Epson printer 'needs service'.

[Mr_Spencer]

Went to print out on my Epson C62 and got the message 'Parts inside your printer are at the end of their service life. Contact your dealer for replacement.' Having Googled I find the ink pads need cleaning, but then you have to reset the print counter. To do this you use a utility which is for a PC only. So I'm stumped. Anyone have any experience of this, and any answers?

 

[SGilbert]

Most lower end printers these days are "throw-away" They sell cheap, and the mfgr's make their money on ink. Just like the Gillette & Schick razors.

Ditch it & buy a new printer. Less than $100 and it comes WITH ink.

 

[Mr_Spencer]

Well you see, that's just plain wrong. Not your advice, but the idea I should throw away a perfectly good piece of kit because the manufacturer decides I should. I think I shall try cleaning the ink pads, plugging it into a friend's PC and running the utility. Shame there's nothing for a Mac that does it.

 

[SGilbert]

FYI, my son just bought an HP printer/scanner/copier/fax tonight at Sam's Club for $39.97 (including ink). {They has a Lexmark for $15 something}

At that price, it's cheaper to throw it away & buy new each time!

 

[Hughvane]

Well you see, that's just plain wrong ...the idea I should throw away a perfectly good piece of kit ... I think I shall try cleaning the ink pads, plugging it into a friend's PC and running the utility.

I tend to sympathise with and support your stand on retaining a piece of hardware that works, but needs 'fixing'. Have you been here?
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?oid=14418&cookies=no
(the cookie thing might throw your computer off the scent, but you'll get there). Maybe they can offer you assistance with your model of printer.

To balance what I say, there does come a time when a piece of equipment is not worth, economically and realistically, persisting with or fixing. I went through that with a perfectly good Epson 800 and a Mac G3. The printer was serial, adaptors didn't work, so the printer had to go. So did the computer.

I suggest that if repair costs for a printer at the end of its useful life are higher than replacement cost, then take the C62 to a recycling centre and buy a new printer.

 

[Mr_Spencer]

Thanks for your understanding - the idea of a hole in the ground filling up with serviceable printers, etc., is madness. The link you posted confirmed what I've figured, that I need to clean the ink pads, then hook it up to a PC and reset the counter. Can't find Mac software to do this so I shall just have to swallow my Mac pride and use my friend's computer.
After Googling there seems to be quite a groundswell of opinion against manufacturers building this sort of obsolescence into their hardware, so let's fight back, eh?

 

[Hughvane]

Thanks for your understanding - the idea of a hole in the ground filling up with serviceable printers, etc., is madness. ... After Googling there seems to be quite a groundswell of opinion against manufacturers building this sort of obsolescence into their hardware, so let's fight back, eh?

Yes, the subject of 'planned obsolescence' is vigorously debated. Computer and peripherals recycling is a relatively new phenomenon in this country, and it was public pressure that brought it about.

Having said that, the C62 is quite an 'old' printer in terms of modern technology. My guess is that Epson figured "after 5 years, and XY number of print jobs, the technology used in that printer will have been superseded anyway, so let's give it a limited life".

I think you're lucky that you can still refurbish the printer. Manufacturers and suppliers are notorious for declining to stock spare parts etc for what they consider to be obsolete technology. I take it the counter is an electronic device rather than a physical meter you can reset manually. Whatever, good luck with the refurbishing job.