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Author Topic: New Epson 7900/9900 Firmware - 16-APR-13  (Read 2572 times)

cybis

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New Epson 7900/9900 Firmware - 16-APR-13
« on: May 11, 2013, 03:27:33 pm »

There is a new firmware for the Epson 7900/9900.
HN126D3 – dated 16-APR-13 – Posted on Epson Australia.

In the usual Epson style, there are no release notes, and like previous releases, the new firmware will probably find its way on Epson UK, Epson US and LFP Remote panel over the next few weeks and months.
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framah

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Re: New Epson 7900/9900 Firmware - 16-APR-13
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2013, 04:25:15 pm »

Careful with updates.
I downloaded an update for my 11880 the other evening and the next day when I went to print, the whole thing was messed up. The images were coming out looking like a Spirograph drawing.... REALLY COOL looking but not what the customer was going for.

I  tried various things to rule out possible reasons... a corrupt file, the machine going bonkers or PS going bonkers all to no avail.
Called Epson and they said it was that update so we deleted all of the current driver stuff and then reloaded the previous version without the update and all was back to normal.

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pixeldoppelganger

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Re: New Epson 7900/9900 Firmware - 16-APR-13
« Reply #2 on: May 13, 2013, 12:12:20 am »

From another thread, but I think firmware upgrades implement quiet changes like the following:

My thoughts:

A couple of years ago, I heard about a seller on eBay selling genuine Epson inks for the 9900.  Sure enough I bought them at a significant discount, and
they performed brilliantly.   Some time later, I had an Epson specialist come visit the studio to look into our 11880's issues, this fellow was not a Decision One tech, but the east coast specialist for Epson USA.

We talked about the fact that my 9900 and 11880 had this eBay purchased ink, (which was Indonesian variety, not Japan or China ... and now apparently Mexico)
He told me Epson was very aware of this situation and was not pleased this was happening.

I didn't think anything of it....
until recently when (after firmware updates were made on both units)  that same ebay ink, was failing to be recognized.  I contacted Epson, they setup a crossshipping swap... and all was well...

It got me thinking, so I checked Amazon, and sure enough, on other printer models, there are people buying ink from outside markets, and having failure to recognize errors in large numbers.

I don't recall seeing this 'feature' in any firmware, software driver, etc updates from Epson.  I wonder however, if this is what has happened so Epson can protect different pricing in different markets.
I'm sure there's no way to examine the firmware code, to compare old firmware vs. current firmware.
I'm sure Epson USA would never publicly admit if indeed this was planned and implemented.

With the Supreme Court ruling this year about first-sale doctrine, I suspect our technologies will have more controls put into place

>>From Wikipedia       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine

However, in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,[10] in 2013, the United States Supreme Court held in a 6-3 decision that the first-sale doctrine applies to goods manufactured abroad, even if they were manufactured abroad with the copyright owner's permission and imported into the US. The case involved a plaintiff who imported Asian editions of textbooks that were manufactured abroad with the publisher-plaintiff's permission. The defendant then without permission from the publisher imported the textbooks and resold on eBay. The Supreme Court's holding severely limits the ability of copyright holders to charge vastly different prices in different markets due to ease of arbitrage. The decision does remove incentives to US manufacturers to shift the manufacturing abroad to attempt to circumvent the first-sale doctrine altogether.


Curious if anyone here in the USA, has more knowledge on the Indonesian inks from Epson
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Paul2660

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Re: New Epson 7900/9900 Firmware - 16-APR-13
« Reply #3 on: May 13, 2013, 09:04:57 am »

I don't believe this firmware has been posted to the U.S. yet.  The only firmware on the U.S. site is HW129C5 which is date back to 2012. 

Drive software 6.73 which dates back to 09/12.

Epson seems to have a policy to update features and functions to different countries at a different time.  Last year there was a very detailed post on some enhancements to the 9900 via the driver, but these only applied to Europe and possible Canada. 

Paul Caldwell
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Paul Caldwell
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www.photosofarkansas.com

cybis

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Re: New Epson 7900/9900 Firmware - 16-APR-13
« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2013, 12:16:16 pm »

The firmware files for the 7900 released by Epson on their UK, US and Australian sites are bit for bit identical; there is no regionalization of the firmware (observation based only on those three sites for the 7900 firmware over the last 4 years.)

Epson takes the prudent approach to release a new firmware in a smaller market first, presumably to compartmentalize any potential problem.

The decision to install a new firmware early or late depends on where you sit on the ‘risk averse’ – ‘early adopter’ scale. Also, if the machine is under warranty, I’m not sure what Epson policy is on installing firmware not yet released in your region.
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PeterAit

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Re: New Epson 7900/9900 Firmware - 16-APR-13
« Reply #5 on: May 13, 2013, 12:56:01 pm »

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. My 7900 has performed brilliantly for over a year. It has a few little quirks that are at most minor annoyances, but the output - and that's the whole point, no? - is fantastic. Why would I upgrade firmware when no one has explained the benefits to me? I don't think so!
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