Luminous Landscape Forum

Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: John McDermott on September 04, 2011, 10:42:00 pm

Title: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: John McDermott on September 04, 2011, 10:42:00 pm: I have an Epaon 3880 connected via ethernet to a home network that has 3 computers also attached. I also have a Linksys 3000 wireless router and a Linksys 5 connection switch. Everything works properly and I can print merrily away on the 3880.

However, if I shut down or reboot the computer I am printing from, it can no longer find the 3880 on the net upon reboot. I get an error that says the communications could not be established with the 3880. The only way to use the printer that I have found is to reinstall the driver from scratch, and then all is well until the next time it is necessary to shut the computer down.

A strange side issue is that under these circumstances I can activate the printer montior which displays the remaining ink quanties. I would think that this requires establishing communications with the printer.

I have called Epson support but couldn't get past the first tier and they didn't have a clue - just offered to swap out the printer for a refurbished one. I'm not keen on that option so I decided to ask here.

Can anyone shed any light on what is going on?

By the way - windows 7, 8GB RAM, 4 quad processor.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Farmer on September 05, 2011, 12:14:29 am: John - we need a network diagram - either literally a diagram or a very good written description of what connects to what (but a real diagram is usually easier to work with).

Also, are you using DHCP to assign the address to the printer (or to any devices) or fixed IP addresses? Do you have more than one sub domain (for example, 192.168.0.X as well as 192.168.1.X - that sort of thing).

The more information about your network we have the easier to determine where the problem is (it's almost certainly not a hardware fault - swapping the printer won't fix it, which you've already guessed :-)
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: fetish on September 05, 2011, 07:07:01 am: Like Farmer mentioned, it's the router's DHCP doing the auto assignment.
You should access the router's control panel and set the printer's MAC address to a reserved IP address so it'll be permanently tied there instead of skipping around various addresses.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: howardm on September 05, 2011, 09:16:22 am: As noted, the issue is that your printer is set to automatically obtain it's ethernet IP address from the router instead of it being permanent (or 'static'). That automatically chosen address can and does change if the computer/router/printer is power cycled etc. So the answer is to (as noted) either assign the address manually in the printer (via the control panel) and then in the computer itself, or, if the router allows it, you essentially 'reserve' an address for the printer. You reserve it by mapping what is called the MAC (no, not a Macintosh) address of the printer (a fixed, burned in #) to what the router will give out. That way, your printer always gets the same address but you dont have to mess w/ the printer front panel and/or the Win/Mac hassle of setting up a true static address.

I have my 3800 on a static address on my iMac.

Once you have a reserved or static address, you will want to go back through the computer's 'Add a printer' wizard so the address gets set in the printer driver.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: John McDermott on September 15, 2011, 01:17:11 pm: It has taken me a little while to try all the suggestions that you made (thank you) as other things in life keep interfering with my hobby.

First of all, my network is fairly simple. One domain 192.168.1.x. On one side of the room are 3 computers connected through a Linksys gigabit switch: my main computer with quad processors, 8GB RAM and Windows 7; a lesser computer with Windows 7 that my wife uses for internet & email; and an old computer with Windows XP kept around to run legacy equipment (i.e., scanner). The switch is connected through a 50' cable to a Linksys E3000 wireless router with a 4 connection switch incorporated. Connected via these ethernet connections are the Epson 3880 and an HP 7700 All in One printer plus a laptop computer running Windows XP. Incidently, the HP 7700 runs flawlessly.

When I first install the Epson 3880 printer driver (obtained from the Epson website) everything works. However, when I power down the computer it gives a "communications problem" error message and I cannot print to it. The strange thing is that it can communicate to get the ink level information.

I have tried disabling the DHCP server in the router. The entire network stopped working. I tried assigning static networks addresses to the computer. The network stopped working. I reserved the 3880 MAC address in the router. No effect. I have used the Epsonnet Config V3 software to assign a static address to the 3880. No effect.

So I am stumped at this point.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: AFairley on September 15, 2011, 04:42:46 pm: What happens if you turn the Epson off while you reboot, or turn the Epson on and off after you reboot (with your original network configuration)?

If I had to hazard a wild-assed guess, it would be that the problem has to do with the fact that your computer is connected to the router via a switch instead of directly, but I am not sure why that would be, since I'm not a network wonk. But I bet if you connect the computer directly to the router you will not have the problem. Do you have enough router ports to run a dedicated line between the PC and the router?
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: degrub on September 15, 2011, 08:21:27 pm: when you assign static addresses you need to have a range of numbers reserved, ie not available to DHCP for its use. An easy way to do that is to go into the router configuration under the DHCP section and where it gives you the option to pick a starting address and either ending address or # of users, pick a starting address of something like 192.168.1.21 and an ending address of 192.168.1.50 ( it may only give the option for max users - pick 30 for this example)
Then assign, at the epson printer, to 1) not use DHCP , 2) manual configure the TCP/IP address to 192.168.1.100 (outside the range that DHCP will use, don't pick a number higher than x.x.x.239 or lower than x.x.x.5 to stay away from internal addresses used by the router and wireless) for example, and enter the default gateway address of 192.168.1.1, subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 in the printers network configuration page.

Then reinstall the epson driver. you should be good to go.

What was described before about not being able to locate the printer is what i would expect from a changing ip address. The windows drivers assign a port using that address during printer discovery, so when the tcp/ip address changes the driver would not be able to locate it. It is likely that the epson status software is not using tcp/ip to talk with the printer, so that is why it works. it probably queries the network using a different protocol, and finds the printer each time.

Unmanaged consumer level switches are usually transparent to the network unless you have set up a Virtual LAN or other static routing.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: malam on September 27, 2011, 09:00:40 pm: John, I have the same problem. I have a Linksys E3200 with dual bands and since I installed my 3880 about three weeks ago, I've had to re-install the drivers a couple of times. The problem is not with the Epson printer. I also have an iPad2 that connects to the same Router and I've been having problems with the iPad2 also. My solution was to go into the Routers configuration and disable the 2.4G band. Its a week now and have not had any problems with either the 3880 or the iPad2. I know its only a week, but you can try this solution and see if it resolves your problem too.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: John McDermott on October 12, 2011, 02:45:47 pm: I tried the setup that degrub suggested and the problem remains the same. I set the DHCP range to 150 to 200. My Epson 3880 is 192.16.1.119 and my HP 7700 All in One printer is 192.168.1.130, both static addresses. The DHCP assigned 173, 174, 175, & 176 to my 4 computers and everything worked correctly except that when I power down the computer and then power it up it can't communicate with the 3880. Incidently, the HP 7700 works fine, no problem when rebooting.

I can't disable the 2.4 band as my smartphone uses it.

I'm really stumped by this one. Thanks to all who tried to help. I'll keep pulling the thread searching for an answer.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: fetish on October 12, 2011, 06:26:08 pm: when you reboot your computer, the epson is still powered on all the way yes?
does it still show up connected to the router in the router control panel's dhcp list with its assigned address (192.168.1.119)?
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: howardm on October 12, 2011, 07:27:54 pm: the OP indicated that both his printers were statically assigned so neither would show up in the routers DHCP assigned list.

there was a small typo where he indicated the 3880 was 192.16.x.y but I think he just dropped the 8 from 168 when typing.

Epson does use some odd perverted EpsonTCPIP protocol but who knows what subtle difference(s) there are.

What is the subnet mask and gateway set for on the Epson?
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Farmer on October 12, 2011, 07:38:27 pm: Epson doesn't use a proprietary protocol. Setup a Standard TCP/IP Port and it works - there are no special requirements.

I'll go back to my origial comment - we need a proper network diagram, otherwise this isn't going to be resolved without physically seeing the setup.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: howardm on October 12, 2011, 08:18:54 pm: I'm not saying it's incompatible but there is something 'different'. The driver clearly is marked 'EpsonTCP'. I have not bothered to use Wireshark and disassemble the packets.

Anyway, the OP's issue is odd and it should all work. It's probably something fairly simple.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: fetish on October 12, 2011, 10:51:02 pm: i'm suspecting it's the port configuration of the computer's side that's causing the issue.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: AFairley on October 12, 2011, 11:22:46 pm: I'm still waiting to hear whether bypassing the switch and connecting the printer directly to the router has any effect on the situation. The methodical way to troubleshoot is to eliminate as many variables as you can, and bypassing the switch will remove the switch from the equation. But if the OP wants to take a troubleshoot with more balls in the air that there need to be, that's OK with me.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: howardm on October 13, 2011, 08:43:22 am: I didn't notice that there was a 5port mini-switch between the Linksys E3000 and the printer. Yea, temporarily take that out of the circuit
and directly connect the computer and the printer to the E3000. Heck, for that matter, you could connect the computer DIRECTLY to the 3880
w/o any routers/switches and test that configuration out (you wouldn't have internet access of course during this test)

What specific model 5 port mini-switch are you using?

Another thought is 'what is connected between the E3000 and the cable/DSL/FIOS wire?' I'm assuming there is some sort of modem-y
thing which *may* in fact be running its own DHCP server (ie. you may have 2 DHCP servers on the network but don't realize it)
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: kim on October 14, 2011, 08:01:21 am: I have a Windows 7 machine with a 3800 on ethernet so it can all be made to work, it's just that one or more settings in your particular setup are wrong.
One thing that no-one has mentioned is that when you set up the printer queue on the PC to use the 3800 you need to set the IP address of the printer in there. The OP said the IP address of the 3800 is 192.16.1.119 although there is a typo here and it ought to be something like 192.168.1.119

To manually set up the printer queue in Windows 7:
- from the printers page Add Printer
- then - and this is very important - choose the "Add a local printer option" DO NOT choose the "Add Network printer option"
- Create a new port with "standardTCP/IP port" from the drop down box
- Then add the IP address (192.168.1.119 in the case of the OP) and put a description in the "Port name" field, for example Bobs-port
From then on the options to add the rest of the printer settings should be straightforward
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: UgashikBob on October 21, 2011, 02:15:54 am: I have the same problem with a new 3880 directly attached by ethernet cable to the router. Everything works fine untill you power down the printer and DHCP assigns other addresses then it will not communicate. There has been the suggestion to reserve addresses in the router and I don't see how this will work unless you tie the printer to the same IP address every time since the port config in the print driver is a static address you assign. Every time I power up the printer I have to run three sheets of paper to print out the Network configuration to get the printers IP address then manually configure the port address in the print driver under Win 7 to the same address for it to work. When configurating the print driver if you try to delete the port so you can add a new port with whatever IP address you get from printing the network config it says the device is busy and won't let you delte the port. Tried it directly after boot with nothing running with the same result. The last thing I did to get it to work was manually config the printer to an address outside my normal range of usage then check it with a ping command then manually config the Win 7 print driver by changing the port address since you can't delete it and add another like it leads you to believe. I don't see how the auto printer configuration at the printer ushing DHCP could ever work unless nothing changes in your network.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: John McDermott on October 24, 2011, 02:34:12 pm: I been trying everything everyone has suggested to no avail. Let me recap where I am:

I have determined that the network is not the problem as I can access the printer just as I should be able to from two other computers on the network, one running Windows 7 and the other Windows XP. Therfore the problem must be on my main computer (a Dell XPS420 with quad CPU and 8GB RAM).

The main computer accesses the 3880 just as it should and everything works until I power down the computer (if I power down and repower up the printer it makes no difference). Upon power up I get a communications error from the printer if I try to print something. However, the status monitor displays the remaining ink, so there has to be communication between the computer and the printer for that: a puzzle. If I uninstall and reinstall the printer driver (yes, I got the latest version from Epson's website) everything works fine again until the next power down.

So I guess that I am stuck with uninstalling and reinstalling, which is only a minor pain. Clearly something is interferring with the printer driver om my main computer but I'll be dipped if I can figure out what.

My sincere thanks to everyone who chimed in and tried to help. I appreciate it.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Farmer on October 24, 2011, 06:04:32 pm: John - I can only reiterate that to diagnose correctly we need a 100% accurate network map. That is, every item on the network and how it connects physically to any other item on the network. Once we know the path between things and the devices involved, then we can proceed.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: GeraldB on October 26, 2011, 02:06:52 pm: Have the same problem with 7900 and Win7 pro 64. Spent a couple of hours on the phone with Epson tech support, finally they sent someone out to replace the main board on the printer. Problem still persists. Their conclusion is that it was my computer or network and I should try print from another machine. I ran out of time, switched to USB and have now gone outside of the 1 year warranty. Sorry to be of no help, but at least you know you are not alone :)
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: jonasandersson on March 14, 2012, 05:27:01 am: Hi, have you solved the problem yet? If so, I would very much like to hear how you did it. I have exactly the same problem, everything works just fina until I restarts my computer. I "solved" it by just puttning the computer in sleep mode.

/Jonas
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: howardm on March 14, 2012, 08:44:16 am: I'll say again that the MOST probable cause of that is that the printer by default is set to get it's IP address dynamically from your router (ie. DHCP server) and during the driver installation, it uses that IP address. Time passes and the printer's address changes (DHCP has a timeout or you power off the printer) and the computer is stuck w/ the old address in the the driver config. The fix is to assign the printer it's address manually and use that during the driver instantiation.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: John McDermott on March 17, 2012, 04:38:03 am: No, unfortunately, I have not found a solution other than reinstalling the 3880 driver each time I want to print.

In response to the last message, I have long ago assigned a static address (192.168.1.119) to the printer but it has made no difference.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Farmer on March 17, 2012, 05:38:45 am: As I said back in October,

"John - I can only reiterate that to diagnose correctly we need a 100% accurate network map. That is, every item on the network and how it connects physically to any other item on the network. Once we know the path between things and the devices involved, then we can proceed."

I know this isn't always easy for folks who don't have a technical background in the area of networking, but that doesn't change the fact that this is the only way anyone here is really going to be able to resolve the problem.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Steve House on March 17, 2012, 08:32:40 am: Quote from: John McDermott on March 17, 2012, 04:38:03 am
No, unfortunately, I have not found a solution other than reinstalling the 3880 driver each time I want to print.

In response to the last message, I have long ago assigned a static address (192.168.1.119) to the printer but it has made no difference.
Go to the printers section in Windows, right click on the entry for the Epson printer, choose "properties" and look at the ports page. Make sure the port with the check box turned on is selected in the list and click "configure port." Make sure the IP address listed is the IP address assigned to the printer.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Justan on March 17, 2012, 11:16:52 am: Quote from: John McDermott on October 24, 2011, 02:34:12 pm

I have determined that the network is not the problem as I can access the printer just as I should be able to from two other computers on the network, one running Windows 7 and the other Windows XP. Therfore the problem must be on my main computer (a Dell XPS420 with quad CPU and 8GB RAM).

The main computer accesses the 3880 just as it should and everything works until I power down the computer (if I power down and repower up the printer it makes no difference). Upon power up I get a communications error from the printer if I try to print something. However, the status monitor displays the remaining ink, so there has to be communication between the computer and the printer for that: a puzzle. If I uninstall and reinstall the printer driver (yes, I got the latest version from Epson's website) everything works fine again until the next power down.

So I guess that I am stuck with uninstalling and reinstalling, which is only a minor pain. Clearly something is interferring with the printer driver om my main computer but I'll be dipped if I can figure out what.

My sincere thanks to everyone who chimed in and tried to help. I appreciate it.

Hi,

I've been following this thread. Does your computer have one or more so-called firewalls installed? Windows has a built-in firewall, and several other vendors also include this utility with anti-virus and/or anti-spyware software, or just as a stand alone application. If there is one or more firewalls on the computer try disabling the firewall or firewalls, without restarting and see if the problem persists.

Also, since you know the ip address of the printer try a ping test. Open a command prompt and in the prompt type:

Ping and the ip address of the printer as example

Ping 192.168.1.5 or whatever the ip address is.

Ping should generate a reply of some type. Post the reply as it will help to show if there is a communication problem.

It’s unlikely that the printer’s ip address will change when you reboot your computer. something on the computer is probably interfering with communication with the printer.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Andrew Makiejewski on March 18, 2012, 10:02:51 am: Sorry to hear you are still having problems, also I am not repeating what others have already said (some stuff I know has been).

The printer must have a second hard set IP, otherwise it's IP can and will change.

In the router you must limit the range of IPs that will used to be assigned to devices requesting an IP via DHCP. I typically will allow the unit to assign 192.168.0. 10 to 192.168.0. 199.102.168.200 to 192.168.0.254 I leave for static IP that I assign to my devices (printer, gateway, WAP and so on.

You should be able to ping the printer from each computer. Many thing can cause for this to fail. A very common one is that the subnet mask is not set correctly. It should be 255.255.255.0 for use with our home routers.

Also you need to be use that you install the printer driver in the correct manner. You will be printing to the printer via IP printing.

I have included some screen shots of my setting that may be of help.

Also as someone has mentioned already, capture the setting and show us.

Andrew
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: ymc226 on March 28, 2012, 02:30:31 pm: I know next to nothing about computers butI set up my 3880 on my home ethernet network via a powerline adapter to a Time Capsue router. My computer which I print from is my laptop which is mostly off but I don't have the problem you are having. I spoke with a "techy" at work and he stated that even if you assign a fixed DHCP address, that address may be reassigned if it is the low end of the range. If your DHCP range is 150-200, I would try reassigning 199 as there would be almost no change of having that address reassigned unles you have 49 devices on your network.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: John McDermott on March 29, 2012, 10:27:52 pm: The recent flurry of responses to this thread have motivated me to try again to determine the cause of this annomally, I elected to change my network from one where some IP Addresses were assigned by the DHCP server to one of exclusively static IP Addresses. I had previously assigned static IPs to my two printers ( The 3880 and an HP Officejet Pro L7780 all-in-one). I changed the three computers on the net to static IPs and tried to access the 3880. When the printer driver is newly installed it works fine. When I reboot the PC, it can no longer print to the 3880, but it can receive ink level information, just as it was before. Incidently, I can ping the printer at any time at its static IP (192.168.1.119) and get a postive response, so it cannot be a case of not being able to locate the printer. It must be a case of the software losing track of the printer's IP address.

I'm about ready to give up again. Incidently, at the beginning part of this thread i HAVE provided a verbal "map" of my network. However, given the there are NO other annomalies on this network in any area, I do not think that it is a network issue. I think I will try calling Epson again.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: degrub on March 29, 2012, 10:41:55 pm: i have had a finicky HP printer running off of NAS box. i installed Bonjour and have not had any issues except when an MS update broke the connection once. A re-install of Bonjour fixed it.

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL999
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Justan on March 30, 2012, 11:36:02 am: Quote from: John McDermott on March 29, 2012, 10:27:52 pm

….It must be a case of the software losing track of the printer's IP address.

It’s possible, but not likely. Have you checked for and disabled any installed firewall software on your XPS420? Windows has its own firewall. Many anti-virus and anti-spyware packages also have a firewall feature. Some firewall packages are installed separately. If one or more firewalls is blocking one or more ports, this could be the issue. And you've ruled out many other possibilities.

Ping uses the ICMP protocol. That you get a response from the printer means that ICMP traffic is working okay in both directions. But just because that works, doesn’t mean that another port or protocol is not blocked.

If you could find out what port(s) and what protocols are used by the software, you could test them and find out where the communication issue is.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Randy Carone on March 30, 2012, 11:52:43 am: Try uninstalling the HP printer and re-boot. HP printers/drivers can sometimes capture ports that are not assigned to their printer.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Justan on March 30, 2012, 01:57:26 pm: This might help.

http://serverfault.com/questions/26564/how-to-check-if-a-port-is-blocked-on-windows
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Farmer on March 30, 2012, 04:34:47 pm: John - I'm sorry, but the "verbal" map you gave early on is obviously incomplete and does not detail exactly how everything connects to everything else.

I understand that you're frustrated, but it's 100% guesswork at this stage until we have a complete map :(
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: John McDermott on March 30, 2012, 08:43:13 pm: I'm convinced its not a network issue.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Farmer on March 31, 2012, 03:26:37 am: That's fine. I'm convinced it is, because I've been doing this for a very, very long time and there's nothing been posted that indicates anything else.

I hope you resolve it :-)
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: tmphoto on April 01, 2012, 12:31:44 am: I'm about ready to give up again.
Make sure that the computer you are using to print is connected with a network cable. If you have a wireless connection it should be disabled.
Power down all your equipment (computers, printers, routers, etc.)
Power up your router
Power up your printer
Power up the computer you are using to print.
Can you reproduce the problem?
Yes, replace the cables and try again,
Can you reproduce the problem?
yes, power down the computer and try again with another computer
Can, you reproduce the problem?
Yes, remove the router and connect the computer directly to the printer (network connection)
Can you reproduce the problem?
Yes, reset the network card on your printer (assuming it has a reset button)
Can you reproduce the problem?
yes, try the same configuration with another computer
Can you reproduce the problem?
yes, get a USB print server that supports your OS and use that instead.
For Windows this one works well:
http://www.trendnet.com/emulators/TEW-MP2U/index.htm
The above is a demo of the actual server. The driver creates a virtual USB port on your machine. Works better than a network card in my opinion. The one I use is the version with no wireless support.

If it works fine with a wired configuration but the problem is with a wireless configuration then most likely you will need to hire someone to help configure your network. New equipment may be needed.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: tmphoto on April 01, 2012, 12:43:11 am: It's my understanding that your firewall is configured correctly. You may want to do a test with the firewall disabled on your computer. I am also assuming that all your IP addresses are static.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: dreed on April 03, 2012, 08:10:51 am: I suspect that when your computer starts up that the driver tries to access the printer before the networking in Windows is ready to support the attempt and it treats the error as a hard error rather than a soft error. In earlier versions of Windows you would just disable and then enable the printer to clear the error.

When you install the driver, all of the networking is up and running so the driver has no problems communicating with the printer.

Something else to try.

After booting up, go into "Control Panels", "System and security", then "Administrative Tools".

Double click on "Services" and scroll down until you see "Print Spooler". Try restarting this service - right click on "Print Spooler" and then restart.

If that does fix the problem then it may be necessary to change the way in which this service starts - either to "Automatic (Delayed)" or "Manual".

You have not mentioned if you changed your PC to also have an IP address that is statically assigned - if you haven't, also try that as this may result in Windows configuring the networking more quickly and it thus being available when it tries to initialise the print driver.

To see if your print driver has actually reported an error message that might be useful, under "Administrative Tools" is another tool called "Event Viewer". Under "Event Viewer (Local)" you should see "Windows Logs". Expand that and examine what has been recorded inside each of "Application" and "System". There's no guarantee that there will be something present but it is worth taking a look.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: dreed on April 04, 2012, 08:58:48 am: Quote from: John McDermott on September 04, 2011, 10:42:00 pm
A strange side issue is that under these circumstances I can activate the printer montior which displays the remaining ink quanties. I would think that this requires establishing communications with the printer.

This will be a different application that is operating independent of the printer driver, thus issues with the printer driver are not reflected here.

Quote
I have called Epson support but couldn't get past the first tier and they didn't have a clue - just offered to swap out the printer for a refurbished one. I'm not keen on that option so I decided to ask here.

Additionally, make sure that you are now using the latest driver package from Epson for the 3880. The most recent was made available on the 24th of October, 2011 (v6.60.) Sometimes the version package with a printer will be somewhat older.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: John McDermott on April 09, 2012, 01:41:09 pm: Quote from: Farmer on March 31, 2012, 03:26:37 am
That's fine. I'm convinced it is, because I've been doing this for a very, very long time and there's nothing been posted that indicates anything else.

I hope you resolve it :-)

I also have been doing networks and windows computers for a long time. Would you be so kind as to list those factors that convince you that it is a network problem. Keep in mind that I have two other computers attached to the same network which interact perfectly with the 3880. I am convinced that it is a conflict within my PC, perhaps withing the driver.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: John McDermott on April 09, 2012, 01:44:27 pm: Quote from: dreed on April 04, 2012, 08:58:48 am
This will be a different application that is operating independent of the printer driver, thus issues with the printer driver are not reflected here.

No, it is one of the utility choices within the driver. Itn any event it requires communication with the 3880 so its correct display indicates that communication is established over the network/

Quote from: dreed on April 04, 2012, 08:58:48 am
Additionally, make sure that you are now using the latest driver package from Epson for the 3880. The most recent was made available on the 24th of October, 2011 (v6.60.) Sometimes the version package with a printer will be somewhat older.

Of course I am.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: John McDermott on April 09, 2012, 01:46:06 pm: Quote from: dreed on April 03, 2012, 08:10:51 am
I suspect that when your computer starts up that the driver tries to access the printer before the networking in Windows is ready to support the attempt and it treats the error as a hard error rather than a soft error. In earlier versions of Windows you would just disable and then enable the printer to clear the error.

When you install the driver, all of the networking is up and running so the driver has no problems communicating with the printer.

Something else to try.

After booting up, go into "Control Panels", "System and security", then "Administrative Tools".

Double click on "Services" and scroll down until you see "Print Spooler". Try restarting this service - right click on "Print Spooler" and then restart.

If that does fix the problem then it may be necessary to change the way in which this service starts - either to "Automatic (Delayed)" or "Manual".

You have not mentioned if you changed your PC to also have an IP address that is statically assigned - if you haven't, also try that as this may result in Windows configuring the networking more quickly and it thus being available when it tries to initialise the print driver.

To see if your print driver has actually reported an error message that might be useful, under "Administrative Tools" is another tool called "Event Viewer". Under "Event Viewer (Local)" you should see "Windows Logs". Expand that and examine what has been recorded inside each of "Application" and "System". There's no guarantee that there will be something present but it is worth taking a look.

Restarting the Print Spooler had no effect and I founjd nothing in the logs.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Farmer on April 09, 2012, 06:27:00 pm: Quote from: John McDermott on April 09, 2012, 01:41:09 pm
I also have been doing networks and windows computers for a long time. Would you be so kind as to list those factors that convince you that it is a network problem. Keep in mind that I have two other computers attached to the same network which interact perfectly with the 3880. I am convinced that it is a conflict within my PC, perhaps withing the driver.

As I said, I've seen no evidence of any other issue that might be involved, and the most common problem is network related. However, without a proper network map (be it text or drawn - doesn't matter) it's simply not possible to further diagnose the issue and it comes down to shooting in the dark.

That you have other computers working does not in any way preclude network related issues. It is extremely unlikely to be a driver issue, other than a configuration issues (i.e. the wrong port selected - which would be a network related issue...) if it continues to fail after a reinstallation.

May I respectfully suggest that if you have extensive network and Windows experience that a proper network map should be easy enough to provide and allow us to properly diagnose possible issues (which might include ruling out a network issue).

Troubleshooting should be a systematic and thorough process - not random guesses.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: dreed on April 10, 2012, 03:43:07 am: Quote from: John McDermott on April 09, 2012, 01:41:09 pm
I also have been doing networks and windows computers for a long time. Would you be so kind as to list those factors that convince you that it is a network problem. Keep in mind that I have two other computers attached to the same network which interact perfectly with the 3880. I am convinced that it is a conflict within my PC, perhaps withing the driver.

Then backup your data and reinstall the PC from scratch. Include a "slow" format as part of the install to wipe the drives.

If there is a conflict within the driver or PC, then it will get logged. You've examined the logs and said there was nothing there. That means that there isn't a problem with the driver in the sense of it being a conflict - a conflict would mean that it couldn't and wouldn't start and in those cases, Windows will flag the driver as not operating and a message will get written to a log file.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: Quid on August 27, 2013, 06:55:56 am: Hi, I know it's an old post, but thought I'd share my solution as I had quite literally the exact same problem. Although I wasn't able to find the exact cause (probably a combo of printer driver limitations and network settings on the problem machine) I was able to find a solution which I think will work for you as well. I did this and it now manages to keep the printer after restarting without needing to re-install drivers each time:

-Install netconfig 3.8
-Install printer drivers (if installed already, just leave them)
-make sure the printer is on, open netconfig and click on the configuration button, when the device properties window opens click on the "IPP" under "tcp/ip" and copy the IPP URL
-open up the printers and faxes window, click on file>add new printer
-select network printer on home network and paste that IPP URL (should be something like: http://192.168.X.XXX:XXX/EPSON_IPP_Printer) in the URL field provided
-then select epson from the list of printers and select your printer from the list on the right

And that should do it.

The only draw back with this method is that you won't have that little window pop up to show you the ink status when printing from the problem machine. There might be a way to sort that though. I haven't messed with it much. But in the very least this will avoid the hassle of having to install printer drivers all the time.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: JohnHeerema on August 27, 2013, 01:07:15 pm: I've encountered occasional cases in which Epson printers that are configured with either static or DHCP-assigned IP addresses are not discovered by the Epson TCP/IP drivers. In the cases that I've personally encountered, using Bonjour has been an effective work-around.
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: lancephoto on April 30, 2014, 01:34:29 pm: I have the exact same problem.

After installing the driver and all the rest it works fine, but after a few days it loses all its settings and I need to start again from scratch.

Most annoying!
Title: Re: Epson 3880 on ethernet
Post by: John McDermott on September 14, 2014, 02:22:47 pm: Lo, after these many months (years?) I have finally solved the issue.

I am not sure yet what the issue was but a reinstallment of Windows 7 did the trick. It now works just as it should.