Epson R220 "Service Required"?

[videobread]

I have Epson R220's and do a lot of DVD printing. I'm getting the following message: "Service Required", "Parts inside your printer are near the end of their service life. See your printer documentation." It's still working. Anyone ever see this message before. I have not. Is there any "fix" or just toss when it stops printing?

[jman98]

Off the top of my head I would guess that any repair work would probably cost very close the cost of just replacing it. I work in IT and a few years a co-worker told me that any time he has a printer problem, he just throws it away and buys a new one. He never tries to fix it. He said that new printers always drop in price and they're always better and cheaper than whatever he used to have. That's really good advice and it's served me well over the years. Just something to think about if nobody has a better answer for you.

[davebarnes2009]

have you tried (ssc service utility) it should be a free download

[videobread]

I downloaded http://www.ssclg.com/download/sscserve.exe and installed the utility, but it did not fix my problem. I'm still getting a "Service Required" message.

[CobraPilot]

I put this exact error/warning message into the search of www.fixyourownprinter.com, and received this workaround for the Epson RX620. Might or might not work for yours, but there were a lot of posts at this site about this error message covering a whole slew of Epsons.

To clear the error message and reset the printer - Hold down the STOP and the B&W Start buttons while powering on the printer. This should clear the error message and reset the printer.

What does your documentation say about this message?

[davebarnes2009]

have you gone into the ssc icon in right hand tool bar right click on the mouse and scroll to show main window and click configuration and select your printer model close it and go back to the tool bar and click onto extra then do a soft reset then turn off the printer that usually fixes any problems with those type of printers it is a very useful tool if your model is on there

[videobread]

Fixed it - no more "Service Required" message. The SSC program is really neat. My counter showed 43,000. I reset it to zero. That did not do it. What finally fixed it was manually move the ink pad receptacle to the right. That seems to have reset something. The software asked me if I replaced the ink pad receptacle. I said Yes. I think that was the problem. I did not actually replace it.

Anyway, I have a chip re-setter but, this SSC program lets you resets each cart which is a nice function.
I don't know who ssclg.com is, seems to be some Russian outfit
I have done business with scc-inc.com for years and assume it is their utility. scc-inc.com is a reputable company

[misterbill]

Google, clean ink pad on Epson-R220.

Oops, waited too long to post.

Had to do that on mine a couple years ago. Still have it but don't use it. I bought an HP C55## series and it gets much better cartridge life, cheaper too.

[LCSHG]

videobread
First said

I downloaded http://www.ssclg.com/download/sscserve.exe and installed the utility, but it did not fix my problem. I'm still getting a "service Required" message.


THAN
Fixed it - no more "Service Required" message. The SSC program is really neat
----------------------------------------------------------------



You r post indicated the SSC Didn't fix thr original problem why is it neat
I have an Epson Printer with 4 cartridge I fill them and have used the same replacement cartridges for almost 2years [ No Resetter]
The R can also without a resetter

[classfour]

Just keep an eye on the ink pad - they will get full and make quite a mess. I had the "waste ink mod" on an R300 (with CIS).

[videobread]

The SSC program tipped me off to the problem being with the ink pad. I told the software "Yes" I changed the pad. I also went in and dabbed the ink waste pad with tissue paper and got rid of a lot of excess ink. I don't want ink all over down the road so I will do that every once in a while. I've never had an Epson last this long to come across this problem.

[juststarting]

I have auto reset cart for Epson R280 and ink carts cost around $1.50 ea plus $5.95 shipping no matter how many ordered. Get $3 credit each at Staples (which is changing to $2 at end of month) and have been pretty happy so far. I did drill two holes and refilled 1 ink cart just to see if it works and it did.
My question is what's a good, cheap, bulk ink for the epson printers? Last bulk ink I bought was for the R200 which I still use for printing DVDs, the R280 prints them also, but not as vividly (could be the ink with the new carts). I previously paid around $6 a 4-oz. bottle plus $7 shipping for Print-On-A-Dime ink, but was wondering if anyone knew of cheaper good quality ink in pint bottles for a good price.

[LCSHG]

juststarting

Don't know what is meant by [Cheap Ink]
Some ink's are not good or color is off. I use a replacement ink for everythi and a replacement cartridge that does not require a chip resetter. and can be refilled over and over. The ink's used have been very good

You mihgt try this site
http://www.inkproducts.com
Look carefully most products are listed

[juststarting]

They show 6 60ml bottles for $48.00 plus shipping. That's more than $8.00 for a 2-ounce bottle. That would have to be very good ink for that price.

[Nelson37]

That price is cheaper than the generic ink they used to sell at Staples, likely the same stuff.

That amount will yield 6 or 7 refills, 8 bucks for a refill versus over 50 for new.

Works for me, in fact Staples quit selling them a while back and I am almost out, I may buy some.

Same ink has been either Stratitec or Jettec, haven't had any issues over a dozen refill sets or so. I'm on my third R200.

[LCSHG]

Some users look for the cheapist ink they can buy A number of years ago I did go for this but soon learned that all ink is not the same and can dry up in a print head, br off color etc.
I have an Epson NX300 and Workforce 600 . Both use the same cartridges and ink. . I bouhgt the replacementc artridges for both and replacement ink.Have not had any problems
A user shoulr buy Printer supplies from a vender they like and that may not ot be one there happy with

To add
If a printer is not used often it might be a good idea to run a B&W and color copy through it at times
I agree . Keep a printer clean. IF a clean ing pad . or the gprinter itself ets filled up more t5han it should .
You or the printer could be at fault

[Jeremiah58]

I have Epson R220's and do a lot of DVD printing. I'm getting the following message: "Service Required", "Parts inside your printer are near the end of their service life. See your printer documentation." It's still working. Anyone ever see this message before. I have not. Is there any "fix" or just toss when it stops printing?

I apologize for bumping this old thread, but it has saved me from buying a new printer.
This is an obvious dirty trick from Epson to lure you to buy a new printer.
I have used the instructions and the freeware software from this link: http://inkjetprinterhelp.us/epsonSSC.html
This will remove the "error" and enable you to continue to use your old printer.

[videobread]

I bought four R220's when they were going out of production from Epson. The first one lasted about a year. The second is lasting forever and the carts are cheap on ebay. I still have two new ones in boxes. Once you know how to work with them they last forever. I've had to reset and clean the ink sump. The key is to use them and not let them sit idle so the jet on the printer will not clog.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290722072823?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619 Can't beat the cart price and fast USA shipping.

[juststarting]

Dumped the R200 and am now using an R280. The R200 printed the DVDs much better than the R280. Even with the genuine Epson ink that came with the R280 the seem washed out compared to the R200. I'm still looking for software to reset the cartridges to full all at once so it doesn't got through a cleaning cycle when each cartridge shows low. I refill all the cartridges when one shows low and stops the print, but even though the other cartridges are full they still show up as low, one at a time.

[videobread]

You need a "chip resetter" http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chip-resetter-for-epson-Stylus-Photo-R260-R280-R380-RX580-RX59...item27c1fb42e4

Sometimes if I have a new DOA (bad) cart I will take the chip from an old one and swap them out. The chip does not measure the ink in the cart. If you reset the chip, with the resetter, it registers new on the printer.

[juststarting]

I have auto reset chipped cartridges, but I believe the Epson program goes by estimated usage to tell when a cartridge is low. I can remove all the cartridges and reinstall but only the one cartridge that originally showed up as low shows up as full.

[videobread]

I have not used auto reset chip carts. I'd buy new carts and a resetter. http://www.ebay.com/itm/14PK-Non-OEM-ink-for-R260-R280-R380-RX580-RX595-RX680-/3305569...item4cf6ba1a95
14 280 carts for $20 delivered. The resseter is $5 delivered http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chip-resetter-for-epson-Stylus-Photo-R260-R280-R380-RX580-RX59...item27c1fb42e4

[juststarting]

Maybe I'll buy the resetter for $5 and see what happens. The carts I have now, I can either put in a new ink supply cart in the frame of the chipped outer frame cart or just refill with bulk ink, reseal filler hole, and replace cart and shows up as new. But even if I remove all carts and replace at same time, only the original low ink cartridge shows up as full.

[videobread]

I don't refill carts because they are cheap on Ebay, ($1.50 each for your 280), and a mess to deal with. There is some issue on the date of manufacture of the R280 for cart compatibility. The R220 does not have the compatibility problem. Good luck.

[juststarting]

How does the color of the ink look compared to Genuine Epson ink? I had bought some cheap carts on ebay and the ink seemed really washed out.
Thanks

[videobread]

I have not noticed any difference but, I don't print professional quality photos. I print pastels and black on DVDs. I have a laser printer for general everyday use.