This page details some useful links for UK users of Epson printers and need to source spares or repair services.

• Contacts;
• Notes on Undertaking Repairs Yourself:
  • Printheads;
  • Sheet Feed Unit;
  • Waste Ink Pads and Counter Reset;
  • Chip-Reading Pins.

As ever, there is a risk with the use of repair services and purchasing spare parts with the intention of fitting them yourself. You will need to balance out the risk that any repair will not in fact resolve the problems. Many of Epson printers are very reasonably priced, and it may be the case that a new purchase may be the best solution. Of course, in some cases, you may not be able to purchase your particular model again, so if you really want to keep it then repair / service may be the only option. A well timed repair can be quick and cheap way of keeping a printer going for a long time.

If you plan on undertaking a repair or service yourself, you may like to read our notes lower on this page.

Contact Information

A non-exhaustive list of suppliers and contacts:

Notes on Undertaking Repairs Yourself

Please bear in mind that any fault may have an ‘obvious’ or common cause and solution, but there may also be other less common causes that could be the source of your problem. The information provided here typically focuses on the most common problems. Many of the ‘Do It Yourself’ procedures discussed on this page will result in expiry of your warranty (if it is still in force) and you will be doing this at your own risk. There may also be other tips and tricks that you could try first in our other resources).

You may also like to refer to www.2manuals.com, which sells downloadable service manuals for Epson printers. The service manuals are an invaluable resource for printer maintenance and repairs; unfortunately, only older model printers seem to have manuals available.

There are some repairs that in our view, are probably only worth attempting yourself, if you feel qualified. For example, replacement printheads for an Epson 1160 may cost about £50 (+VAT + Postage, from memory). If you pay someone else to undertake this repair, you will have to get the printer to them and back again, you may have to wait for them to get the parts in, and of course you will have to pay for their labour. That could add up to a fair chunk of cash without any trouble at all... when a brand new 1160 printer can be had for about £225 (inc VAT). We hate the throw-away mentality, but unless you feel qualified to try to undertake the repair yourself, you may simply be better off getting a new printer with a warranty.

However, there are service tasks that theoretically require the use of maintenance software that only Epson-authorised companies will have. This software can be used to set the printhead voltage, run advanced alignment utilities, and so on. So for example, when replacing a printhead, this software should be used to set various items in the printer’s firmware, and also assist the engineer in making some advanced hardware alignment settings ‘under the printer cover’. Despite not having access to this software, we have managed to successfully replace printheads on three models of printer, without the use of this software... but we were taking a risk when we did so.

Printheads

Printheads can wear out over time, and certain Epson models seem to suffer more than others. Failures may be noted in one or more nozzles, with no ink firing (mostly this is due to dust, ink or air locks, but it may be a physical failure) or even on occasion single ‘one jet high’ lines of solid ink printing randomly across your prints. Replacing a printhead can be a little fiddly, and in any event, if you think you may need to resort to this you may as well try the many varied printhead cleaning methods before committing to this replacement.

As with any fault, an indication of problems with the printhead may often be resolved by replacement, howsoever undertaken, but the problems you are seeing might be caused by other failures such as with the main circuit board etc.

Sheet Feed Unit

The rubber on the paper-take-up rollers (Auto Sheet Feed unit) can both pick up paper dust and degrade with time and extensive use. We have managed to replace an ASF unit on a 1270 printer, as the rubber was wearing out; this task was aided by us having access to some service manuals (that we are regrettably not able to distribute, but you may be able to find them on the web somewhere)... but again, the task was not a massive challenge.

Most people will find cleaning the take-up rollers a good first step though. You may also find that making a Loading Support Sheet may ease the stress on the rollers and assist in general operation of paper feeding.

Waste Ink Pads and Counter Reset

Over time, Epson printers keep a count of the cleaning cycles and priming cycles used on a printer. These are used to create an estimate of the ink that is being squirted onto waste ink pads in the base of the printer, which will fill up over time. Eventually, an error condition is given on the printer, and it becomes impossible to use the printer until the printer is reset, or more correctly; the waste ink pads are replaced and the printer reset.

We have not yet undertaken replacement of waste-ink pads, but so far, we have risked resetting a printer’s ink levels using How do I reset error light conditions on my printer? without undertaking this procedure. Having disassembled varied printers, we would imagine that people reasonably confident with a screwdriver should be able to do this (though later model Epson printers now appear to need special tools to be opened-up - or face the risk of damaging the case!

We would guess that this particular replacement is never covered by warranty at all (as it depends on ink use etc), so it should be available from service centers for a reasonable fixed price. It may also be worthwhile investigating with Epson if there is a local service center to you.

One customer reports successful parts replacement using the services of Equinox (listed above). Service cost a little over £100, but this included collection, delivery, pad replacement and in addition, replacement of the ink pump.

Chip Reading Pins

Later model Epson printers with chips on the cartridge have little pins inside the cartridge holders that make contact with the chip. The chip is then read for ink-level information, and similarly written to to update the ink levels. On certain rare occasions, it is possible for these pins to become damaged so that they can not contact the chip correctly, and thus the printer becomes unusable.

You may be able to straighten the pins with a set of fine needle-nose pliers and good light source to see what you are doing. Plus perhaps a dose of luck!

On some printers, replacing these pins is ‘as easy as’ replacing the printhead; for example the printhead on a 1290 does have replacement pins as part of the assembly. Printers such as the 2100 do not, however, and making a like-for-like replacement will probably be more expensive or awkward to undertake yourself.

The best policy on this issue (speaking from bitter experience!) is to make sure it does not happen to you! Check every cartridge you insert into a chipped printer for the presence of the chip, and that it appears to be firmly in place.

Please note that MWORDS has closed. We aim to retain these support pages in the hope that they may benefit our past customers, but regret that we can no longer offer further comment or support in relation to the information above.