Help!

Need to print on my Epson L350.

paper and ink lights are flashing alternatively.

Seems this can be caused by the waste ink counter being too high。

I tried a program called WIC but it can't connect to the "Buy a reset key" site!

O woe is me! Anyone got a key?

Edit:

OK, managed to buy a key via paypal, printer works.

Now I want to:

a) Permanently disable the Waste Ink Counter scam
or
b) reset it to a value less than 90%, which is what $7.96 bought from the Vietnamese gentleman.

Any tips??

According to the Epson website, this sort of problem indicates that the printer is nearing EOL. They say the reset utility, which is available free from their website, can be used only once. I no longer have an Epson (I had one that served me well several years ago), so I have no way of testing this.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Storesu...nkPadsForm.jsp

There seem to be a lot of videos about this at YouTube. I looked a few, and they were all looking to sell something.

Just for curiosity, if this computer is networkable, have you tried hooking it up to your network and seeing whether you can look at its settings in a browser?

Each time you switch on the printer and it does its little dance to clean the heads prior to printing it's effectively "blowing its nose" into a felt pad or pads which live in the base of the printer. Obviously over a period of time the pad (or pads) will fill up and will be unable to absorb any further ink spat out during the cleaning cycle. Epson know how many power ons/cleaning cycles can be done before this state is reached. They trigger the waste ink counter warning at this point.
So... Even though you've managed to override the warning, the inside of your printer will turn into a gloopy ink mess as it can't handle the waste ink anymore.
Check out this youtube video which will give you some idea of how to replace the pad(s), not your model of printer, but the concept is the same.

Hope this helps!

Play Bonny!

Thanks both of you!

I started the printer, then unplugged it while the print head was out, (the only thing I could think of to get at the pads) then had a look at the pads. There was not much ink. I mopped it up with some tissues.

We found a shop in the Zhu Jiang Lu here in Nanjing, they said they and only they can reset it to 0 and it will cost 130 Yuan. That's an hour from here on the metro.

Can you give me the link to the epson original reset program please? I can't find it. I would rather use their program if I can.

I have downloaded 2 different programs to reset it. They are both Windoze, so I will need to start Win on the weekend and try them, not something I relish. Win takes about 10 minutes to start and another 10 to stop. I don't know how people can use it!

Personally, I think Epson should mention this when you buy. There is nothing wrong with my printer, but that chip stopped it dead.

The link in my previous post pointed to a page at the Epson website. At the bottom of that page, there is a form asking to fill out with your contact information in order to download their maintenance utility.

Note that I have not tested, nor do I have any way of testing, their utility, as I no longer have an Epson printer.

Good luck.

I've found a website via Google which will supposedly reset the Waste Ink Counter here. I've no idea whether it works but it appears the latest Linux version is dated 9th August 2016 so it may be worth giving it a go? It doesn't particularly mention the L350 as one of the target printers, the LH thumbnail screen shot at the bottom of the first linked page shows a search for XP3... types only so you might get lucky.

The other way to do the job is to borrow a Windows laptop from a friend and use a Windows reseter, easier and cheaper than having to head off to the Computer shop.

Anyway... My

If you do manage to find something and get it to work, please post your findings (and any instructions) back here.

Good luck and Play Bonny!

Thanks everybody!

I will of course first try the Linux resetter. I'm loathe to do it before the weekend, in case I can't print after that, so I'll wait till Thursday evening. ( My weekend starts on Thursday evening) That will give me time to sort out any problems. I will definitely post the results here!

The reason I bought Epson is: near here is a shopping centre with lots of little print/copy shops. Nearly all seem to have old Epson printers, some nearly 10' wide, with self rigged external tanks. They just go on forever if there is no microchip stopping them!

Lame Duck Dept.

What do you call the God of Cheese?

Cheesus!

Well, I ran the Linux version of wicReset. It is the same program for which I downloaded the Windoze version. To reset the counter you have to buy a key. The key cost me $7.96 I think. Not a biggie. At the time the program told me, my counter had been reset to 90%. Since I have had this printer for about 2 years, I thought, "Oh, in 2 or 3 months I will be at 100% again and need a new key."

$8 from every Epson printer owner every 2 years is not a bad income.

However, when I ran the button 'read waste counters' just now, it said (see screenshot) 1.42%, which is much better. I can print another 2 years.

I still think it is a scam. A chip renders a perfectly good printer unuseable.

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