Waste Ink pad replacement for Epson XP-410

There will eventually come a time when your printer parts near the end of their service life. So, what can you do when this happens? Does that mean your entire printer is a lost cause? We will explore these questions more in this blog.

What is an “End-of-Life” Message?

First, it’s important to understand what exactly your printer is telling you when it displays an “end-of-life” message. According to Epson’s support page, this occurs once printers reach a condition where they cannot maintain satisfactory print quality, or components have reached the end of their usable life.

This degradation is part of the typical product life cycle for high-precision mechanical devices like printers. Unfortunately, as soon as one part stops working optimally, others tend to follow suit until the whole printer is more or less unusable. The “end-of-life” error message serves as a warning that certain parts of your printer are about to become defunct, and you should consider servicing or replacing the device.

What is a Common “End-of-Life” Error Message?

Often, this message refers to the porous ink pads within the printer that collect, distribute, and contain the ink that is not used on printed pages. These pads collect ink during the initial printer setup, cleaning cycles, and when printing borderless photos. Not everyone will run into this problem, however—it’s usually limited to high-volume users who have used their printers for many years.

Because this type of damage is considered general wear and tear, it is not covered under your Epson warranty. While you can always find a replacement through an Epson authorized dealer or take it in for servicing, there is a less expensive way to resolve this issue without going out and buying a whole new printer.

Read on to learn how!

Download INKCHIP’s Waste Ink Counters (WIC) Reset Utility

Visitinkchip.net, click on the “WIC” tab, and scroll down to see if your printer model is supported. Then, select your language for a free download. If you have an antivirus or antispyware system installed on your computer, it might trigger a false positive, and try to delete your INKCHIP download. Check to make sure that this software hasn’t blocked your content. If it has, restore it before continuing. To prevent this from happening in the first place, you can temporarily disable your anti-virus software while using the INKCHIP file.

When you open the downloaded content, you should see your printer in the dropdown menu. Click the “read waste ink counters” button to ensure that your printer is compatible with the file. If it says that it can read your ink tank level, you can return to INKCHIP’s website and go ahead and purchase the actual software. You can find the WIC Adjustment Program under the “price” tab. There are two main reasons BCH Technologies recommends INKCHIP over other companies. First, the software key is very affordable, and secondly, they offer excellent customer support.

Once you’ve made your purchase, go back and open your downloaded file and select the “reset waste ink counters” button. The software will then prompt you to enter a unique key, which you should have received upon payment. Simply copy and paste this key into the text field and click “ok.” At this point, a message should pop up telling you to restart the printer to finish the counter reset process.

Now you should be good to go!

Install an External Ink Tank Into the Printer

If you have an extra $10 or so lying around, you can purchase an external ink tank to prevent the waste ink from spilling onto the waste pad in the future. Instead, the printer will deposit the waste ink into this external tank. You will need a #2 Phillips screwdriver for installation, which you can use to remove the single screw holding the ink pad in place.

Be careful, as this pad will likely be soaked with ink and could spill out over the surrounding area. Also, notice the soft rubber tube in the slot that previously held the ink pad.

We will use some tools from BCH Technologies (you can find them here) to help with the process. Today, we’re primarily using the 3MM/4MM dual connector. We’ll use the 2 FT 4 MM single strand tubing for the waste ink. You’ll also need some velcro and a jar.

First, attach the tube to the connector. Then, you’ll need to push the connector through the rubber hole on the printer. Don’t worry about whether the tube goes inside or not—as long as you push straight all the way in, it should attach securely.

You can now wire the tube through the little gap between the power supply and the case. It might be a good idea to put a small piece of tape to secure the tubing here. You can discard the old ink pad, as it is no longer useful. Now, every time the printer cleans itself, it will dump ink into the jar. Once the jar is full, simply remove it and dump the ink.

Hopefully, this blog was helpful to you!

Visit us atbchtechnologies.com or at our Greensboro, North Carolina location to learn more about our services and view our printing solution products.