You sent a document to print on your Epson EcoTank ET-4850, and instead of a finished page you got a stalled job, a flashing warning, and a sheet of paper wedged somewhere inside. Paper jams are a common interruption on this supertank all-in-one, and the good news is that almost every one of them clears with a few careful steps. The trick is to follow the printer's own path rather than tugging blindly, so you do not tear the sheet or damage the rollers.
Because the ET-4850 is a cartridge-free EcoTank model, there are no ink cartridges to reseat or reinstall. Every fix here is about the paper path itself, which means the rear paper feeder, the 250-sheet front cassette, the area under the scanner unit, and the Automatic Document Feeder used for copying, scanning, and faxing. Work through the fixes in order, starting with the safest, and stop as soon as your printer feeds cleanly again.
Start With the Screen, Not Your Hands
Before you reach inside, look at the ET-4850's 2.4 inch color touchscreen. When a jam happens, the control panel shows where the paper is stuck and walks you through clearing it, so the panel is your map. Cancel the print job first if one is still pending.
Then remove the jammed sheet slowly and in the direction the paper normally travels through the printer. Epson's core caution is direct, noting that you should remove the jammed paper carefully because removing it forcefully may cause damage to the printer. Yanking a sheet sideways can leave torn fragments behind or bend the internal guides, which only creates more jams later.
Check the Two Easiest Access Points First
Most jams sit right at the spots where paper enters the printer, so check those before opening anything internal. Start with the rear paper feeder and remove any sheet caught there. This is the quickest fix and clears a large share of everyday jams.
Next, pull out the front paper cassette and remove any sheets caught at the feed area. When you are done, make sure the paper cassette is inserted all the way back into the printer. A cassette that is not seated fully can misfeed and trigger the same error you just cleared.
Open the Inside by Lifting the Scanner Unit
If paper is stuck deeper inside the product, you will need to open the scanner section. This is a normal owner step, but go slowly and keep your fingers clear of the scanner unit's path. Do not tilt or invert the printer at any point, because ink can leak from an EcoTank model.
- 1.Cancel the print job if necessary.
- 2.Remove any jammed paper from the rear paper feeder.
- 3.Raise the control panel.
- 4.Open the inner cover.
- 5.Lift up the scanner until it clicks into place.
- 6.Remove the jammed paper inside.
- 7.To close, lift the scanner unit up slightly and lower it. When the scanner unit catches, lift it up again and lower it completely.
- 8.Close the inner cover.
- 9.Lower the control panel.
- 10.Follow the prompts on the LCD screen to clear any error messages.
That two-step closing motion is intentional. The scanner unit has to catch on its first lift before it will seat properly on the second, so do not force it down in one push.
Clearing a Jam in the Document Feeder
If the jam happens while you are copying, scanning, or faxing, the paper is usually caught in the Automatic Document Feeder rather than the print path. The ADF has its own clearing sequence, and the order of the covers matters. Epson notes specifically that you should make sure you open the ADF cover before removing any jammed paper.
- 1.Cancel the job if necessary.
- 2.Remove your originals from the ADF.
- 3.Open the ADF cover.
- 4.Carefully remove any jammed paper.
- 5.Open the ADF input tray, making sure you have opened the ADF cover before opening the input tray.
- 6.Carefully remove any jammed paper from beneath the ADF input tray.
- 7.Close the ADF input tray, then close the ADF cover until it clicks into place.
- 8.Reload your originals.
Listen for the click when you close the ADF cover. If it does not seat fully, the printer may keep reporting a feed problem even though the paper is gone.
Stop the Jams From Coming Back
If your ET-4850 jams repeatedly, the paper itself is often the cause. Epson's paper-feed guidance is worth following closely, because small loading habits make a big difference. Use new, smooth, high-quality paper that is not curled, creased, old, too thin, or too thick.
Loading matters just as much as the paper. Load paper in the cassette printable side down, and do not load more than the recommended number of sheets. If multiple pages feed at once, remove the paper, fan the edges to separate the sheets, and reload it.
Double-sided printing has its own quirk. If paper jams when you print on both sides of the paper, try loading fewer sheets. Finally, make sure the paper size and type settings match the paper you actually loaded, since a mismatch can cause the printer to misjudge the feed.
Clean the Rollers When Misfeeds Persist
When jams keep happening despite good paper and correct loading, the feed rollers may be the problem. Epson lists cleaning the paper rollers as a fix for ongoing paper-feed issues. Paper dust builds up on the rollers over time, which reduces traction so sheets misfeed or jam.
Power the printer off first, then follow Epson's roller-cleaning guidance for the model. Cleaning the rollers restores grip and often solves intermittent jams that no amount of repositioning paper will fix.
Clear Stuck Jobs and Bring the Printer Back Online
Sometimes the paper is gone but the error lingers, because a stalled job is stuck in the print queue on your computer. Clearing that queue and confirming the printer is online usually finishes the job. The steps differ slightly between Windows and Mac.
On Windows, turn the product off and on, then delete pending jobs from the Epson print queue. Right-click your product name, select "See what's printing," right-click the stalled print job, click Cancel, then click Yes. After that, in the Epson print queue select Printer and deselect the "Use Printer Offline" checkbox so the printer is no longer marked offline.
On a Mac, delete pending jobs first. If the printer still will not respond, remove and re-add it. Open the Apple menu, go to System Preferences or System Settings, then Printers & Scanners (or Print & Scan, or Print & Fax), select your printer and remove it, then click the plus button to add it, select your printer with Kind set as Bonjour, choose your printer from the Use drop-down, and click Add.
Keeping the printer driver up to date through Epson's official downloads helps too. If you connect over a 5 GHz wireless router, Epson advises that you set the router to operate in dual band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) mode and give each band its own network name (SSID), which keeps the connection stable so jobs do not stall mid-print.
When Nothing Else Works, Reset and Reach Out
If a jam error persists after the paper path is completely clear, you can reset settings from the control panel. Note that one of these options erases stored data, so read carefully before you confirm. The "Clear All Data and Settings" choice resets all control-panel settings and deletes any stored information, which means you will need to set up the printer again afterward.
- 1.Press the home button, if necessary.
- 2.Select Settings.
- 3.Select Restore Default Settings.
- 4.Choose the appropriate option, which is Network Settings, Copy Settings, Scan Settings, Fax Settings, or Clear All Data and Settings.
- 5.At the confirmation screen, select Yes.
Pick the narrowest option that fits your problem, since the broader choices wipe more of your setup. If the jam error still will not clear after a reset, the hardware may need a closer look. Contact Epson support from the official ET-4850 support page, where you can also find driver downloads, manuals, and contact options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to remove ink cartridges to clear a jam on the ET-4850?
No. The ET-4850 is a cartridge-free EcoTank supertank model, so there are no ink cartridges to remove or reseat. Every jam fix is about the paper path and the document feeder, not the ink system.
Why does my printer keep jamming even after I clear the paper?
Repeat jams usually come from the paper or the rollers. Use new, smooth paper that is not curled or creased, load it printable side down without exceeding the recommended number of sheets, and clean the paper rollers if misfeeds continue.
The jam is gone but the printer still shows an error, what now?
Follow the prompts on the LCD screen to clear the message, and confirm no torn fragments remain in the path. On a connected computer, clear any stalled jobs in the print queue and make sure the printer is not marked offline.
Is it safe to lift the scanner unit to reach a jam?
Yes, lifting the scanner unit is part of Epson's official internal jam-clearing procedure. Raise the control panel, open the inner cover, then lift the scanner until it clicks into place, keep your fingers clear of its path, and never tilt or invert the printer because ink can leak.
What does Clear All Data and Settings do?
It resets all control-panel settings and deletes any stored information, so you will need to set up the printer again afterward. Use it only as a last resort for a persistent error, and pick a narrower option like Network Settings if that is all you need.
