# epson_print_conf reaches into Epson printers over SNMP and USB, and it will reset your waste ink counter

> epson_print_conf is a Python tool and Tcl/Tk application for configuring and monitoring Epson printers, with an SNMP path over Wi-Fi, a USB fallback for models that refuse network EEPROM access, and waste ink counter resets alongside nozzle cleaning and EEPROM read and write. The reset features are the part with consequences, and the project says so plainly.

**Ircama/epson_print_conf** — Epson Printer Configuration tool and waste ink counter resetter

- Repository: https://github.com/Ircama/epson_print_conf
- Website: https://ircama.github.io/epson_print_conf
- Stars: 666 · Forks: 129
- Language: Python
- License: NOASSERTION
- Published: 2026-10-21 · Updated: 2026-10-21 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/ircama-epson-print-conf

## Two ways in, SNMP over Wi-Fi and USB through the EPSON-CTRL service

Epson printers expose a surprising amount of configuration over their network interface, and this project is a client for that interface. The Epson Printer Configuration Tool provides an interface for the configuration and monitoring of Epson printers connected via Wi-Fi using the SNMP protocol, and a range of features are offered for both end-users and developers.

The primary path is SNMP over TCP/IP. Printers are queried via Simple Network Management Protocol with a set of Object Identifiers used by Epson printers, and some of those OIDs are also valid with other printer brands. SNMP is used to manage the EEPROM and to read or set specific Epson configuration.

The second path exists because of a firmware decision. The USB interface uses the IEEE 1284.4 (D4) EPSON-CTRL service, and the project describes it as the only way in on the models whose firmware refuses EEPROM access over the network. It carries the same commands, the same keys, and the same features: status, EEPROM read and write, waste resets, and access-key detection. You select it with the --usb flag on the command line, the USB choice in the GUI's Printer Connection box, or the EPSON_USB environment variable.

The implementation differs by platform. On Windows the tool talks to the USBPRINT device interface the Epson driver already publishes, using native SetupAPI and kernel32 calls, so no driver is replaced and nothing has to be installed. On Linux and macOS it claims the printer's vendor-specific interface through libusb, detaching the kernel driver while it works and re-attaching it on close. libusb and PyUSB exist on Windows as fallbacks after the native route, but they are not what the tool uses by default.

## Status reporting that decodes the proprietary @BDC ST2 format

The detailed status reporting is the feature with the most engineering behind it. Epson printers produce a status response in a proprietary new binary format named @BDC ST2, including a data structure which is partially undocumented. Such messages start with @BDC [SP] ST2 [CR] [LF].

The format conveys errors, paper status, ink levels, and more. The complication is that the element fields vary depending on the printer model, so there is no single fixed layout to decode. The tool decodes all element fields found in publicly available Epson Programming Manuals of various printer models, using the relevant subset of fields used by the printers.

That last sentence is the honest boundary of the feature. The decoding is driven by the manuals, so coverage tracks the documents that exist and the models they cover. A model whose fields are undocumented, or whose manual has not been consulted, will report less. The GUI also carries an autodiscovery function that detects printer IP addresses and model names, which helps decide whether a given printer is one the tool understands before you start poking at it.

## The waste ink reset comes in a temporary form and a permanent one

This is the part of the tool that changes the physical state of the printer, so it deserves careful reading.

The ink waste counters track the amount of ink discarded during maintenance tasks to prevent overflow in the waste ink pads. Once the counters indicate that one of the printer pads is full, the printer stops working, to avoid potential damage or ink spills. The Printer status button shows the levels of the waste ink tanks, in two relevant sections: Maintenance box information, labelled maintenance_box_, and Waste Ink Levels, labelled waste_ink_levels. The maintenance box counter indicates the number of temporary resets performed by the user to temporarily restore a disabled printer.

The temporary reset is effective when the Maintenance Box information reports the box as full. It temporarily bypasses the waste ink tank full warning that would otherwise disable printing. Two facts matter: the setting is reset upon printer reboot and does not affect the EEPROM, and it can be repeated. Each time the Maintenance box status switches from full to not full, the ink replacement cleaning counter is increased. A pad maintenance or tank replacement has to be programmed meanwhile.

The permanent reset is a separate feature and a separate decision. Resetting the ink waste counter permanently extends the printer operation while a physical pad maintenance or tank replacement is programmed, and the project is explicit that the physical operation shall necessarily be performed. Read that as the precondition, not a suggestion.

## Maintenance actions from nozzle cleaning to changing the printer identity

Beyond the waste counters, the tool exposes a wide set of printer actions.

Cleaning comes in two intensities. The standard cleaning cycle runs on the selected nozzle group, with the option to select black or color nozzles. Power cleaning uses a higher quantity of ink for a deeper cycle, consumes more ink, and fills the waste ink tank more quickly, so it should only be used when normal cleaning is insufficient.

The test print functions are a set of named operations rather than one page. Standard Nozzle Test asks the printer to print its internal predefined pattern, and the Alternative Nozzle Test uses an alternative predefined pattern. The Color Test Pattern prints a black and white and color page optimized for Epson XP-200 series printers. Advance Paper moves the loaded sheet forward by a specified number of lines without printing, and Feed Multiple Sheets passes a specified number of sheets through the printer without printing.

The configuration side goes further than status reporting. The tool can open the printer's web interface in the default browser, adjust the power-off timer, change the First TI Received Time, which tracks when the printer first operated, and change the printer WiFi MAC address and the printer serial number, a capability the project flags as typically used in specialized scenarios where specific device identifiers are required. It reads and writes EEPROM addresses directly, dumps and analyzes sets of EEPROM addresses, and detects the access key, read_key and write_key, plus some attributes of the printer configuration.

The access-key detection is worth calling out for a specific reason. The GUI can attempt to detect the attributes of a printer whose model is not in the configuration database, which is a way to work with an unsupported model rather than discarding it.

## A configurable printer dictionary and importable configuration datasets

The data model is what separates this from a script of ad hoc SNMP calls. The software includes a configurable printer dictionary, which can be easily extended, and it is possible to import and convert external Epson printer configuration databases.

Configuration datasets can be imported and exported in several formats: epson_print_conf pickle, Reinkpy XML, and Reinkpy TOML. The presence of two Reinkpy formats is a compatibility decision rather than an accident, and it means a configuration prepared elsewhere can be brought in rather than retyped.

For developers there is an Interactive Console, described as an API Playground. It lets Python developers interact with the application's runtime environment, evaluate expressions, test APIs, and inspect variables, acting as a live console for debugging, printer configuration testing, and rapid prototyping. Because the application is Python at its core, with ui.py and epson_print_conf.py as separate top level files, that console has access to the same objects the GUI drives.

The top level layout also shows the packaging story. Alongside the Python sources there is a Dockerfile, a requirements.txt, an epson_print_conf.spec for a PyInstaller style build, flake.nix, package.nix, dependencies.nix, a start.sh, and find_printers.py and parse_devices.py as separate utilities.

## Dependencies, a Docker image with a VNC desktop, and no stated install command

The project pages do not give a single pip install line for the application, so there is no install command to copy. What it does give is a dependency manifest, which is where the real requirements show:

```python
pyyaml
pysnmp>=7.1.20
pysnmp_sync_adapter>=1.1.0
pyperclip
black
tomli
text-console>=2.1.0
tk-date-entry>=1.1.0
hexdump2
pyprintlpr>=1.1.1
epson_escp2>=1.0.4
epson-usb>=0.1.2
pyusb>=1.2
```

Two entries carry the weight for USB work. epson-usb is pinned to a minimum of 0.1.2 because that is the first release whose EpsonUsbPrinter walks the candidate USB interfaces when the D4 handshake on the first one gets no answer, before that the interface had to be chosen by hand. The package declares Python >= 3.9 from version 0.1.1 onwards. pyusb>=1.2 is the generic fallback.

The container path is more elaborate than a service image. The Dockerfile is based on the official Python slim image and installs Tk, Tcl, and a full set of X11 development packages, along with Xvfb, x11vnc, fluxbox, and procps:

```dockerfile
ENV DISPLAY=:99

EXPOSE 5990

ENTRYPOINT ["bash", "/app/start.sh"]
```

The DISPLAY variable points at the Xvfb virtual framebuffer, and the VNC port is exposed so a browser or VNC client can reach the graphical interface. The dependencies are copied in before the application so the layer caches, then the whole tree is copied on top.

## Where this tool is the wrong choice, and what it costs to maintain

Three limitations deserve to be stated before anyone installs it.

First, this is a device control tool, not a driver or a print spooler. If the goal is to print, the Epson driver and the printer's own tools are the right answer. The value of this project appears only when you need to read or write configuration the vendor interface does not expose, such as EEPROM addresses, the serial number, or the MAC address.

Second, the waste ink features cut both ways. The temporary reset is undone by a reboot, and the permanent reset only extends operation while a physical pad maintenance or tank replacement is programmed. A printer running on a permanently reset counter without the physical service has no protection against overflow, which is the failure the counter exists to prevent.

Third, coverage follows the manuals. The @BDC ST2 decoding follows the Epson Programming Manuals, and the printer dictionary is extensible but only as complete as someone has made it. The access-key detection feature is the pragmatic answer for a model that is missing from the dictionary, not a substitute for it.

On maintenance, the project is moving. The last push was on 2026-10-19, and the latest release, v8.2.0, came on 2026-10-03. The licence field shows a custom licence that GitHub cannot classify, with the terms in the LICENSE file, so read that file rather than assuming a standard OSI identifier. A large version number like 8.2.0 also implies breaking changes across the series, which matters for anyone wrapping this tool in their own script.

## Conclusion

epson_print_conf fits a technician or developer who needs read and write access to Epson printer EEPROM, including the models whose firmware blocks network access, and who can justify a temporary waste ink counter reset against a real service action. It does not fit a user who only wants to print, and the permanent waste ink counter reset should not be treated as a substitute for pad maintenance. Before running it against a printer, confirm which transport your model allows: check whether the SNMP path works first, and use the USB route with the EPSON_USB environment variable when the firmware refuses EEPROM access over the network.

## FAQ

### How do I connect epson_print_conf to an Epson printer over USB?

Use the --usb flag on the command line, pick the USB choice in the GUI's Printer Connection box, or set the EPSON_USB environment variable. The USB route uses the IEEE 1284.4 EPSON-CTRL service and is the only way in on models whose firmware refuses EEPROM access over the network.

### What is the difference between the temporary and the permanent waste ink counter reset?

The temporary reset only bypasses the waste ink tank full warning, is cleared by a printer reboot, does not affect the EEPROM, and can be repeated. The permanent reset extends printer operation while a physical pad maintenance or tank replacement is programmed.

### Can epson_print_conf read and write Epson printer EEPROM?

Yes. It reads and writes EEPROM addresses over SNMP and over USB, and it can dump and analyze sets of EEPROM addresses. It also detects the access key, read_key and write_key, and some attributes of the printer configuration.

### Does epson_print_conf work with printers that are not in its configuration database?

Partly. The GUI includes features that attempt to detect the attributes of a printer whose model is not included in the configuration, and those features can also be used with known printers to find additional parameters.

### What does epson_print_conf require to run in a container?

The Dockerfile starts from the official Python slim image, installs Tk, Tcl and X11 packages along with Xvfb, x11vnc, fluxbox and procps, installs requirements.txt, sets DISPLAY to :99, exposes port 5990, and runs start.sh as the entrypoint.

## Sources

- [Ircama/epson_print_conf on GitHub](https://github.com/Ircama/epson_print_conf)
- [Issues](https://github.com/Ircama/epson_print_conf/issues)
- [Project website](https://ircama.github.io/epson_print_conf)
- [README](https://github.com/Ircama/epson_print_conf/blob/main/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/Ircama/epson_print_conf/releases)

---

Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/ircama-epson-print-conf