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After support ends

What a printer can still print after the maker ends software support

dayanother.com Editorial Team ·

On Epson printers that use Epson Connect or an Epson ink plan, the machine and an installed local driver are not the same thing as the cloud account. Local USB or network printing that works can continue. What stops is a path that needed an ended cloud print service, an ink subscription that requires a live ReadyPrint account, or an Epson Connect feature such as Email Print or Scan to Cloud when that service path is gone.

What still prints, and what does not

  • Still works: Printing that already uses a driver on your computer over USB or your local network is local work on the printer and that computer. Epson’s Google Cloud Print support page treats remote Internet printing as a separate path and points people who lost that service toward Epson Connect, not toward a claim that the printer stopped being a printer.
  • Stops working: Google Cloud Print was discontinued in January 2021 and is no longer supported. Epson’s own support page states that devices across all operating systems will not be able to print using Google Cloud Print.
  • Needs subscription: Epson ReadyPrint Unlimited Printing Plans require a commitment and state that printers must remain connected to the Internet. ReadyPrint terms also require an Internet connection for ink replenishment during the lease. ReadyInk is no longer accepting new applications.
  • Needs previous owner removed: Not applicable for ending your own ink plan or Connect use on a printer you own. ReadyPrint credentials are account-specific; anyone with those credentials can reach the lease account.
  • Can work offline: Epson Connect’s portal states that most features require an Internet connection to the printer or scanner. Email Print and Scan to Cloud are described as Internet paths. A driver already installed for local USB or LAN printing is not that Connect path.
  • Last checked: September 29, 2026. Epson Google Cloud Print Support, Epson Connect portal, Epson Email Print and Scan to Cloud support pages, WorkForce WF-3640 Connect FAQ, ReadyPrint Terms, and ReadyInk page.
A Lexmark OfficeEdge Pro4000 all-in-one printer on a desk, not an Epson model.
This is a Lexmark OfficeEdge Pro4000, not an Epson. The paper path and USB or network link are on the machine and the computer. Epson Connect Email Print and Scan to Cloud are account and Internet services. Roger DeWitt, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

What sits on the printer, what sits on the computer, and what sits in the cloud or ink account

The printer holds the hardware that marks paper. The computer holds the printer driver once it is installed. Epson’s WorkForce WF-3640 support FAQ says you can download drivers from the product Downloads tab when a package is listed for your operating system, and that Software Updater can notify you of updates after a driver is already installed. That answer is about files for a listed OS. It is not a promise that every older Epson, or every new computer OS, will still have a package waiting.

Epson Connect is a different layer. On the WF-3640 FAQ and the Epson Connect portal, Connect covers Email Print, Remote Print, Scan to Cloud, and apps such as Epson iPrint. The portal says most features need an Internet connection to the printer or scanner and an Internet- or email-enabled device. The Connect account registration lives with that service, not inside a USB cable.

Email Print gives the printer a unique email address so you can send files for automatic printing from elsewhere. Scan to Cloud, on Epson’s support description, uses a direct Internet connection so you can scan from the panel and send the file to preset email addresses or online storage without a computer attached. Both are cloud paths, not the same as scanning to a folder on a PC with local scan software.

An ink subscription is another account object. ReadyPrint is a lease with monthly billing and terms that require the printer to stay on the Internet for functionality and prompt ink replenishment. Epson states you do not buy the ReadyPrint printer at the end of the lease. ReadyInk is no longer accepting new applications.

What changes when the maker’s software path or cloud path ends

Compare this with What a Peloton can still do after the membership ends only where the split matches. Peloton classes are service content behind a membership login; when that membership ends, class access ends. A printer driver already installed is software on your computer, and ending a cloud print service does not erase that driver by itself. Ending a ReadyPrint lease is about the lease account and, under ReadyPrint’s default rules, Epson’s ability to disable the leased printer electronically if you default—including if you do not keep it on the Internet during the lease.

The clearest ended cloud print path on Epson’s site is Google Cloud Print. Epson’s support page states that service was discontinued in January 2021, is no longer supported, and that devices on all operating systems will not be able to print with it. The same page says people who used it for remote Internet printing can continue remote printing with Epson Connect. That is a replacement path, not a claim that Google Cloud Print still works.

Interior of an opened laser printer showing drums and paper path, not an Epson inkjet.
This is an opened laser printer, not an Epson inkjet. The marking engine is in the box. A discontinued cloud print service is not stored as a stack of jobs inside that engine. Robbie Sproule, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The rule that matches Epson’s wording: a feature that needs the company’s server or a third-party cloud print service stops when that service stops, unless the page says it stays. Google Cloud Print does not stay. Email Print and Scan to Cloud are Epson Connect Internet services; if that path is unavailable, they are not local substitutes by themselves. Local USB or LAN printing through an installed driver is a separate path. Epson’s Google Cloud Print page does not say that local driver printing ended in January 2021.

What you can check on Epson’s pages today

Open the pages that state the split. On September 29, 2026, these were opened for this article:

On the printer, try a page from the computer that already has the driver, over USB or the home network, without Email Print. Then try Email Print or Scan to Cloud only if you still use those Connect features. On a ReadyPrint lease, open readyprint.epson.com and check whether the plan is current and whether the printer is online as the terms require.

What to do before support ends or before you move to a new computer

If local printing already works on the computer you keep, leave that installed driver in place. Local USB or network printing does not need Google Cloud Print, and Epson’s Google Cloud Print page does not tell you to remove a local driver when that service ended.

If you are moving to a new computer, use the Downloads tab for your exact model and stop if your operating system is not listed. The WF-3640 FAQ about installing without a CD says to download the Drivers and Utilities Combo Package for your OS from that tab. The Linux FAQ says Linux drivers exist for some products and that Epson does not provide support for Linux drivers. Neither page says every old printer still has a driver for every new OS. Do not invent a download that is not on the product page.

Before you cancel a ReadyPrint lease, read Section 2 of the ReadyPrint Terms: notice, return of the printer in working order, amounts due, and an early termination charge if you leave early. The terms also say Epson may disable the printer electronically if you default, including if you do not keep it on the Internet during the lease. That is lease machinery, not a tip for bypassing a login on a printer you own.

If you rely on Scan to Cloud or Email Print, confirm the feature while the service still answers. Save scans to a computer if you need copies that do not depend on Epson’s cloud path. There is no step here for keeping a Connect login you are not entitled to use.

Close-up of an Epson inkjet printer control panel showing an ink cartridge not recognized message.
An Epson inkjet panel message about an unrecognized ink cartridge. Panel messages and ink accounts are not the same as a local print queue that already has a driver. Leo Miregalitheo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

One fact that belongs to Epson’s ended cloud print path

Epson’s Google Cloud Print Support page states that Google Cloud Print was discontinued in January 2021 and is no longer supported, and that devices across all operating systems will not be able to print using it. The same page tells people who used that remote Internet path to use Epson Connect instead. That is a sourced end date for one cloud print path, not a claim that every Epson still has a driver, and not a claim that Email Print or Scan to Cloud outlive Connect.

The mistake that makes this worse

The harmful mistake is assuming a new computer can still get a driver just because the old computer still prints, or assuming scan-to-email through Epson’s cloud path keeps working after that maker server path ends. A working queue on yesterday’s PC is evidence about that PC. Epson’s FAQs send you to the Downloads tab for your OS and, for Linux, say support for those drivers is not provided.

The same mistake applies to Scan to Cloud and Email Print. Those features are described as Internet Connect services. When a cloud print service ends, Epson’s Google Cloud Print page is blunt: you cannot print with that service anymore. Plan on local scanning to a computer if you need the file without the maker’s server. Leaving an unsupported printer reachable from the open Internet is not the same as leaving a currently supported one online.

Read next: What a Peloton can still do after the membership ends. Is a router still reasonable online after the vendor ends updates.

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