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Troubleshooting / Printing and Copying Problems

Print Quality Problems

Horizontal banding
Vertical misalignment or banding
Incorrect or missing colors
Blurry or smeared printout
Print quality does not improve after head cleaning

If you are having print quality problems, first perform a . Then, compare your test printing with the illustrations below. Click the caption under the illustration that best resembles your printout.

Horizontal banding	Vertical misalignment or banding
Horizontal banding	Vertical misalignment or banding
Blurry or smeared printout	Incorrect or missing colors

Horizontal banding

Try one or more of these solutions:

• Make sure that 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" in the Basic Operation Guide.

• Clear all customized settings, and then select the Text & Image setting under Quality Option on your printer software's Main menu (Windows) or select the Automatic setting under Mode in the Print dialog box (Macintosh).

• Check the ink level using the printer software. See Checking the Ink Supply. If the Ink light is on, replace the appropriate ink cartridge. See Replacing an Empty Ink Cartridge.

• Make sure that the Media Type selected in the printer software is appropriate for the type of media loaded in this product.

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Vertical misalignment or banding

Try one or more of these solutions:

• Make sure that the printable side of the paper is face up in the sheet feeder.

• Run the Print Head Alignment utility. See Aligning the Print Head.

• Clear the High Speed check box in the Advanced dialog box.

• Run the Head Cleaning utility to clear any clogged ink nozzles. See "Cleaning the Print Head" in the Basic Operation Guide.

• Make sure that the Media Type setting selected in the printer software is appropriate for the type of media loaded in this product.

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Incorrect or missing colors

Try one or more of these solutions:

• When Draft is selected as the Quality Option setting on the printer driver's Main menu (Windows), as the Print Quality setting in the Advanced dialog box (Mac OS 9), or as the Print Quality setting in the Print dialog box under Print Settings (Mac OS X), other colors of ink are mixed with black ink to create the printout even if printing a black and white document. If you are not satisfied with the print results, please select an option other than Draft.

• Change the Color setting in the printer software to Color.

• Adjust the color settings in your application or in the printer software's Advanced dialog box.

• Run the Head Cleaning utility. See "Cleaning the Print Head" in the Basic Operation Guide.
  If colors are still incorrect or missing, replace the color ink cartridge. If the problem persists, replace the black ink cartridge. See "Replacing an Ink Cartridge" in the Basic Operation Guide.

• Do not use ink cartridges beyond the expiration data printed on the cartridge package. Also, if this product has not been used for a long time, replace the ink cartridges. See Replacing an Empty Ink Cartridge.

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Blurry or smeared printout

Try one or more of these solutions:

• Make sure that you are using the appropriate printer driver for this product.

• Use only paper recommended by Epson. See Media Type Settings.

• Make sure that this products on a flat, stable surface that extends beyond this product base in all directions. This product will not operate properly if it is tilted.

• Make sure that your paper is not damaged, dirty, or too old. Also, make sure that the printable side of the paper is face up in the sheet feeder.

• Make sure that your paper is dry and that the printable side is facing up. Also, make sure that you are using an acceptable paper type. See Paper.

• Clear all customized settings, and then select the Text & Image setting under Quality Option on your printer software's Main menu (Windows) or select the Automatic setting under Mode in the Print dialog box (Macintosh).

• If the paper is curled toward the printable side, flatten it or curl it slightly toward the opposite side.

• Set the adjust lever to the  position, and make sure that the Media Type setting in your printer driver is correct. Continue printing even if an alert appears on the screen when setting the adjust lever to the  position.

• 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 anything to come into contact with the printed side of paper with shiny finishes. After printing, documents that are printed on glossy media should not be handled for a few hours to allow the ink to set.

• Run the Head Cleaning utility. See "Cleaning the Print Head" in the Basic Operation Guide.

• Run the Print Head Alignment utility. See Aligning the Print Head.

• Make several copies without placing a document on the document table. If the problem persists, ink may have leaked inside this product, so wipe the inside of this product with a soft, clean cloth.

Warning:

Be careful not to touch the gears inside this product.

Caution:

Be careful not to wipe the carriage shaft.

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Print quality does not improve after head cleaning

If the quality of your printouts remains poor even after repeatedly cleaning and aligning the print head, one or some of the ink cartridges may be old or damaged and should be replaced.

To replace an ink cartridge before the Status Monitor notifies you that the cartridge is empty. See Replacing an Empty Ink Cartridge.

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