Why All the Lights Flash at Once
The Epson ET-2810 series (including the ET-2810, ET-2814, and ET-2862) doesn't have an LCD screen. When something goes wrong, the only way the printer can tell you is by flashing its indicator lights. When all the lights flash simultaneously, it means the printer has detected a general error and has stopped itself as a precaution.
The frustrating part is that "all lights flashing" can mean several different things. Without a screen to display an error code, you need to work through the possible causes one by one. The good news is that most of these are straightforward to fix at home. Below are the most common causes, starting with the most likely.
Paper Jam
A paper jam is the most frequent reason for all lights flashing on the ET-2810 series. Even a small scrap of torn paper left inside the feed mechanism can trigger the error.
Start by turning the printer off and opening the scanner unit (the top section that lifts up). Look inside the printer where the print head sits and check for any visible pieces of paper. Pay close attention to the area around the feed rollers at the back, as small fragments often get caught there.
If you find jammed paper, pull it out slowly and carefully. Pulling too quickly or at an angle can tear the paper and leave smaller pieces behind, which will just cause the same error again. If the paper is wedged tightly, try gently rotating the rollers by hand to release it rather than forcing it.
Once you've removed the jammed paper, take out all remaining paper from the rear paper tray as well. Close the scanner unit, turn the printer back on, and then reload the paper into the rear tray. Press and hold the blue paper button (the one with the page icon) to feed a sheet through the printer. If the lights stop flashing and the printer accepts the paper, you've fixed it.
If you removed what you could see but the error persists, try this: turn the printer off, unplug the power cable from the back of the printer, wait about 30 seconds, plug it back in, and turn it on again with no paper loaded. Once it powers up, load the paper and press the blue paper button. Sometimes the printer just needs a full power cycle to clear the error state after a jam.
Ink Tank Error
Even though EcoTank printers use refillable ink tanks rather than cartridges, the printer still monitors ink levels. If a tank is too low, the printer may refuse to operate and flash all its lights.
Open the ink tank cover on the front right of the printer and check the levels visually. If any tank is near empty, refill it. Make sure you're using the correct colour for each tank (the tanks and bottles are colour-coded, but it's easy to rush and make a mistake).
The other common ink-related cause is the ink tank lid not being closed properly. Each individual tank has a small cap, and there's also the main ink tank cover that sits over all of them. If any of these are not seated correctly, the printer detects it as an error. Press each tank cap down firmly until you feel it click, then close the main cover and check that it's flush against the body of the printer.
After refilling or reseating the caps, turn the printer off and on again. The lights should stop flashing once the printer recognises that the ink levels are acceptable and everything is closed properly.
Waste Ink Pad Full or Nearly Full
This is the cause that catches most people off guard. Inside every Epson EcoTank printer, there's an absorbent pad (sometimes called a waste ink absorber) that collects excess ink from head cleanings, power cleans, and routine maintenance cycles the printer runs automatically. Over time, this pad fills up.
When the waste ink pad reaches capacity, the printer stops working entirely and all lights flash. This is a safety measure to prevent ink overflowing inside the printer. If you've been running a lot of head cleans or power cleans (common when first setting up a sublimation printer), the pad fills faster than it would with normal use.
Unfortunately, this isn't something you can fix just by opening the printer and wiping something out. The pad itself is buried deep inside the printer housing. There are two options: you can use Epson's Maintenance Reset Utility (available from Epson's support website for some models) to reset the waste ink counter, or you can take the printer to an Epson service centre. If you reset the counter yourself, be aware that the physical pad is still saturated, so you may want to place the printer on a tray or absorbent mat in case of any minor ink leakage.
Some users replace the waste ink pad themselves, but this involves partially disassembling the printer and isn't something we'd recommend unless you're comfortable with that level of repair.
Foreign Object Inside the Printer
It happens more often than you'd think. A paperclip, a small piece of sublimation paper trimming, or even a cap from an ink bottle can fall into the paper feed area and cause the printer to jam or error out.
Turn the printer off, open the scanner unit, and shine a torch inside. Check the paper feed path, around the print head carriage, and in the output tray area. If you spot something, remove it carefully. Avoid using metal tools inside the printer as you could damage the print head or scratch the internal components. A pair of plastic tweezers works well for retrieving small objects.
Print Head Carriage Jam
The print head carriage is the part that moves left and right across the width of the printer during printing. If it gets stuck, either because of a foreign object, dried ink buildup on the rail, or a mechanical issue, the printer will throw an error and flash all lights.
With the printer turned off, open the scanner unit and gently try to move the print head carriage by hand. It should slide smoothly from side to side. If it feels stuck or grinds against something, look for obstructions. Sometimes a piece of paper gets wrapped around the carriage rail, or dried ink creates enough friction to stop the carriage from moving freely.
If the carriage moves freely and there's no visible obstruction, try the reset procedure: turn the printer off, unplug it for 60 seconds, plug it back in, and power on. The printer will attempt to reinitialise the carriage position on startup, which can clear the error if it was caused by a temporary positioning fault.
If None of These Fixes Work
If you've worked through all five causes above and the lights are still flashing, there may be an internal hardware fault. Before giving up, try one more thing: hold down the power button and the cancel button (the triangle-shaped button) at the same time while turning the printer on. This forces a print head clean and nozzle check cycle, which can sometimes clear errors that a standard restart doesn't.
If the printer is still showing all lights flashing after that, it's worth getting in touch with us at hello@sublishop.co.uk. We deal with ET-2810 series printers daily and can usually narrow down the issue quickly. If you're still in the market for a reliable sublimation setup, our ET-2810 Starter Bundle comes ready to print straight out of the box.
For related print head maintenance, our guide on how to clean the print heads on Epson EcoTank 2810 series printers covers the standard cleaning process step by step.