If your printer is displaying an end of life service message, please review the following FAQs.
Please explain the message I am getting in my printer driver that says parts inside my printer are reaching their end of service life.
Like so many other products, all Epson consumer ink jet products have a finite life span due to component wear during normal use. At some point, the product will reach a condition where either satisfactory print quality cannot be maintained or components have reached the end of their usable life. This is the normal product life cycle for highly mechanical devices like printers. This message is a warning that certain parts have reached the end of their usable life and that your printer will no longer work until it is serviced.
If you want to continue using the printer, Epson recommends having the printer serviced at an Epson Authorized Customer Care Center. In most cases, when this message occurs, other printer components also may be near the end of usable life and satisfactory print quality cannot be maintained. Most consumers who are out of warranty elect to replace a lower-cost printer when they receive an end of life service message.
Which parts are we talking about?
The message refers to the ink pads, which are actually a number of porous pads in the printer that collect, distribute, and very importantly contain the ink that is not used on printed pages. Ink is collected by these pads during the initial setup of the product, during cleaning cycles, and when printing borderless photographs. Most users will not receive this message before the printer is replaced for other reasons. Some high-volume users or those who use the printer for many years may receive this message about ink pads before other components reach the end of their usable life.
Is there anything I can do to continue using my printer?
Most consumers who are out of warranty elect to replace the printer because replacement of ink pads may not be a good investment for lower-cost printers. In most cases, when this message occurs, the printer's other components also may be near the end of usable life. If you want to continue using the printer, Epson recommends having the printer serviced at an Epson Authorized Customer Care Center.
At what point should a user expect to see this message?
The length of time a printer can be used before this message occurs will vary depending on the model and amount and type of pages printed. Most users will not receive this message before the printer is replaced for other reasons. Some high-volume users or those who use the printer for many years may receive this message about ink pads before other components reach the end of their usable life.
Is there anything I can do to continue using my printer temporarily?
You may temporarily remove this maintenance message by using the Maintenance Reset Utility. The Maintenance Reset Utility can only be used once and will allow printing for a short period of time. You may download the Maintenance Reset Utility when you receive the following message on your PC: A part inside your printer is at the end of its service life. Click the link below for details. Click on the link and complete the required information to download the utility.
Note: This utility is for Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP operating systems only. We hope to develop an option for Mac users as well; however, we do not have an ETA or the OS requirement at this time.
I received the message "A part inside your printer is at the end of its service life. Service is required." What should I do?
The Maintenance Reset Utility was already used on your product. The Maintenance Reset Utility cannot be used again in order to ensure the proper operation of our devices to minimize the risks of property damage or personal injury. Most consumers who are out of warranty elect to replace the printer because replacement of ink pads may not be a good investment for lower-cost printers. In most cases, when this message occurs, the printer's other components also may be near the end of usable life. If you want to continue using the printer, Epson recommends having the printer serviced at an Epson Authorized Customer Care Center.
I never received the message displayed above, but my printer is displaying an end of life service message. Why?
Most consumers who are out of warranty elect to replace a lower-cost printer when they receive an end of life service message. In most cases, when this message occurs, other printer components also may be near the end of usable life and satisfactory print quality cannot be maintained. If you want to continue using the printer, Epson recommends having the printer serviced at an Epson Authorized Customer Care Center.
In the past, I was able to download an ink pad reset utility. Why can I no longer have this option?
Like so many other products, all Epson consumer ink jet products have a finite life span due to component wear during normal use. At some point, the product will reach a condition where either satisfactory print quality cannot be maintained or components have reached the end of their usable life. Epson is committed to ensuring the proper operation of all our devices to minimize the risks of property damage or personal injury during the life span of the product. The printers are designed to stop operating at the point where further use without replacing the ink pads could create risks of property damage from ink spills or safety issues related to excess ink contacting an electrical component.
What are my available options if the Maintenance Reset cannot be performed?
See the following:
- Have the printer serviced by an Epson Authorized Customer Care Center, or you may ask for a referral from our Contact Center at US: 562-276-1300 or Canada: 905-709-9475. Repair may not be a cost-effective option for lower-cost printers because other components may also be near the end of their usable life.
- Replace the printer with a purchase from your preferred retailer. Also, you can recycle your printer either locally or through Epson's recycling program (US or Canada).
Is having my printer serviced a good option?
Seeking service from an Epson Authorized Customer Care Center is the best option for continued use of your existing printer. However, repair may not be a good investment for lower cost printers because the printer’s other components also may be near the end of usable life. It may be more economical to purchase a new Epson product (with a one year standard warranty).
Can I service my own printer and what will the ink pads look like?
Epson does not recommend that users without technical training undertake service of the components inside the printers. Service technicians who open the printers to service the ink pads may find that the ink pads appear completely saturated with ink (a muddy black from all inks) or may find that the pads still have some white areas that have not yet been completely saturated with ink. The ink pad counters are designed with safety margins to limit risks of ink spills under all usage conditions. A very high-volume user will at some point completely saturate the pads because ink evaporation will not be as effective. For a low-volume user who has used the printer for a long time, the longer evaporation periods may result in some parts of the pads appearing unused.
Why not just make the Ink Pads a user-replaceable item?
Implementing this type of a design would result in more expensive printers. Most users would not benefit from such higher costs because their printers will never reach the Parts End of Life message.
How can I avoid this issue in the future?
Epson offers optional, cost-effective, one- or two-year service contracts for our ink jet printers in addition to the standard one-year warranty. While under warranty or service contract, all hardware failures and maintenance messages are covered repairs. With one of these options, you can ensure the continued operation even with heavy use for up to 3 years. The other option for high-volume users is to consider a higher-level printer with a more robust duty cycle like the Epson EcoTank or Epson SureColor line of printers with larger ink supplies and lower costs of use.
We appreciate your business and feedback. If you would like to submit your comments on this topic to Epson America, please email us at ipru_feedback@ea.epson.com.
