My printout has incorrect colors. What should I do?

  • See our Windows or Mac how-to video or follow or the instructions below.

    Incorrect Colors

    If your printouts have incorrect colors, try these solutions:

    • Make sure the paper type setting matches the paper you loaded.
    • Make sure the Grayscale setting is not selected in your printer software.
    • If you selected Standard-Vivid (Windows) or Normal-Vivid (Mac) as the quality setting in the printer software, try selecting Standard (Windows) or Normal (Mac) instead.
    • Select EPSON Standard as the Color Mode (Windows) or Mode (Mac) setting in the printer software.
    • Run a nozzle check to see if any of the print head nozzles are clogged. Then clean the print head, if necessary.
    • The ink levels may be low and you may need to refill the ink. Visually check the ink levels.
    • If you printed when the ink levels were too low to be seen in the ink tank windows, refill the ink tanks to the upper lines and run the Power Cleaning utility. Then run a nozzle check to see if print quality has improved.
    • After you print, the colors in your printout need time to set as the ink dries. During this time, the colors may look different than you expect. To speed up drying time, do not stack your printouts on top of each other.
    • Your printed colors can never exactly match your on-screen colors. However, you can use a color management system to get as close as possible. Try using the color management options in your printer software.
    • Select Custom as the Color Correction setting on the More Options tab of the printer software, then click Advanced. Try changing the Scene Correction setting to something other than Automatic. If changing that setting does not work, change the Color Management setting to any color correction method other than PhotoEnhance.
    • For best results, use genuine Epson paper.
    • If you have not used the product for a long time, run the Power Cleaning utility.

      Note: Power Cleaning consumes a lot of ink, so run this utility only if you cannot improve print quality by cleaning the print head.

    Related concepts
    Print Head Nozzle Check
    Print Head Cleaning
    Power Cleaning
    Related tasks
    Checking Ink Levels on Your Product
    Selecting Basic Print Settings - Windows
    Selecting Basic Print Settings - Mac
    Related references
    Paper or Media Type Settings - Control Panel
    Paper or Media Type Settings - Printing Software
    Compatible Epson Papers
    Related information
    Refilling Ink
Published:  12-Aug-2021 Was this helpful? Thank you for the feedback!
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