Epson EcoTank ET-3843: Setup, Drivers, Ink and Common Problems

Is the Epson EcoTank ET-3843 right for you?

The ET-3843 is a retailer-exclusive twin of the ET-3850, sold mainly through Walmart and Sam's Club in the US with different bundled ink. It brings a 30-sheet ADF, Ethernet, duplex and the 542 pigment black to a compact home-office chassis. Treat it as an ET-3850 for every support purpose, including driver downloads and the usual ADF roller cleaning and pigment black maintenance.

Best for: Warehouse-club shoppers needing an ADF home-office EcoTank

Setting up the Epson EcoTank ET-3843

Install the ET-3850 driver package if the ET-3843 is not listed on the support page; the software recognises both. Use Smart Panel on a 2.4 GHz network or Ethernet. ScanSmart on a PC is needed for multi-page ADF scans to a single PDF.

1. Unbox and prepare. Remove every piece of shipping tape and packing material, install the ink bottles (fill each tank to the upper line), and load paper in the tray.
2. Join your Wi-Fi. Keep the printer close to the router for setup. Most printers only connect to the 2.4GHz band, so if your router broadcasts one merged network name you may need to split the bands temporarily. See our Wi-Fi guide if it will not join.
3. Install the setup app. Use Epson's official app rather than a driver you found on a search result — third-party driver sites are the most common source of printer malware.
4. Add the printer. On Windows 11: Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Printers & scanners › Add device. On macOS: System Settings › Printers & Scanners › Add Printer.
5. Print a test page and run a scan if this is an all-in-one, so you find any problem now rather than when you are in a hurry.

Ink, toner and supplies

The Epson EcoTank ET-3843 uses the following consumables. Match the number exactly when you buy: the same printer family often uses several different cartridge numbers by region.

• Epson 542 Black
• Epson 542 Cyan/Magenta/Yellow ink bottles

High-yield (XL) versions almost always cost less per page if you print regularly. On third-party ink and toner, read our honest assessment first, and note that some manufacturers push firmware that rejects non-original chips.

Full specifications