Waste Ink...

...is a common and contentious issue reported by many Epson inkjet owners. The problem is the process used to jet the ink in Epson printers is a cold one. As a result the printer needs to regularly purge its printhead by pulling relatively large quantities of ink through the nozzles to help clear out any solidifying ink deposits.

The issue of wasted ink is frustrating by a separate issues. What's important here is the fact that the printer will quickly fill its waste ink padding and before too long the dreaded "Service Required" message pops up and your printing grinds to a halt.

The reason for this is simple. Your printer has reached a pre-programmed point where its designers know that additional waste ink would result in the pads being overwhelmed. Basically, keep going and the printer will start oozing waste ink onto whatever surface the printer is on. Obviously something you want to avoid!

The good news is that most of the Epson printers can be modified to fit an external waste ink kit and waste counter reset. This is where the Printer Potty come in.

Waste Ink, Waste Not

Our Printer Potty kits offer a solution that has matured over 10 years. Starting out as a DIY (Destroy It Yourself?) effort to become something being used by tens of thousands of people it has benefits that can't be ignored.

1. In most cases there's no need to locate, handle or remove the old waste ink pads.
2. No unnecessary expense of paying a technician between £40 and £100+ to do the job for you.
3. The installation and reset process are usually less than half an hour of your time
   Considerably less than it would take to take or send your printer off for a service.
4. You get to keep your existing printer.

This is not to mention the savings you make in keeping your existing ink supplies (Cartridges, CIS, etc..) or by not having to buy a replacement. The list goes on..

Finding Your Solution

The Quickfind tools on the OctoInkjet site provide the various options available for your printer and though our emphasis is currently on Epson printers, there's no reason why our kits can't be adapted to suit other brand printers as well.

To locate your particular printer use the "Printer: Quickfind" panel (top left) or click this link

Waste Ink Re-Use?

While the waste ink generated from your printer might not be particularly useful in your printer, it is something that could be used in other ways.

Calligraphy, tie-dye, even ink for a fountain pen...

We're hopeful that we can find a way to turn the waste into something more re-usable or bio-degradeable but if you've any ideas, let us know..

A Bit of History...

This page was, rather embarrassingly, very out of date when the site was reviewed and, for the time it was written, made a lot of valid points as to why our "WIBag" kits were a better fit than our current rigid box style tanks. To deal with the confusion the old page version generated, the following offers a little insight into how things have changed since we first started out.

Printer Potty?.. or just over keen?

Our earliest non-commercial kits were effectively boxes with a hole and a tube stuck in the top. The decision to produce commercial kits was almost by accident and since then has become a primary focus. From our earliest solution, our waste kits have evolved, adapting to the changing designs of the printers they fit.

When printers like the C86 and R320 ruled the roost, the WIBAG (Waste Ink Bag) tanks were far more suitable because the ink to air ratio was heavily ink biased. Since then, more wasteful designs have appeared, pumping considerably more of both air and ink into the tank, eventually swinging the advantage back to the rigid vented tank.

Rigid but Flexible

While our designs have changed, the collection of waste ink still demands a high level of reliability and higher quality parts. So while we do adjust to meet printer needs, we don't cut corners. We're still using lab and medical grade tubing, tube parts and offering a full years warranty too.