I recently composed this posting for an Epson list, where someone was
complaining about the exact same problem with a 1270 or 1280, which is a
larger carriage version printer, not a great deal different from your
own. Most of my comment apply to your situation as well (See below).
Art
The most common causes of a newly replaced brand new out of box OEM
Epson cartridge reading empty are twofold. On some printers there is a
leaf spring which needs to make a temporary loss of contact from the
removal of the old cartridge, which resets the printer to recognize a
cartridge change has occurred. When the new cartridge is then
installed, this contact is reestablished and the printer then reads the
cartridge for ink quantity and goes through the purging process.
Look to see if your model has this small leaf spring (usually at the
back of the cartridge cage) and that it is not deformed, stuck down from
dried ink, etc. You can try to gently press it with a tip of a
ball-point pen or something similar to try to (exercise) actuate it. If
it is jammed down that may be why you are not getting a recognition of
the new cartridge. After trying to get the spring to move a bit, try to
put the cartridge back in and see if it works.
The second cause, is if the cartridge chip pads are not making full
contact with the wire contacts in the cartridge cage. Make sure the
contacts in the printer cartridge area are uncompromised by dirt or
dried ink or paper, and that they have not been bent or damaged. If the
contact wires are not touching the pads on the cartridge chip when it is
installed, you will not get proper reading of the cartridge status.
The wires in the printer which contact the cartridge are made of a very
brittle spring wire, which can break if they have been abused (like by
trying to place a cartridge in which is missing its chip and then trying
to remove it). Try cleaning them with some alcohol and a cotton swab
(same for the cartridge chip pads).
However, you MAY be able to very gently bring those wires forward if it
looks like some are pressed back too far and not making proper contact.
Be very careful and do not try to manipulate them more than a gentle
tug or push. Anything more can cause them to snap off. They are made
of similar metal wire to that used in a North American phone jack (the
part in the wall, not the part on the phone wire). It is a very
hardened spring steel, which isn't supposed to distort.
You may also be able to place a thin "shim" (or paper or cardboard) in
between the cartridge and the cartridge "cage" which will press the chip
side of the cartridge more firmly on the wire contacts, but this is
likely a "stopgap" to a repair. The shim needs to be on the opposite
side of the cartridge that the chip contacts and contact wires are, to
try to move the chip pads and wires closer together.
If all else fails, and you cannot get the unit working, I would escalate
this within Epson. My view on this is that the only real reason Epson
has developed this system is to try to force people to buy their ink
cartridges. They added a layer of mechanical and electronic complexity
to the machine which give the customer hardly any value at all (they
will claim it allows you to change cartridges mid-stream and keep track
of ink levels, but few people do so or benefit from this. Let's be
clear, this is a system designed to confound refilling and not much else.
Since the only mechanism which appears to be at fault is this part of
your printer, and especially since you are using Epson's own OEM ink
cartridges, I believe you have the moral high ground here. I would
strongly suggest to Epson that they cover this repair even out of
warranty, because of the part of the printer which has failed (and don't
rule out that they had a bad batch of cartridges... it has happened...
where the chip is not aligned properly or was misprogrammed).
If they are unyielding, I would recommend this:
1) I'd let them know you will never buy another Epson product and that
you will tell your friends to do the same and why (it is people like you
that Epson makes it's real money on... people who buy their OEM inks and
or papers... people buying continuous ink systems and 3rd party inks and
papers leave Epson with very little profit from the sale of the printers)
2) Tell them you plan on putting in a formal complain with your state's
(if in the US, at least) Attorney General's office regarding violation
of the Sherman Anti-Trust and Clayton Acts (Just Google them for more
information) and asking their office to investigate and to consider
proceeding with legislation to protect consumers from exactly this type
of problem.
3) Don't just threaten to do it... to it!
Epson and others have no legitimate right to force, or attempt to force
you to use their consumable products. They should be charging fair and
legitimate prices for the printers to begin with, so they do not need to
coerce you into buying their inks, and designing elements into their
printers which either force you to use their repair services (with the
waste ink pads) or to deal with flaky hardware designs which break down
and are only there to advance their own interests.
I'd be most interested in the results if you take any of my suggestions,
and I would suggest you report back publicly to the group.
In my opinion, Epson needs to be held to dealing with this type of
matter and some others which involve aspects of their designs which can
harm the consumer unfairly.
TALK WITH YOUR WALLET if all else fails. Other companies (particularly
Canon) are being more balanced in their approach to printers versus
consumables and from what I have seen, you will not be compromising
either value or output quality.
Art
