Same Model Epson Printer As A Backup For Parts

[hdtvjeff]

Question for the experts:

Let's say somebody has an Epson r1800, workforce 4540. workforce60, workforce 7010 and Epson 3800 and they find online a "broken" one for pennies on the dollar.

1) can a print head from a workforce 4540 or other model simply be switched, is it difficult to do so, or is it branded by serial number and needs a utility program from Epson and if so, where does one get those utility programs?

2) Is there a physical limit to how many prints a printer can make no matter how well it's maintened?

Came across this from a large format Epson

BEGIN:

Main Unit The end of the life is reached when any one of the
following conditions is met.
• Duration of service: 5 years
• Print pages: 12,000 pages
(with A2-sized plain paper in the Quality mode)
• Carriage movements: 1,600,000 cycles

Print Head The end of the life is reached when any one of the
following conditions is met.
• Duration of service: 5 years (at room temperature)
Total shots: 28,000,000,000 shots/nozzle
Pump Assy. Pump Motor’s revolutions: 400,000
Cartridge Holder
Waste Ink Pads
Ink Cartridge removal: 1,200 times
(Total amount of 9 inks: 160 g)
Ink Selector Selection lever switching operations: 7,800 cycles
Ink Tube Carriage movements: 4,800,000 cycles
Mechanism Absorbers for Borderless
Printing
Counter of Absorbers for Borderless Printing
(Print pages: 10,000 pages with L-sized paper)
END

So, do all printheads eventually go bye bye, and if you have a spare printer for parts that you picked up for $25, can it be interchangeable?

Thanks guys, this forum is a godsend.

jeff

 

[ghwellsjr]

I sure hope those EOL specs were targets for the designers. I hope my Epson printer doesn't "die" just because it has been 5 years since I started using it or worse, 5 years from when it was manufactured. I have purchased extra identical Epson printers as spares. I don't relish the idea of exchanging parts except for the waste ink tank which is user replaceable. Wouldn't it be terrible if my Epson printer died after 4 and a half years of use and then a few months after I started using one of the spares it "dies" because it has been 5 years since it was made?

 

[websnail]

With Epson R1800's and even Stylus Color 740 units still being sold as working on eBay and the like I think you can fairly safely rule out cut outs that expire after 5 years. The waste ink pad issues are certainly not terminal but I suspect as ghwellsjr notes above it's more likely a specification for design tolerances rather than inbuilt expiry. I suspect there's more than a few urban myths built up around the idea though...