Epson error 0x9A: carriage obstruction fix

What causes it

• A photo, envelope or torn sheet wedged under the print head carriage
• A small object dropped into the printer through the paper opening, such as a paperclip or a coin
• Packing tape or the transport lock left in place on a new machine
• The print head glued to the capping station by dried ink after long disuse
• A cartridge sitting proud and catching on the frame

How to fix it, in order

Work down the list and stop when the printer recovers. The steps are ordered from most likely and least invasive to last resort.

1. Turn the printer off and unplug it so the carriage unlocks

   Press the power button, wait until the display is dark, then unplug the power cord. With the power removed the carriage motor releases, which is essential because trying to move a powered carriage can strip the belt teeth. Give it a few seconds before you open anything.

2. Open the scanner unit and inspect the whole travel

   Lift the scanner section until it holds itself up and shine a torch along the rail from left to right. Look specifically for paper corners peeking out from under the carriage and for objects lying in the trough below the rail. Turn the printer around and look through the rear opening as well, since a scrap often shows from one side only.

3. Move the carriage by hand and remove what you find

   Push the carriage gently to the opposite end of the rail so you can see the area it was covering. Pull out any paper straight along the direction it was travelling, not upwards, and use tweezers only for small hard objects. Count the pieces you remove against the sheet you lost so you know nothing is left behind.

4. Check for transport locks and tape on a new printer

   If this is the first power-up after unboxing, look for orange plastic locks, blue tape strips and foam blocks around the carriage, in the cassette bay and behind the rear cover. Epson uses several on larger models and the setup sheet lists them all. Missing one gives you this exact error at first boot.

5. Free a head stuck to the capping station

   If nothing is obstructing but the carriage will not leave its parked position, the head is likely stuck to the rubber cap. Put a few millilitres of warm distilled water into the cap, wait ten to fifteen minutes, and try to slide the carriage again with steady pressure rather than a jerk. Repeat once if needed.

6. Reseat all cartridges

   Reconnect power, open the scanner unit and let the carriage move to the replace position. Press each cartridge firmly until it clicks and check the row is level. A single cartridge sitting a millimetre high will hit the frame at one end of the travel and reproduce the error.

7. Power cycle and let the printer initialise

   Close the scanner unit, power the printer down, wait a minute, and turn it on again. Let it complete its full sweep and pump cycle without opening anything. A successful initialisation means the code is cleared; print a nozzle check to confirm the head survived.

Frequently asked questions