The print quality is uneven, too light, or too dark, or lines appear in the printout. What should I do?

• If you notice that your print quality is uneven, too light, too dark, or there are lines in the print (banding), try these solutions:

  • Run a nozzle check to see if any of the print head nozzles are clogged. Then clean the print head, if necessary. If nozzles are still clogged after cleaning three times, perform a Powerful Cleaning. If nozzles are still clogged, flush the ink tubes.
  • Perform a print quality adjustment.
  • Make sure your paper meets the specifications for your product.
  • Make sure the paper is not wrinkled, folded, or bent.
  • Make sure your ink bottles have not expired. For best results, use ink bottles before the expiration date printed on the package.
  • Shake the ink bottles before filling the ink tanks.
  • Make sure you selected the correct Media Type setting in the printer driver that matches the paper loaded in the printer.
  • Compare the print result with the image on your computer screen. Since monitors and printers produce colors differently, printed colors and screen colors do not always look the same.
  • Make sure that all printer covers are closed during printing.
  • Keep all printer covers closed unless you are loading or unloading media to prevent dust from accumulating inside the printer.
  • Check the ink levels on the LCD screen. Refill any ink tanks that are low on ink.
  • Enable color management in the software application or in the printer driver.
  • If you are using non-Epson media, make sure you create a custom paper configuration for the media.
  • Check the quality setting that you selected in the printer driver. Using a faster printing method may decrease the overall print quality.
  Related concepts
  Print Head Nozzle Check
  Print Head Cleaning
  Related tasks
  Refilling the Ink Tanks
  Selecting Basic Print Settings - Mac
  Selecting Basic Print Settings - Windows
  Creating Custom Paper Configurations
  Managing Color - Mac