| Home > Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems Horizontal banding Vertical misalignment or banding Incorrect or missing colors Blurry or smeared printout If you are having print quality problems, then compare it with the illustrations below. Click the caption under the illustration that best resembles your printout.
Good sample | Good sample
Horizontal banding | Vertical misalignment or banding
Horizontal banding | Vertical misalignment or banding
Incorrect or missing colors | Blurry or smeared printout
Horizontal banding Make sure the printable side of the paper is face up in the sheet feeder. Run the Head Cleaning utility to clear any clogged ink nozzles. See Cleaning the Print Head Run the Print Head Alignment utility. See Aligning the Print Head Use ink cartridges within six months after opening the packages. Use genuine Epson ink cartridges. Clear all customized settings and select Text as the Quality Option in your printer settings (Windows). Clear all customized settings and select Automatic as the Mode in your printer settings (Macintosh). See online help for more information. See Accessing the printer driver for Windows See Accessing the printer driver for Mac OS X Check the ink levels. If ink is low, replace the appropriate ink cartridge. See Replacing an Ink Cartridge Make sure the Paper Type or Media Type selected in the printer driver is appropriate for the type of paper loaded in the printer. See Selecting the Correct Media Type Top Vertical misalignment or banding Make sure the printable side of the paper is face up in the sheet feeder. Run the Head Cleaning utility to clear any clogged ink nozzles. See Cleaning the Print Head Run the Print Head Alignment utility. See Aligning the Print Head Clear the High Speed check box in your Advanced printer settings. See online help for details. Make sure the Paper Type or Media Type selected in the printer software is appropriate for the type of paper loaded in the printer. See Selecting the Correct Media Type Top Incorrect or missing colors Clear the Grayscale setting in your printer driver (for Windows). Change the Ink setting in your printer driver to Color (for Macintosh). See online help for details. Adjust the color settings in your application or in your Advanced printer settings. See online help for details. Run the Head Cleaning utility. See Cleaning the Print Head If colors are still incorrect or missing, replace one of the color ink cartridges. If the problem persists, replace the black ink cartridge. See Replacing an Ink Cartridge If you have just replaced an ink cartridge, make sure the date on the box has not expired. If you have not used the printer for a long time, replace the ink cartridges. See Replacing an Ink Cartridge Top Blurry or smeared printout Make sure you are using the appropriate printer driver for the printer. Use only paper recommended by Epson. See Paper Use genuine Epson ink cartridges. Make sure the printer is on a flat, stable surface that extends beyond the base in all directions. The printer will not operate properly if it is tilted. Make sure your paper is not damaged, dirty, or too old. Make sure your paper is dry and the printable side is facing up. Clear all customized settings and select Text as the Quality Option in your printer settings (Windows). Clear all customized settings and select Automatic as the Mode in your printer settings (Macintosh). See online help for more information. See Accessing the printer driver for Windows See Accessing the printer driver for Mac OS X If the paper is curled toward the printable side, flatten it or curl it slightly in the opposite direction. Make sure the Paper Type or Media Type selected in the printer driver is appropriate for the type of paper loaded in the printer. See Selecting the Correct Media Type Remove each sheet from the output tray as it is printed. If you are printing on glossy media, place a support sheet (or a sheet of plain paper) beneath the stack, or load only one sheet at a time. Do not touch or allow any thing to come into contact with the printed side of paper with a shiny finish. After printing on transparencies or glossy paper, allow the ink to set for a few hours before handling them. Run the Head Cleaning utility. See Cleaning the Print Head Run the Print Head Alignment utility. See Aligning the Print Head Top |