My printout is grainy when I print from any application. What should I do?

• If your printouts are grainy, try these solutions:
  • Make sure you loaded the printable side of the paper facedown in the cassette or faceup in the rear feed slot.
  • Select a higher print quality setting and turn off any high-speed settings in your product software.
  • Run a nozzle check to see if any of the print head nozzles are clogged. Then clean the print head, if necessary.
  • Align the print head.
  • You may need to increase the image resolution or print a smaller size; see your software documentation.
  • If you enlarged an image file and did not increase the resolution of the image, it may appear grainy when you print it.

    Note: If you enlarged your image in an image-editing program, you need to increase the Resolution setting to retain a high image quality. Increase the resolution by the same amount you will increase the image size. For example, if the resolution is 300 dpi and you plan to increase the image size by 200% later, change the Resolution setting to 600 dpi.

    Higher resolution settings result in larger file sizes. Large files take longer to process and print, so consider the practical limitations of your computer system when selecting a resolution. To keep your file size manageable, select the lowest possible resolution that gives acceptable quality.

  Related references
  Print Head Nozzle Check
  Print Head Cleaning
  Print Head Alignment
  Selecting Basic Print Settings - Windows
  Selecting Advanced Print Settings - Windows
  Selecting Basic Print Settings - Mac OS X
  Printing Preferences - Mac OS X
  Loading Paper