Workshop: Replace waste ink tanks of Epson C & D-models: Lifetime of a waste ink collector
Hinweis: Für mindestens einen in diesem Artikel erwähnten Drucker ist der ausführliche Testbericht "Zwei langsame Office-Drucker der Einsteigerklasse" (Mrz. 2006) sowie "Guter Drucker für den Hausgebrauch" (Sep. 2003) sowie "Powermaschine" (Aug. 2003) verfügbar.
As mentioned before, as long as the machine prints, don´t let the waste ink absorber trouble you. An exchange is a rare occasion in a printer´s lifetime. Should it happen, it is rather a repair than an exchange of consumables.
However, if you print a lot or have lots of print-head cleaning cycles, the waste ink collector might become full. We think that this could occur after printing about 10.000 pages. That´s not very precise, because there are many factors with an influence on the waste ink collector´s lifetime. Normally they should maintain their capacity for several years.
How to recognize a full waste ink collector
Manufacturers have installed counting devices that measure the amount of ink used by cleaning processes. When reaching a predetermined limit the printer will stop working, giving out an error message. Most Epson-models show a rather cryptic error message and give signals, with all LEDs blinking, when you try to print with a full waste ink collector.
If you are not sure, whether this message concerns the waste ink collector or another unknown defect, use the "SSC Service Tools" and find out. How to print out a complete message can be found in this article on page 12: Counter reset
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There is no definite time or number for a full waste ink absorber. It varies depending on the printer model. One user reported short of 20.000 pages printed, before his Epson Stylus Photo R200 gave up printing.
