Epson printers have extremely small piezo inkjet heads which require constant cleaning in order to remain unclogged. The Epson printer goes through automated cleanings quite frequently on it's own. All of the whirring and clicking you hear on start up or before print runs is automated head cleaning. Further, on some models which allow bleed printing, waste ink is over sprayed.

The end result is that a great deal of waste ink is generated that eventually fills the bottom of the printer where Epson has installed the waste pads. Epson must warn you when these service items are nearing the end of their life. In fact, when a certain amount of ink has been wasted, the printer will lock up with a message on the users computer telling them to send the printer in for service repair.

When you first see this message, you can actually reset the waste ink counter so that the printer does not lock up. There is a free universal waste ink counter resetter software here: http://www.2manuals.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=10&products_id=1149

When you install our external waste ink bottle to your desktop model printer, you can reset the counter when needed (and avoid a $200 trip to the service center).

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