Interpret waste ink counter values on Artisan 800?

korny

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I decided to test a reset utility software (WIC reset 1.5.42) to read the Waste Ink Counter values..and now Im curious what they mean?
..this is on a new Artisan 800.

5.35% (424 of 7923)
0.09% (11 of 12284)

I could guess, but I thought I would ask you guys...

My understanding is that I can get a utility from Epson to do a reset, but the above one ($20 per reset?) , will let you read the counter values, so I decided to try it....
 

websnail

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korny said:
I decided to test a reset utility software (WIC reset 1.5.42) to read the Waste Ink Counter values..and now Im curious what they mean?
..this is on a new Artisan 800.

5.35% (424 of 7923)
0.09% (11 of 12284)

I could guess, but I thought I would ask you guys...
The two figures are for different counters... One is "platen pad" while the other is the main waste pad.

The platen pad is the pad that sits under the printhead path and catches any borderless overspray while the main pad is, rather obviously, the big waste pad that all cleaning and priming routines dump ink into.

My understanding is that I can get a utility from Epson to do a reset, but the above one ($20 per reset?) , will let you read the counter values, so I decided to try it....
The utility from Epson is available for the Artisan 800 if you are a North American customer with one of their N.Am' printers (Europe, etc... need not apply apparently) but there is an "unlocked" version kicking of the service utility (AdjProg) kicking around as well.

The WICReset will let you, as you found, read the waste information for nought but resetting costs around $10 per key (required for the reset) although you can get the key cheaper elsewhere *waves around and points to signature ... subtly.. * ;)

When you get to the 810FW and the newest series you do need the WICReset though as nothing else is out in the wild...
 

cwongtech

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What happens once platen pad waste counter is used up? Will the printer continue to operate fine?
 

jtoolman

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Unless you have been re routing your waste ink for collection to an external bottle. When the counters reach MAX. You will not be able to print until the counters are reset. BUT as I said, unless you have been re routing your waste ink for collection to an external bottle all along, your pads MAY be to the point where they would overflow ( depending on how full they really were ) printer basically turns itself "OFF".
THE END!
You could reset it and continue printing and you might or might not get ink overflow down the road.

Some folks say that they've reset once of twice but I would still recommend an immediate waste ink system installed.
The good thing is that replacing the pads on an Artisan AIO is a relatively simple process. Other printers are a nightmare.

Take a look at my ridiculous list of printers on my Sig. They are all set up for waste ink collection ( well, the 3800s have built in waste tanks ).
 

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cwongtech said:
What happens once platen pad waste counter is used up? Will the printer continue to operate fine?
Sorry, just realised I'd seen a message and not responded from over the weekend but forgot to mark it as unread..

As Jtoolman has indicated, you'd still need to reset the waste counter...
 

cwongtech

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websnail said:
cwongtech said:
What happens once platen pad waste counter is used up? Will the printer continue to operate fine?
Sorry, just realised I'd seen a message and not responded from over the weekend but forgot to mark it as unread..

As Jtoolman has indicated, you'd still need to reset the waste counter...
So why would it have two waste counters if the platen pad is going to be the one that fills up much faster than the main waste ink tank?
 

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The platen actually doesn't fill up quicker than the main pad unless you are printing considerable amounts of borderless printing. This is because the platen pad is there to collect any overspray from borderless printing and doesn't deal with the primary culprit of ink waste, ie: cartridge priming and printhead cleaning, waste for which is directed down to the main pad (or external tank if fitted)

As the platen is much more open to the environment the calculations are presumably different to allow for a greater level of evaporation over time. Educated guess on the latter but there has been some evidence to indicate that time and evaporation is a factor taken into account on trigger levels and counts.

So, to summarise the platen pad counter is there where the platen pad is a separate entity from the main pad. If it was all left to the main pad counter then the platen could build up with overspray ink and start soiling the underside of prints.

That help?
 

cwongtech

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So is this the platen pad for an Epson NX430?
If that is... it looks easily user replaceable, and anyway, I've put a tissue on it before and Ink just drained right into the tissue.
 

caitsith2

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That is only the top side of the platen pad. For the bottom side of this, flip the printer up along the side, and remove your paper tray.

This is where your Platen Pad actually is.
platen_pad_location.jpg


This is with the pad unhooked and removed. As you can see, the top side pad drains into the bottom side via capillary action.
platen_pad_removed.jpg


And this is the platen pad assembly itself.
platen_pad_assembly.jpg


Because WICReset and iWIC both reset both of the counters, you would actually have to keep track of when the platen pad actually reaches about 100%, and check this one out. If you have the adjprog for your printer, you can selectively reset only the Waste Ink tray, and let the platen pad continue to count up, till it is nearly full.

These pictures apply to the Artisan 700 and 800 series, (as well as PX700/PX800 and TX700/TX800 series.)
 

santer

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I have a resetter for the 700 and 800 series, it hasn't specifically been on a 810 yet but if anyone wants to try it, let me know

You can get the North American resetter sent to a UK e-mail address, so I'm guessing it would work with any e-mail address, however, it only reset the counters back to 40% on first use, then didn't work after that.
 
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