Feedback request

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Hey folks...

As the more established folks will know I've become something of a Waste Ink expert (read: bore people silly ) but that aside I've been working hard on a look-up resource that lists key data for every model of Epson printer that I could find info on.

The tool is the QuickFind selection box on the OctoInkjet site (top left)...

I was basically wondering if any of you could give the tool a few kicks and let me know if you find any problems with it and/or any suggestions for possible improvements...

There's also a VERY basic tabulated version which lists ALL the printers along with a simple yes/no/possibly for each of the relevant fields so if that's of interest you can go here


Just as a note, the amount of information you'll see will likely be a bit limited as I've had to hamstring the results somewhat to stop the competition screen scraping the whole thing and taking months of research and work to rebrand as their own (already happened with other stuff of mine - to my annoyance!)... The code checks for existing customers and provides them with more detail (like reset links) so it's fairly robust.. or at least that's the hope


Anyway, thoughts, debugging info much appreciated...

Martin

 

[ghwellsjr]

Are you saying that for those of us that are not existing customers, we will not see much detail?---because that is all I see for most printers picked at random, a dimmed generic picture of a printer, and no useful information. Or is it because I don't have an Epson printer and so I'm picking printers that are not popular?

 

[websnail]

Are you saying that for those of us that are not existing customers, we will not see much detail?

At the moment that's the limitations on it..

In terms of the detail you should see is is:
- The printer image (if there is one)
- Is there information on how to modify the printer (If 'yes' there should be a link to the guide/resource)
- Is a resetter available (Yes/no for guests. Customers would see the link(s) to a resetter)
- Compatible Kit (if available)
- The zone(s) the printer is sold in
- Notes (if any) on tips/tricks relating to that model.

because that is all I see for most printers picked at random, a dimmed generic picture of a printer, and no useful information.

The generic printer image appears when an image hasn't been added for that printer. It's something on my todo list now that I have the base tool written.

The "useful information" is probably the bit I'm looking for in terms of feedback... Given that I don't want to give everything to content thieves, I do need to limit what's available and at the moment that's done by restricting things like direct links to resetters. Ideally though what I'm hoping to do is provide potential customers and users with an answer to the most basic questions ie:
- is my printer supported?
- can I reset it?
- is there information showing me how to modify it?

I'm guessing it doesn't provide that information as clearly as I'd like so perhaps some kind of tooltip explaining what each field means would be useful. Looking at it again I'm wondering if the way the information is laid out is wrong too... Hmm..

Or is it because I don't have an Epson printer and so I'm picking printers that are not popular?

A couple of examples where the printers have an image and/or more information would be:
- C86
- R1900
- R285


As I said it's all about getting feedback so if you want to throw a bucket of ice cold water over the current approach, fire away...





Just as a side topic: Regarding competitors and their less than scrupulous practices...
My key problem is that I'm developing resources that can easily be duplicated in much less time than I took to get it all allowing them to focus on SEO, etc... so I'd rather not hand them a massive advantage... Of course the problem is that it makes the information less accessible... "Pain in the ***" doesn't even come close to covering the frustration factor in this regard

 

[ghwellsjr]

OK, so now I can see some filled in information, but since I don't know what the information pertains to, maybe because I refill my own Canon cartridges, I'm not sure what kind of feedback you are looking for.

 

[websnail]

OK, so now I can see some filled in information, but since I don't know what the information pertains to, maybe because I refill my own Canon cartridges, I'm not sure what kind of feedback you are looking for.

Good point...

It'll probably be more relevant when I start attacking my Canon iP4200's, etc... and start providing guides on fitting external tanks, etc... for those.

 

[websnail]

Just quickly... given that you saw version #1... could you give it a quick look back over again..

I had a long think today and rewrote a good deal of the display code, while going for icons over long winded text. There's also less limitation now... I noticed that somehow I blocked modification access which shouldn't have happened...

So, anyway, gut reactions would be useful...

 

[ghwellsjr]

The icons are cute but without the text tips I would have even less idea of what they are for. I still don't have any idea what the problem is that this is the solution for. Maybe you should provide a help screen to explain why anyone would want to look up information on this utility. I'm sure if I spent a lot of time navigating through it, I would begin to understand but when I see something like this and it doesn't make immediate sense to me, I simply leave it and rarely go back to it unless someone comes along and tells me what I'm missing.

 

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The icons are cute but without the text tips I would have even less idea of what they are for. I still don't have any idea what the problem is that this is the solution for.

$deity I'm thick sometimes...

Because I'm so engrossed in the whole issue of waste ink and the dreaded "service required" (ie: [printer]s diaper needs a change), I kinda forget that it's not immediately obvious as to what this is all about. :/

Right... Quick primer.

As you know Canon printers have the same "waste counter" issue as all over inkjet printers... except in the case of Canon printers, it usually takes a while to happen and when it does it's usually just a case of a few well timed button presses to get you back up and running.

Canon printers are (or least "were") designed so that you could disassemble it enough to remove, clean and replace the pads with a bit of help from a service manual to remove the case and about 4 screws.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said of Epson inkjet printers which do not have the same rigid metal frame as Canon inkjets. Instead the plastic case provides support for the printers gross alignment and if you mess with this you need a specialist jig and tools to get it realigned again. This coupled with Epson printers chucking ink down the pads like a tandoori curry mixed with laxative, results in the pads reaching "full" quite quickly.

So, people have developed ways to access and redirect the waste tube that runs from the cleaning pump to an external tank, thus side stepping the pads altogether and allowing the user to deal with the waste without requiring further disassembly.

The other fly in the ointment is that Epson have made it increasingly impossible to reset the waste counter unless you are a service tech working for Epson or are lucky enough to have access to one of the publicly leaked copies...


So, that's the primer...

Where I, and my store come in, is that I developed a well designed (slight bias ) waste kit that is easy to install and maintain compared to a tube and a cup (as some folks have done). But obviously I always get asked about the resetters, and the instructions for fitting them to one of 300+ Epson printers.

So, to summarise... To make my job easier, to bring the potential customers in, and also to provide a tool that's been needed for ruddy ages I've developed that Quickfind tool to bring it all together.


Does that help?

 

[ghwellsjr]

That begins to help me, over here on this website, but how does it help someone like me over on your website?

Let me tell you what I think when I see a QuickFind button on the home page of a website. I think it is just a fancy name for a search function. I think it is to help me find something quickly on your website. But in your case, I'm not sure that is what it does or all that it does. I think you need at least a tip string to point a confused person to your FAQ page or somewhere that a complete newcomer can easily understand what it is all about.

Even after your lengthy explanation, I still have questions:

You sell a waste kit. Is there only one that fits all Epson printers or do you have different waste kits for different printers and maybe some printers are not compatible at all? Is the QuickFind there to tell me if my printer is compatible with your waste kit(s)?

As far as resetters go, are they pieces of hardware, like the resetters for the chipped Canon cartridges or are they key sequences like the ones used on Canon printers to reset the waste ink counter? Someone new to Epson printers would not have any idea about resetters, let alone the waste ink counter.

Your first icon's tip string says "Duo Box/Bag Kit". This means two of something. Is it one box and one bag add up to two? Or do you get two kits of the Box/Bag type? I presume this is your waste kit, but only because of the hint provided me by the adjacent icon whose tip string says "Custom Waste Ink Kit".

The next icon down is called Modification Guide. This sounds like it would be instructions on how to install your kit but that doesn't make sense, you wouldn't supply a kit without instructions. So maybe it provides a way to accomplish the same thing without buying your kit. But that doesn't make sense either. It must be something totally unrelated to your kits. But what?

The bottom icons are for Reset Utilities for purchase. Utilities don't sound like hardware. They sound like software. People don't expect to pay for this kind of software. Don't people really want to know where they can get the utility for free?

Your website and QuickFind utility make me very glad that I returned the very first inkjet printer I bought which was an Epson. It was a DuraBRITE printer and I purchased a refill kit online for more than the cost of the printer but after I found out the refill inks were dye and the original inks were pigment, I returned everything and bought a Canon. Why do people put up with this hassle?

 

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That begins to help me, over here on this website, but how does it help someone like me over on your website?

Roughly translated... For someone stumbling across the site, it's all a bit vague and lacks the necessary hand holding, docs, etc... to help someone through.. Yeah, I guess that's true.

..when I see a QuickFind button on the home page of a website. I think it is just a fancy name for a search function. I think it is to help me find something quickly on your website. But in your case, I'm not sure that is what it does or all that it does. I think you need at least a tip string to point a confused person to your FAQ page or somewhere that a complete newcomer can easily understand what it is all about.

Yeah... makes sense.. I have been thinking in terms of someone coming to the site with some pre-knowledge...

You sell a waste kit. Is there only one that fits all Epson printers or do you have different waste kits for different printers and maybe some printers are not compatible at all?

You have to remember that most people coming to the site will have a specific printer or printers in mind (something my search stats have proven to me at least) so it's likely they won't be thinking, "ooh waste tank which printer shall I buy for that..." It's normally the other way around..

To that end the quickfind does provide people with the ability to find everything about their printer.

Is the QuickFind there to tell me if my printer is compatible with your waste kit(s)?

... so yes, in essence it does... but as you pointed out, it doesn't really tell them that and needs more help like tooltips to explain what a person is seeing. Otherwise I'm guessing you could be someone looking for cartridges or a CD tray for that printer, or even a cartridge resetter and end up confused. Makes sense.

As far as resetters go, are they pieces of hardware, like the resetters for the chipped Canon cartridges or are they key sequences like the ones used on Canon printers to reset the waste ink counter? Someone new to Epson printers would not have any idea about resetters, let alone the waste ink counter.

Yeah, the joys of "terminology" and "semantics"... ie: The fact that different people have different words for the same things and different concepts, etc... Noted... so little tooltips on the terms with links for anyone who wants a more detailed explanation... Again, makes sense.

To answer the question though.. in this context a "resetter" or "Ink Pad Reset (IPR)" tool is a piece of software that resets the waste counter which in turn is the printers internal record of how much ink it thinks is in the waste pads.

Your first icon's tip string says "Duo Box/Bag Kit". This means two of something. Is it one box and one bag add up to two? Or do you get two kits of the Box/Bag type? I presume this is your waste kit, but only because of the hint provided me by the adjacent icon whose tip string says "Custom Waste Ink Kit".

Right... To be honest, this is where perhaps I disagree a bit.. Kit links are easy to click on and you then see what they are. In this regard the "Duo" means it's a kit for a printer with two waste tubes, "Solo" for one, etc... Wouldn't hurt to have "(for double waste tube printers)" although most people wouldn't have a clue how many tubes their printer has and just want to know which is compatible...

... hmm.. and yeah, that then makes me wonder about the "Custom" kit options... but that's a side issue for now.

.. Modification Guide. This sounds like it would be instructions on how to install your kit but that doesn't make sense, you wouldn't supply a kit without instructions.

Hmm... Again I guess it's something I need to rethink... In this instance there's two sets of instructions:
1. Generic data for fitting the kit to a waste tube, emptying the tank safely, etc...
2. Specific instructions for accessing the waste tube within that printer. There's over 300 different models...

The Generic information is provided as a printed guide with the kit while the QuickFind results point to the second set of instructions but obviously that's not clear and I'll need to think about it.

So maybe it provides a way to accomplish the same thing without buying your kit. But that doesn't make sense either. It must be something totally unrelated to your kits. But what?

Well, no, it isn't totally unrelated... Essentially this is where the marketing side of things kicks in.. The people who visit the site tend to fall into two categories.
- Tinkerers : people who will do it themselves with a coke bottle, cabbage and a matchstick if they had to.
...OR...
- Tech challenged : people who want it to work but want as much hand holding as possible.

Tinkerers often end up supporting the latter group or advise them so I'm trying to encourage them to remember useful resources. At the same time the search engines need something to latch on to so hiding everything makes it difficult to get found. The latter group will only find stuff through referral or search engines so in essence it's a bit of a balancing act.

The bottom icons are for Reset Utilities for purchase. Utilities don't sound like hardware. They sound like software. People don't expect to pay for this kind of software. Don't people really want to know where they can get the utility for free?

This is where specific knowledge comes in..

Epson do not release their reset utilities to the public (aside from some they were forced to, in North America only) and until about 18 months ago you were really stuck with the SSC utility. Other utilities in the form of Adjustment Utilities or Service Programs have been available whenever some Epson technician or other has leaked them to the net but they are usually very hard to find. Worst still, there's now various protective measures including activation codes, etc... that have been introduced to make these tools even harder to use, even if you can get one. Bottom line, Epson do not want the end-consumer to be able to reset their printer and continue to use it... They want them to buy new printers or take them to a service engineer and spend silly money on a service.

With reference to all of this.. I do actually have a site wasteink.co.uk that discusses many of these issues, if you're interested but basically this sort of stuff does filter through.


Anyway, to come back full circle, you are right about people wanting the free utility. The reason I don't provide that for non-customers straight off the bat is that I want to try and encourage people to buy a kit and get access that way... Sort of a carrot although I appreciate what you're saying.. It does seem a lot like blackmail except that all the utilities are publicly available... Finding them is VERY difficult though and it's taken me months to locate some of the better resources. Hard to quantify that in a way that the customer would understand though...

Your website and QuickFind utility make me very glad that I returned the very first inkjet printer I bought which was an Epson.

I imagine the stuff about the reset utilities has reinforced that opinion about Epsons... but in fairness Canon have started a slippery slope downwards themselves so it's not just Epson as the big evil. Canon have also brought out their own service utility instead of the button press functionality that has been a stable option for years so it seems they're seeing advantages to the "lock out" approach too.

It was a DuraBRITE printer and I purchased a refill kit online for more than the cost of the printer but after I found out the refill inks were dye and the original inks were pigment, I returned everything and bought a Canon. Why do people put up with this hassle?

Same reason they put up with Canon printers, chipped cartridges, printheads that blow taking printers with them... because they want to print...




Thanks for all the input though... It's forced me to take a much bigger step back and look at my site, resources and approach in a fresh light. Much appreciated.

Martin