I tried both solutions and here's what happened. First I went to the link suggested by General Winters. I tried 3 times to install the service utility. Each time this message came up:
"C:\Program Files\SSC Service Utility\ssc_serv.exe
An error occurred while trying to copy a file:
The source file is corrupted. Click Retry to try again, Ignore to skip this file (not recommended), or Abort to cancel installation."
So I aborted each time. I checked to see if my Epson printer model 880 was supported by the service utility and it was listed. Then I tried Jerry CTX's button pushing method. It worked--the printer is working normally. The lights stopped flashing and I just printed a couple of documents with no problems. So then I went back to try to install the SSC Service Utility, and the error message came up again. I would like to be able to install that Utility--up until today I did not know that the printer had waste inkpads, let alone that they fill up and need to be cleaned or replaced. Any more suggestions?
Thank you for your great advice--I do have another newer printer, but I've still got several ink cartridges for this old 880, and I'd like to be able to use them up.