific?? and MAY affect the Refill tanks for 3880....tho the process with them involves taking the chip OFF the OEM cart and placing it under their resetter (I HOPE!!)

Finally, Irony, Irony plus!

Today (here Tuesday) unpacked and installed the 3880. around 3.30pm our time I recieved a text message from ANOTHER Retailer advising me that my Canon Pro 1 has arrived (I had a deposit on it and had been waiting 3 months) Irony is I ASKED Canon at the show on SUNDAY when stock would hit the retailers and he said mid june-July. I called the Retailer on the way to purchase the 3880 if they had a) stock, and b) an arrival date from Canon, they confirmed june-july, SO Monday afternoon I bought the 3880.

Based on what The Hat said about messing with carts and the convoluted logistics chain I had really put the Pro 1 into the too hard basket. ......................BUT then again if the 3880 is a bummer for me, I can easily sell it at a profit and jump ship then.

wot a bloomin SAGA!!

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[mikling]

Here is the story on the Artisan. In the past similar printers were sold in different regions but they carried dissimilar model numbers as well as chip number/cartridge models. With the Artisan series, Epson has used the same model numbers in Australia as that used in North America. However, the chip used in Australia is the 81/82 series and in North America it is the 98/99 series. They are not interchangeable. As best I can tell the Pro printers do not use these specific regional chips. One can always check by referencing the cartridges required by the models in ones's region against that used in another region. In certain cases, chips used in North America are used in a different model in Europe. For example the chips used in the SP1400 are used in the family of the Artisan series in Europe as well as the European SP1400 as well. . In north america they were exclusive to the SP1400 only.

 

[Andrew1937]

I have the R3000 that I use refillable carts and inks. I also installed a Ink Waste Tank on my R3000 and I'm aware of the WIC Reset Utility.

I asked a question on another Printer Forum basically asking what happens to all the Waste Ink? The basic answer was that it either evaporates or just disappears. Not knowing what really happens to the discarded ink in the Waste Ink Pads, I assumed these answers were correct and is what I wanted to hear, something positive. Until I came to this forum and read all the posts regarding Waste Ink. I come to the conclusion that the people who answered the inquiry on the other forum should look at some of the Waste Ink posts on this forum.

Thank you for this forum


Andrew

 

[OutOFtheinkwell]

Just to add my small experience, my Epson 1400 got the Notice and shut down and I went to Epson , went through the steps and they sent a code to restart the 1400, however that only worked for about 50 more prints and then shut down again.
At that point I found information on Inkjetcarts web site that said to just try installing OEM carts so Being the cheap old geezer I am I bought a set of OEM carts that had been refilled from that site and installed them. The chips on them were OEM. The printer recognized them went through the setting up stage and worked fine from then on even after I switched to refills. ( damper and chip bar set up).That was Last year and so far so good! Outoftheinkwell!