All the information you may need is either on this page or can be found somewhere on the Internet. This page is now more extensive than before and holds the information to reset almost every Epson Printer. Please download the Help information on , which should help with all models. I will make this page a bit easier to use in the future, but for now, it's all here for you to find! All the problems you encounter have been made by Epson and we are simply trying to help here. Unfortunately, not all models can be reset using this free page, but there are links to some paid services should you need them, but our new Help pages should allow most models to be reset. None of the software programs or procedures available here were written or modified by us in any way and it is not known if any harbour any unforeseen malicious intentions. These messages will continue unless you reset the 'Protection Counter', this period is called the 'Overflow'. Each model also has a set amount of prints allowed on the Overflow, after which your printer will stop working and lock you out completely we call this 'Lock Out' , usually with two alternating flashing lights on the printer. All is not lost! You can unlock it, reset the overflow and reset the protection counter, bringing your printer back to life. The reason for having to do this according to Epson, is that your Ink Pads are full and need replacing. I had an Epson C86 printer reset under warranty by an Epson dealer and the ink pads were not replaced. This means that, all you really need to save your printer is the resetting software. If you have not already downloaded the program. Email from a user: It may help some of your customers to know that if using Windows 7 and needing to re-set an Epson Stylus Photo 915 you need to set the software to Compatibility mode Windows 7 before running the installer. Many thanks for your work in making this page! It was a great help. Philip see full Installing and opening the software : Install Software ssc service utility by double clicking on the 'Set Up' file or 'sscserve. If you chose to have a desktop shortcut when you installed the program, click this to start the program. Please Note: Some models are listed with an 'x' in the model number, this means that the 'x' can be a variety of numbers, for example, if you had an Epson C44 printer the selection for you would be the one that looks like this 'C4x'. Also for R265 users, your printer isn't listed so select the R270 with this version v4. Now close the program and it will continue to run in your Task Bar on your computer desktop Blue bar at the bottom of your computer screen. The icon looks like this You can now click the right mouse button on the icon in the Task Bar to use the menu you require. Using the software, tips and advice: If you require more images and simpler instructions for using this software,. Standard Reset If your printer is giving warnings that your printer is due maintenance, this usually means that the printer has counted the prints it has carried out and reached a predefined limit, the only requirement now is to reset the counter which will then release your printer hardware and start counting your prints from zero once more. Click the right mouse button on the program icon and select protection counter like so Click on 'Reset protection counter' and you'll be asked if you have replaced the ink pad, select Yes or OK, it will then say counter reset. If you now select 'Show current value', it should show the counter as 0 zero. If there are any numbers in the counter overflow, click on 'clear counter overflow'. You are now ready to continue printing as normal as if your printer is brand new. Locked Out If the printer has passed the maximum prints and you've continued printing throughout the warning, after an 'overflow' amount of prints, it may lock out completely giving you two flashing lights on your printer which you can't reset without this software or without pressing a sequence of buttons. Wait about 5 minutes for the printer to reset. This will reset your printer and stop the lock out. If both lights are still flashing or there are any other problems see and then return here to continue. You are now ready to continue printing as normal as if your printer is brand new. If your printer is listed but this procedure didn't work for you, first try switching computer and printer off and then restarting, still not, then read on or use the links at the top to check other things that can be stopping it. The Ink Pads Don't worry about the ink pads themselves as they are on a flat enclosed tray and as the ink is water based, the water evaporates leaving behind the pigment only, which just means discoloured pads. Liquid ink is only present in the pads shortly after cleaning. However, if you've had to clean the heads a lot due to prolonged lack of use, there will be quite a lot of liquid in the pads for a while until it evaporates so don't lean your printer on its side or back for a few days or a week. Now you can start again from the top. If there are any further problems. At this point a variety of events could take place, such as the printer software may have switched to offline, the printer buffer could be holding unprinted tasks and many other hardware and communication blocks, which may still stop you continuing with normal use of your printer. If this menu choice is not available, the printer is already online and ready for use. Close all windows and carry on printing as normal. Print jobs are still queued Make sure your printer is switched on and connected to your computer with a USB lead before continuing. Wait until all queued jobs are cleared from this screen. This utility also has other features such as separate colour cleaning and deep cleaning. Beware of the deep cleaning, this is for very bad clogging on the heads through prolonged lack of use and uses nearly half a cartridge of ink from all colours to clear the blockages. These other utilities are only available to some Epson printer models. You can also carry out your nozzle checks and other normal utility functions using this software. Use it separately to your normal Epson printer software and close the program from the taskbar once you have finished with the utility. The program will normally shut off when you shut your computer down and will not run again unless selected from your programs list. Some printers are designed to stand alone as well as work with a computer, therefore they have 2 different software programs controlling them, 1 within and 1 from the computer. This can sometimes throw up a continuous problem or rejection when an error occurs. Control from the computer is always the best form of printer control as there is so much more you can do with the diversity of the computer as opposed to the set built in software in the printer. So when a cartridge circuit fails, your printer will recognise this and tell you of a problem. Unfortunately, printers don't have the extra facility of 'error message clearing' and may keep showing the same error from that point on unless the printer 'firmware' is reset in some way. With the service utility, there are extra functions that can be used for full control of your printer, depending on the model and level of support supplied for that model. One such useful tool is 'Soft Reset', this will reset anything in the printer 'buffer' storage area and the built in software firmware. This will normally set your printer back to its default settings. To find Soft Reset, click the right mouse button on the SSC Service Utility icon which will be running in the blue task bar at the bottom of your desktop screen, then select 'Extra'. There you'll find 'Soft Reset'. When you click the left mouse button on the soft reset, it will take a few minutes to reset so the best advice to give is to go and make a cup of tea once you've selected it and do absolutely nothing to the computer or printer for at least 5 minutes. Make sure the printer is completely silent not operating before closing any programs or switching off the printer. Your printer should now be reset completely with all previous tasks, errors and set-ups forgotten by the printer. Whatever the problem was before resetting the printer, may still need to be put right. Therefore, if your problem was cartridge error messages persisting, then you'll need to use the normal 'Maintenance' screen on the computer printer software and use the 'Ink Cartridge Replacement' button and either pretend to change the cartridge if a replacement cartridge has already been used to replace a failed one that was giving the error by physically removing it and reinserting it as if you were changing it or actually change the cartridge if you have not already done so. If error messages continue to appear after changing more than two cartridges of the same colour, then it is very possible that the printer circuitry controlling that particular colour has malfunctioned and if still under guarantee 1 year standard , should be put in for service or replacement. Remember that Epson dealers will always try to blame the use of compatible cartridges for any fault with the printer so it may be advisable to buy an Epson brand cartridge of the same colour as the failing colour port or if you are a confident person, instruct the dealer or store to repair or replace your printer with the full backing of the law that allows you to use any brand of cartridge manufactured to suit your printer. You may be told that using new cartridges made by OTHER companies compatible to your printer nullifies your guarantee. This is not so! How to unlock your Epson RX500 printer If your RX-500 printer has stopped printing and can't be reset, you will usually see either a steady red light or alternating red and green lights and the printer will not respond. You will be allowed a certain amount of overflow prints to the protection counter limit, after which the printer will completely stop. There is software online that will normally reset most Epson printers that have reached this limit and is used by Epson Service Engineers called SSC Service Utility sscserve. All is not lost, you can manually reset the firmware using the following sequence of actions: Close down all Epson programs Exit all Epson printer programs that may be running in the background or on your task bar. Carry this out for any Epson programs running. Now to reset your printer. Switch off the printer using the power button. Next press the Color button to clear the protection counter. Follow any other instructions given by the printer. Clean your print heads if print is not perfect. If your print is not perfect, this may be because your printer has not been used for a while and so the fixed print heads have dried ink on them. You will need to carry out 3 head cleans with no printing of nozzle check patterns. If improved but not perfect carry out the above process again. If perfect, continue to use your printer as normal and try to use it at least once per fortnight. If absolutely no improvement is seen after cleaning the heads 3 times or more, your heads are severely blocked and will need cleaning solution to resolve this. Please order the appropriate colour for your Epson printer
