SC-P600 Waste Ink and WIC Reset Utility

[Greatwhitewing]

Hi all, I have two somewhat related questions for the experts.
It all started with a quick check to see if it was possible (if needed) to roll back firmware of the printer. What I got was a lot of links to wic.support site. There was a lot of time spent talking about waste tank chip resetting etc and said it can also roll back firmware. All this was like brand new info to me.

Can someone describe the waste ink system in the P600 and related topics like remote tanks, resetting etc? Not even sure what precisely to ask

Is this wic.support a legitimate site and the product actually does what it ways and is needed?

This was all brand new info to me and I am not sure if this is a solution to a non-problem or something I will have to deal with. I couldn't find much in my searching of this forum.

My new printer with initial OEM ink is running low particularly on blacks so I have ordered the PC ready to go carts/ink but not received them yet.

Thanks in advance for your learned help.

 

[Taksmon]

Hello!

The P600, like all desktop printers of its class, has fixed waste ink pads that absorb ink used in cleaning etc and are designed to be serviced by a technician when they reach end of life. Fortunately, it is very easy to open up the P600 and divert the waste ink to an external catcher - I use this kit, it comes with very detailed instructions on partially disassembling the printer and attaching the tube that takes the ink to the external tank. You then no longer have to worry about your ink pads saturating and leaking.

The WIC utility is also able to reset the waste ink counter on many printers, which is what indicates the waste ink pads need to be replaced. The counter will still tick up even after you install a waste ink catcher, so you can use the WIC utility and a reset key to reset the counter. I think WIC utility offers the ability to flash firmware, but I've never used it and I wouldn't use it unless things were desperate. I haven't heard of any version of the P600 firmware causing trouble with refillable cartridges, but for safety I would make sure to turn off auto updates on any PC that has the Epson software installed.

 

[Greatwhitewing]

but for safety I would make sure to turn off auto updates on any PC that has the Epson software installed

I now have turned off auto updates but not after it did one firmware and driver update.

So it appears the wic utility is legit. When I see a Russian link I am automatically cautious. I am curious why there appears to be no other suppliers. Are they that clever no one else has a solution or just better at marketing?

I assume you have to reset long before your tank is full.

Thanks for the help

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

WicReset appears to be clean and quite popular, there is much more software around which creates a false positive with one or another virus scanner. Whoever is behind that software might not be more clever than other people in that domain but has collected much more knowledge over a long time for a very wide range of Epson printers. Some functions are free - reading the printer status - waste ink counter - page counter - error codes and some more. There are some other reset programs on the internet to reset the waste ink counters for free - but always for a specific model only , but that software is coming from more dubious sources and may be loaded with adware and other unwanted software. All this software is not supported by Epson, they don't release any type of maintenance software to end users so somebody has to find other ways to get accesss to the code details between driver and printer - and creates a business model around it.

 

[Taksmon]

Right, you can find "adjustment programs" for various printer models which have several other useful functions, but those are something to keep away from your main PC

I assume you have to reset long before your tank is full.

The printer will warn you when the waste ink pads are about to reach end of life and you can also check in the utility, so you don't need to worry too much about them. Just remember to empty the external tank now and then if you install one.

One thing you might want to consider though is a resetter for the refillable carts. It's so much more convenient to pop out a couple of low carts and refill them in one go, and not risk the printer stopping in the middle of a print.

 

[Greatwhitewing]

One thing you might want to consider though is a resetter for the refillable carts. It's so much more convenient to pop out a couple of low carts and refill them in one go, and not risk the printer stopping in the middle of a print.

From what I read I don't need a chip resetter for the PC (precision color carts) as they are ARC types. If there is another story I would like to know it.

Thanks for your assistance

 

[Taksmon]

Yes the auto-reset chips in the carts from Precision Colors work as designed, but if you want to control when the ink levels reset you can use a resetter. I use this one, works just fine with my refillables from PC. In my opinion it's worth it - I had a few prints ruined when the printer stopped with an empty cart (the printer will restart when you remove and replace the cart, but it can leave a mark where it stopped).

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

it's more a convenience matter with the resetter - when you are already handling one cartridge refill you easily could take the next one with a rather low level. And there is an additional benefit - the printer is doing a cleaning cycle once you continue to use the refilled cartridge, and if you refill more than one at the same time - with a resetter - you would prevent some of these cleaning cycles and reducing the amount of waste ink. And if you would start a bigger print job - say 10 sheets at one time - you can start that job with all cartridges full at the same time and empty cartridges would not interrupt you in between. So you can consider getting a resetter any time later.

 

[mikling]

Well I think according to my testing and also toolman Joe's testing as well, the remote cartridge printers such as the R3000 and P600 do not perform a purge each time a cartridge is replaced. As a result, these resetters indeed have limited functionality and are not of the same benefit as you would have say on an R2880 or SP1400 or even R1800/800. So after a reset, the printer continues as per normal. Thus you can top up cartridges even when the printer is off and it will not matter.

So what would the REAL benefit of the resetter be then? On the Epson printers that have to switch beteen matte and photo black inks, the printer will check to see if there is sufficient ink level to perform a switch without running out of ink. Now, of course this is based on the estimated level that is on the electronic counter so it is not based on physical ink.

Now imagine you had just printed using photoblack and the ink level according to the chip is very low, and then you switched to Matte Black and then made some prints. Now you need to switch back to photoblack. If the ink level is indeed very low, the printer will NOT allow a switch back to photoblack because during this switch it may not have enough ink to perform the purge cycles. The printer will then inform you to install a new cartridge. Now if this was an OEM cart, fine put in a new cart with full ink levels and you're good again. But now you have Auto Reset Chips which only reset when driven to empty. BUT......your ARC is close to empty and will not reset. The only way to reset is to have further use BUT the printer will not allow its use. You are stuck. There are three resolutions to this situation.

1. Buy a new OEM cartridge and then install it, make the switch back to photoblack, remove the new OEM cartridge and then reinstall the ARC chip AFTER the switching is done. Total cost...a new OEM cart. $30+

2. Purchase a resetter as indicated in prior posts. The resetter will reset the ink level to full and thus allow the switch. Cost $40+ dollars.

3. If you were wise and followed my instructions in the kit, you would NOT use up all the Photoblacks and Matte Blacks. As instructed I recommend removing these carts before they are close to empty...maybe half full is the time or when some of the colors are used up. Store these half full carts away as they will be used when you get yourself in a jam. Simply remove the ARC equipped cart, install the half used setup cart, perform the switch and immediately afterwards, remove and reinstall the ARC equipped cart. Total cost....Near ZERO. So don't use up all the black setup carts, take them out when they are still good with healthy ink levels they can end up saving you quite a bit.

So what about the colors you say. Simple, if a color is the cause of a restricted black switch, simply print something heavy in that color or even perform a head clean that would force a reset scenario and carry on. It is the blacks that will corner you in a jam.

Again, based on my testing the P600 in over a year's use, I have had to perform a head clean only being away for a couple weeks, it has endured longer than this without any problem before but I think, the very low humidity this winter is causing some issues. A week's time even in low humidity is not a problem at all. Sometime between a week to two, air infiltration starts occurring. So the old recommendation of once a week printing for Epsons appears to still ring true. So I do not foresee the waste ink pad issue coming up before warranty or after for quite a while unless the printer was being used commercially or was used heaavily. Otherwise print something once a week and it will keep the Epson printhead clean function away.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

the remote cartridge printers such as the R3000 and P600 do not perform a purge each time a cartridge is replaced.

I think it's good news that Epson has succeeded to reduce the number of cleaning cycles when changing cartridges and thus saving quite a lot of waste ink which pays off specifically for users of expensive genuine Epson cartridges.