I have an Epson C88+ printer at home. The driver software includes a function called “Status Monitor 3” that, among other things, displays levels of available ink and reports errors during printing.
A few weeks ago, for no apparent reason, this Monitor started malfunctioning in that it:
- stopped displaying levels of available ink, and…
- reports a “communications error” every time I use the printer.
The communications error message appears to be bogus because every time what I send to the printer is printed.
I have tried various means to remedy this malfunctioning, all of which have been fruitless. These have included:
- Downloading the latest version of the driver software and installing it over what was already there.
- Uninstalling the software and installing it again.
- Removing the printer from the system and reinstalling it.
- Removing the cable from both the printer and the computer and putting it back.
As noted, every one of those steps did not clear the problem.
I’ve run some searches and found several instances of people complaining about bogus communication error messages from “Status Monitor 3” related to various models of Epson printers, so it’s not unique to the C88+, but I couldn’t find any instances of actual resolution of the problem.
Thus this thread.
(I do see an option in the driver to disable “Status Monitor 3”, which I would rather not do if possible, as it is useful, at least as far as reporting of ink levels when it is working properly.)