Epson RX510 full waste ink pad

[MikeM]

The Epson tech support told me that the reason both the printer and
scanner of my RX510 stopped working was because the waste ink pad was
full. I haven't had the problem with other Epsons I have had, is it
normal in current Epson printers? The service depot told me it would
cost $65 + parts to get it going. It seems a bit pricy for what looks
to me like a sponge.

Thanks
Mike

 

[Tony]

The Epson tech support told me that the reason both the printer and
scanner of my RX510 stopped working was because the waste ink pad was
full. I haven't had the problem with other Epsons I have had, is it
normal in current Epson printers? The service depot told me it would
cost $65 + parts to get it going. It seems a bit pricy for what looks
to me like a sponge.

Thanks
Mike

Mike
This is not new, it has applied to Epson inkjets for many years.
To be fair to Epson, it is an attempt to prevent an ink overflow from the
printer. Some other manufacturers do the same thing. The issue I have is that
they do not document this "feature" in their user manuals, just provide a
cryptic suggestion that you contact a service agent.
What has happened is the printer has determined that the waste ink pads are
full, in reality with most Epson printers the pads are probably about 50% full,
in my experience, when this error is posted. The official fix is to replace the
pads and then reset the counter. The amount quoted to do the job is in my view
not unreasonable, to get at the pads in this all-in-one is quite a big job,
probably about 30-40 minutes labour plus the cost of the pads.
You do however have an alternative, you can reset the counter this one time; it
is probable that you will not get an ink leakage but next time you get the
error the pads must be replaced.
There are three ways to reset the counter...
1. I have read that the following will work but have never tried it.
Turn the printer off.
Press and HOLD all the following buttons: Power, Load/Eject, Stop, B&W, Color.
RELEASE BUTTONS when you see "Init eeprom" on printer screen. Press Colour
button to clear protection counter.
Power off and on again.
2. If this does not work go to http://www.ssclg.com/epsone.shtml and download
the utility. Once installed run the program and configure it, closing the main
window and right clicking the icon in the tray area, from there choose
Configure and select your printers model. After configuration, select
Protection counter -> Reset protection counter, it should be able to clear the
error message. If you get an error, disable the Epson status monitor and try
again.
3. The other method is to use the official Epson service program, I do not have
this so cannot help further but I believe it can be purchased from
www.manuals4you.com and maybe other sites.
Tony

 

[MikeM]

Thanks. You're 1 st suggestion worked. It looks like a lot of ink is
wasted.

Recently a salesman was trying to sell me the HP PSC 3110 and he said
that with that model the ink is not wasted but is returned to the
cartridges by the plastic tubes I saw coming out of the cartridges. I
haven't seen this mentioned on any site referring to the 3110. Do you
know if it really has an ink system that recycles the waste ink? I was
looking for a printer that would allow me to print as many as possible
of the photos I took on an overseas trip, and my Epson RX510 is
getting through a lot of ink. Do you know how the print quality of the
HP 3110 compares with the RX510?

Thanks
Mike

 

[Tony]

Mike
I do know that some of the new HP inkjet printers recycle the ink back into the
cartridge. This is potentially a real saving in ink. I don't know if this model
is one of those but I suspect it is.
I am always reluctant to give advice on relative print quality for printers but
in general Epson tend to provide better photo quality. I believe this is
changing as HP move their product line. The one thing I can guarantee is that
you will not have a waste ink pad full error with HP printers because they use
different technology.
Tony

 

[ken gracia]

Hi, im using a Epson RX630 multi printer and in reference to this Waste Ink
Pad problem which i suppose I will get at some stage, I have a couple of
questions. I'm not sure what the difference is between the RX 510 and the RX
630 but both have 6 cartridges.

How many cartridge changes before I should expect to get the error message
of Full Waste Ink Pad?

Is there any special equipment required for a person to be able to take out
the ink pad and change it?

cheers ken

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

Hi, im using a Epson RX630 multi printer and in reference to this Waste Ink
Pad problem which i suppose I will get at some stage, I have a couple of
questions. I'm not sure what the difference is between the RX 510 and the RX
630 but both have 6 cartridges.

How many cartridge changes before I should expect to get the error message
of Full Waste Ink Pad?

Is there any special equipment required for a person to be able to take out
the ink pad and change it?

cheers ken

There should be a way to modify the printer to redirect the waste ink
into an external tank. Then you can use the SSC Service Utility to
reset the counters.

From what I've heard, it takes about 8-12 sets of cartridges before
you have to get the tank cleared. One way to slow this down is to
never turn the printer off, thus limiting the amount of cleaning
cycles. Bad idea for a C-series with Durabrite ink, but fine for the
dyebased printers.

---

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

 

[ken gracia]

Thank you for that information. Yes I have done hardly any printing and yet
the cartridges a half full. I thought about leaving the printer on instead
of turning it off and on frequently to save ink cleaning. Is my printer
C-series or diebased ?
Ken

One way to slow this down is to
never turn the printer off, thus limiting the amount of cleaning
cycles. Bad idea for a C-series with Durabrite ink, but fine for the
dyebased printers.

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

Thank you for that information. Yes I have done hardly any printing and yet
the cartridges a half full. I thought about leaving the printer on instead
of turning it off and on frequently to save ink cleaning. Is my printer
C-series or diebased ?
Ken

All of the Epson R or RX printers with the guitar logo ink cartridges
are dye based. I don't know about your specific model, but here's more
information about modifying the waste ink tank.

http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=51595&forum_id=40



---

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

 

[Martin]

All of the Epson R or RX printers with the guitar logo ink cartridges
are dye based. I don't know about your specific model, but here's more
information about modifying the waste ink tank.

http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=51595&forum_id=40



---

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

Installing a waste ink tank on such a printer is likely to be a bit of a
nightmare unless you are very confident and good at remembering which
screw goes where and how to put it all back together again.

For all that though it should be possible but perhaps best waiting until
the printer is not working properly or by getting hold of a "faulty for
parts" version and testing it on that first..