Epson Stylus Pro 4000 InkJet Printer Logo
murray olafson Posted on Apr 03, 2006

After cleaning cycle ink cartridges are rendered invalid

I sent my epson pro 4000 in for a warranty exchange becauce i could not get rid of the banding, but that is not my problem. The refurbished printer they sent me worked fine until I would do a cleaning cycle then the yellow cyan and matte black ink cartridges would come up"invalid ink cartridge" and be rendered useless no matter how much ink was left in them. I contacted epson and after lots of discussion they exchanged this printer. Fast forward one month and the new refurbished printer started doing the same thing. I contacted epson again and after a long long letter and much arguing they sent me another brand new printer this time. Just last night I did a cleaning cycle on this new printer and my cyan cartridge came up invalid ink cartridge. I am at a loss. By the way all my drivers, firmware ect is all up to date. I hope you have some answers cause epson sure does not. I thought maybe it was somthing to do with the wiring in my office but I have talked toone other photographer that is having the same problem. Any help would be extremely appreciated. Thanks Murray Olafson

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  • murray olafson Apr 04, 2006

    I havent tried to reset my chips but i am sure stirring the ink will do nothing. I always use epson inks due to fading with other brands. This problem happens wether the ink is cartridges are full or near empty or half full it does not matter. my guess is it is somthing to do with the epson chips.,becauce soon as i replace the cartridge with a new one it will work fine untill i do another cleaning cycle help help help

  • Anonymous Mar 03, 2008

    The same thing, after 2 cleaning cycles, invalid cartridge message for magenta, a genuine epson cartridge and 1/3 full, replaced cartridge, worked fine. Second time after 2 cleaning cycles, invalid cartridge message for magenta and yellow, both genuine epson cartridges and 3/4 full. have not resolved yet as I don't have spare cartidges or limitless cash. Colin

  • halfclue Aug 13, 2008

    Same problem here...I am on the fourth refurbed printer after buying the 'pro' service plan. I just paid around $300 a couple months ago because the yellow cartridge came up 'invalid'.


    Supposedly it was fixed. However, this evening, after running the test pattern, the yellow is 'invalid' again. It is a brand new Epson 220ml cartridge that has an expiration date of 10/2009.


    I think it is time to try Canon printers.


    Mike in PA

  • Anonymous Nov 14, 2008

    I have the same problem. The error message says "set ink cartridge"
    but nothing seems to work. It's practically a new cartridge. Where do I get the chip reset tool mentioned by eran in his solution post?

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  • Posted on Feb 02, 2010
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I've had the same problem over the years and somewhere along the way came across this simple fix: when you get the "invalid ink cartridge" message turn the printer off, wait 10 seconds, turn it back on, when the screen switches from "please wait" back to "invalid ink cartridge" tap the pause button. this will somehow reset the printer and you should be good to go.

  • Anonymous Feb 22, 2012

    well...I tried that Several times with no luck. I did however take the "faulty" brand new cartridge that I bought back and it works like a charm. The customer service lady at Wal-Mart says she has heard of other customers who have had similar problems.hmmmmmmm. Glad to know I didn't have to buy a new printer since I have grown attached to this one. :) I have a Lexmark x5650

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It may sound obvious, but you didn't say if whether the ink cartridges you use are Epson cartridges with the right product number. If so, lift the lever and remove these carts and gently rotate them to get the ink stirred and then replace them and run another nozzle or status check. If you're using generic or used cartidges, there are devices that can help you override Epson's cart checker. the printer writes to the chip on the cartridge saying that the cartridge is "used", but You can buy a little "reset" tool which returns the cartridge to a default status.

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  • Posted on Jul 28, 2010
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SOLUTION @ is THE BEST answer, I'm using a BETTER than epson grade of ink, make my own profiles, and pay less. My 4000 is long out of a warranty and this is one trick I almost forgot... save this page for future reference and you will get subaru mileage out of your printer... other printers are less worrisome but epson still has the best output quality in my opinion.

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  • ronburrus Jul 28, 2010

    Corrected Solution #3... sorry for inconvenience to anyone, but here is edited answer to my solution #3... use solution #2 to clear the
    "invalid ink cartridge" problem. We all owe jkstudio a BIG thanks!


    need supplies?, look into macro-enter.com

  • earwigo Dec 17, 2010

    You say "Solution @ is the best" - forgive my stupidity, but what is soultion @ . I have an Epson SX610FW which does not appear to have a pause but does refuse to recognise all my non epson cartridges [email protected]

  • ronburrus Dec 21, 2010

    Credit goes to jkstudio, solution #2,turn off machine, wait 10 sec. turn on,
    when invalid message comes up, tap pause button, ready light should come on...
    (i have a dyslexic keyboard, causes @ to be in place of 2)

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