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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
Unnatural gradation

If you are having print quality problems, first perform a , then compare it 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

Incorrect or missing colors

Blurry or smeared printout

Horizontal banding

Make sure that the printable side of the paper is face down in the front tray or up in the back tray.

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 up ink cartridges within six months after opening their packages.

Use the genuine Epson ink cartridges.

Clear all customized settings, and select Text settings as the Quality Option setting on your printer's software (Windows). Clear all customized settings, and select Automatic as the Mode setting on your printer's software (Macintosh). See online help for details.

Check the ink level using the LCD panel. See Checking the Ink Supply. If a message indicating ink out is displayed on the LCD panel, replace the appropriate ink cartridge. See Replacing Ink Cartridges.

Make sure that the Media Type selected in the printer driver is appropriate for the type of media loaded in this product. See Selecting the Correct Media Type.

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Vertical misalignment or banding

Make sure that the printable side of the paper is face down in the front tray or up in the back tray.

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 printer driver's Advanced dialog box. See online help for details.

Make sure that the Media Type selected in the printer driver is appropriate for the type of media loaded in this product. See Selecting the Correct Media Type.

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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 printer driver's Advanced dialog box. See online help for details.

Run the Head Cleaning utility. See Cleaning the Print Head.

If colors are still incorrect or missing, replace the color ink cartridge. If the problem persists, replace the black ink cartridge. See Replacing Ink Cartridges.

If you have just replaced an ink cartridge, make sure the date on the box has not expired. Also, if you have not used the product for a long time, replace with new ink cartridges. See Replacing Ink Cartridges.

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Blurry or smeared printout

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

Use only paper recommended by Epson. See Selecting the Correct Media Type.

Use genuine Epson ink cartridges.

Make sure that this product is 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.

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 select Text settings as the Quality Option setting on your printer's software (Windows). Clear all customized settings, and select Automatic as the Mode setting on your printer's software (Macintosh). See online help for details.

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

Make sure that the Media Type setting in your printer's software is correct.

Remove each sheet from the output tray as it is printed, especially if you are using transparencies.

If you are printing on glossy media or transparencies, 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 transparencies or paper with a shiny finish. After printing documents on transparencies or glossy media, 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.

Make a copy 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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Unnatural gradation

If you print using the PhotoEnhance setting on the Main menu, your printout may have unnatural gradation in areas of your photo that are out of focus.

Clear the PhotoEnhance check box (Windows).

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