If your RX-500 printer has stopped printing and can’t be reset, you will usually see either a steady red light or alternating red and green lights and the printer will not respond. There may also be a message in your computer status monitor saying “communication error” / “printer requires maintenance”.
This is caused by built in software / firmware which counts the amount of prints you’ve made and stops when the protection counter reaches a predetermined limit, also giving the message that your ink pad is full. You will be allowed a certain amount of overflow prints to the protection counter limit, after which the printer will completely stop.
Epson SSC Utility does not reset the Epson RX-500 protection counter / firmware. We must manual reset to clear the counter for epson rx-500.
Close down all Epson programs
Exit all Epson printer programs that may be running in the background or on your task bar. The quickest way to do this is to press Ctrl, Alt & Del on your keyboard and release, which will open your Windows Task Manager.
Click on [Processes] and a list of all processes running on your computer will appear, look for any in the list that say Epson, highlight it and select [End Process]. Carry this out for any Epson programs running.
Manual resetting procedure:
- Switch off the printer using the power button.
- PRESS and HOLD all following printer buttons: Power, Load/Eject, Stop, B&W, Color and continue to hold until “Init eeprom” appears on the printer screen, then RELEASE ALL BUTTONS.
- Next press the Color button to clear the protection counter.
- Follow any other instructions given by the printer.
