“The printer's ink pads are at the end of their service life” — what it means and what to do

On Windows, install your printer with Epson's driver, not Microsoft's. Download it from Epson's website for your model. If Windows set the printer up by itself with a Microsoft driver (Windows Ready Print or Microsoft IPP Class Driver), it may still print, but the tool often can't read or reset it over USB. How to get the Epson driver back.

Why the printer stops

Every Epson inkjet throws some ink away on purpose. Head cleaning, the first ink charge of a new printer and borderless printing all send ink to absorbent pads inside the machine, often called the waste ink pads.

Nothing inside measures how wet those pads are. The printer counts roughly how much ink it has sent there instead. When the count reaches a limit set at the factory, the printer stops and asks for service. The idea is to stop before ink has anywhere to go but out of the printer.

You will see the same problem worded in different ways:

• On the computer: “The printer’s ink pads are at the end of their service life”, or “Service Required”.
• On printers with a screen: an error code such as E-11 or E-12.
• On printers without a screen: two lights blinking together.

In every case, the counter has reached its limit.

The counter is not the pad

The number the printer keeps is called the waste ink pad counter. You will also see it written as the “waste inkpad counter”, “ink pad counter” or “waste ink counter”. They all mean the same thing.

There are two separate things, and mixing them up is how printers get damaged:

Because the printer only counts, the limit is set with a safety margin. The first time you see the message, the pads are often not completely full, and resetting the counter to carry on printing is usually fine. The trouble comes from resetting again and again for years without looking at the pads. Ink keeps arriving and can eventually leak onto the base of the printer and its electronics.

Your options

Epson’s US support page for this message is still titled “One-Time Maintenance Ink Pad Reset Utility”, but when we checked it on 29 September 2026 it only listed service options, with no download. If your printer is under warranty, contact Epson first.

Resetting with VNIT Reset Tool

1. Download the tool, unzip it and run VNIT_Reset.exe.
2. Connect the printer with a USB cable, switch it on and press Check Printer. You see how full each counter is. This is free.
3. If the counter is at 90% or more, run the free trial. It lowers the counter to 80% and the error clears. Once per printer.
4. For a full reset to 0%, buy a key and enter it.
5. Switch the printer off and on again. The printer only reads the new counter after a restart.

Printers with a maintenance box

Some newer models do not have fixed pads. They collect waste ink in a replaceable maintenance box with a chip, such as C9345 or T04D1. On those printers the fix is a new box, or a hardware chip resetter that resets the box’s chip. A new box starts empty, the printer recognises it and the message clears. A chip resetter does not empty the box, so only reuse a box that is not soaked. No PC reset software applies. Check your model before buying anything.

When to stop resetting and look at the pads

Deal with the pads themselves when you notice any of these:

• ink on the desk under the printer,
• smudges on the back of your pages,
• a wet area around where the print head rests,
• the error coming back within days of a reset.

What to do with the pads explains washing, replacing and fitting an external waste ink tank.