Epson ET-4850 printout is faint or has gaps

Cause 1 of 5Nozzles are clogged. Source: Faint Printout or Printout Has Gaps, p. 292

First checkPrint a nozzle check pattern.

Causes and checks

Nozzles are clogged. Source: Faint Printout or Printout Has Gaps, p. 292
1. Print a nozzle check pattern. See Run a nozzle check from the control panel.
2. Clean the print head if the pattern shows gaps. See Clean the print head from the control panel.
Ink is low, the paper is unsuitable, or the paper type setting is wrong. Source: Faint Printout or Printout Has Gaps, p. 292
1. Look at the ink tanks and refill any that are low.
2. Make sure the paper type setting matches the loaded paper.
3. Make sure the paper is not damp, curled or old and is loaded correctly.
The print head is out of alignment, the paper path is dirty, or print quality is set too low. Source: Faint Printout or Printout Has Gaps, p. 292
1. Align the print head. See Align the print head from the control panel.
2. Clean the paper path. See Clean the paper guide rollers.
3. Adjust the print quality in the product software.
The product printed while ink was too low to see in the tank windows, or has not been used for a long time. Source: Faint Printout or Printout Has Gaps, p. 292
1. Refill the tanks to the upper lines.
2. Run a Power Cleaning to replace the ink inside the ink tubes, then run a nozzle check. See Run a Power Cleaning from the control panel.
Head cleaning does not solve it and you need to print at once from a Windows computer. Source: Faint Printout or Printout Has Gaps, p. 292
1. In the driver, open Extended Settings on the Maintenance tab and select Use a Mixture of Color Inks to Create Black.
2. Print at Standard print quality with Plain Paper / Bright White Paper, Letterhead or Envelope as the Paper Type.

Service

If the checks above do not clear it, contact Epson America technical support: (562) 276-4382, epson.com/support. United States, 6 AM to 8 PM Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, and 7 AM to 4 PM Pacific Time, Saturday. Canada: (905) 709-3839, same hours (epson.ca/support). Source: Where to Get Help, p. 310

Other ET-4850 problems

Printer does not turn on or off2 causes in the manual. First: the product does not power on.
Noise after filling the ink tanks2 causes in the manual. First: the product charges its print head the first time the tanks are filled; the power light flashes until it finishes.
Message asks to reset ink levelsThe LCD screen asks for an ink level reset. It can appear even when ink remains in the tanks.
White or dark lines across the printout5 causes in the manual. First: nozzles are clogged or the head is misaligned.
Printout is blurry or smeared6 causes in the manual. First: the paper is unsuitable or loaded wrongly.
Printout is grainy3 causes in the manual. First: the paper faces the wrong way, or quality settings are low.
Printout colours are wrong3 causes in the manual. First: software settings alter the colour.
Blank pages print2 causes in the manual. First: the paper size setting is wrong or the document has a blank page.
Printout is slanted2 causes in the manual. First: loading, paper or settings are wrong.
Border appears on borderless prints2 causes in the manual. First: paper or driver setting does not allow borderless printing.
Margins on the printout are wrongPaper size, margins or loading are wrong.
Incorrect characters print2 causes in the manual. First: A cable, USB hub, spooler or sleep state disturbs the job.
Image size or position is wrong2 causes in the manual. First: settings or loading are wrong.
Printed image is invertedA mirror setting is on.
Too many copies printThe Copies setting is above one.
Nothing prints3 causes in the manual. First: the product is off, disconnected or offline.
Printer icon is missing from the Windows taskbarThe Status Monitor shortcut is off.
Printing is slow3 causes in the manual. First: the product slowed itself to protect the print mechanism after long printing.
Paper does not feed or several sheets feed at once4 causes in the manual. First: the cassette or paper stack is wrong.
Originals do not feed from the automatic document feederThe originals or their loading do not suit the ADF.
Paper does not eject fully or comes out wrinkled2 causes in the manual. First: the paper size setting is wrong.
Printer cannot connect to the wireless router5 causes in the manual. First: WPS was not completed in time.
Network software cannot find the printer2 causes in the manual. First: epsonNet Setup cannot find the product.
Printer does not appear in the Mac printer windowThe product needs a restart, a WPS window was missed, or software is incomplete.
Wireless connection is unstable on a MacA device on a Mac USB 3.0 port interferes with wireless.
Wired network connection is unstable or slowThe router or access point supports IEEE 802.3az (Energy Efficient Ethernet), which can make the connection unstable or slow.
Cannot print over a network2 causes in the manual. First: product, driver or settings are wrong.
Cannot scan over a networkSoftware, firewall or resolution blocks the scan.
Printer makes noise but nothing copiesNozzles are clogged, software is wrongly installed or the product is tilted.
Copies have faint or wrong colours2 causes in the manual. First: nozzles, glass, ADF or paper cause the problem.
Copy position, size or margins are wrongThe original, paper or copy settings are wrong.
Product software will not installCable, other programs, privileges or system requirements interfere.
Scanning software does not work or Epson Scan 2 will not startComputer, power mode or settings stop scanning.
Scanning is slowThe resolution is high or the computer is short of resources.
Cannot send scans to a cloud serviceThe computer, login or service is unavailable.
Scanned image shows only dots, a line of dots or crooked linesThe original is wrongly placed or the glass is dirty.
Scanned image is blurry, too dark or shows the back of the original2 causes in the manual. First: movement, pressure or settings affect the image.
Characters are not recognised in a scan converted to editable textOriginal, language or scan settings are unsuitable for OCR.
Scanned image edges are cropped, patchy or show ripples3 causes in the manual. First: the original sits too near the glass edge.
Cannot send or receive faxes2 causes in the manual. First: the line, cable or settings are wrong.
Cannot receive faxes with a telephone connectedThe telephone is on the wrong port or Receive Mode is wrong.
Fax memory full error2 causes in the manual. First: received faxes fill the inbox, which holds up to 100 faxes.
Fax quality is poor2 causes in the manual. First: A received fax is poor.
Sent fax arrives in the wrong sizeThe original is wrongly placed or the glass is dirty.
Received fax is not printedA product error such as a paper jam blocks printing, or the faxes are saved in memory.

Sources

User's Guide, ET-4850. Epson America, Inc. Document CPD-60205, revision CPD-60205R1, 333 pages, en-US. files.support.epson.com (PDF). Listed on the manufacturer's support page. Retrieved 13 November 2026.

Page numbers are the numbers printed in the manual. Where this page and the manual differ, follow the manual.

Applies to: ET-4850. United States and Canada.
Source: User's Guide, ET-4850, CPD-60205 revision CPD-60205R1
Last verified: 13 November 2026
Handbook: Epson EcoTank ET-4850 printer in Printers; all Epson handbooks