My printout is blurry or smeared. What should I do?

• If your printouts are blurry or smeared, try these solutions:

  • Make sure your paper is not damp, curled, old, or loaded incorrectly in your product.
  • Use a support sheet with special paper, or load special paper one sheet at a time.
  • Make sure your paper meets the specifications for your product.
  • Use Epson papers to ensure proper saturation and absorption of genuine Epson inks.
  • If printouts are frequently smeared or scuffed, try using new paper.
  • Do not load more than the recommended number of sheets. For plain paper, do not load above the line indicated by the triangle symbol on the edge guide.
  • Make sure the paper type setting in your product software matches the type of paper you loaded.
  • Make sure you loaded the printable side of the paper correctly for your product.
  • If you are printing on thick paper, select a thick paper Paper Type setting on the control panel. In Windows, you can also try selecting a Thick Paper and Envelopes setting in the Extended Settings of the printer software.
  • If paper is still smeared after enabling settings for thick paper, reduce the print density.
  • When horizontal banding appears or the top or bottom of the paper is smeared, load paper in the correct direction and slide the edge guides to the edges of the paper.
  • If you print on both sides of a sheet of paper, smudges may appear on the reverse side of heavily saturated or dark images. If one side of a sheet will contain a lighter image or text, print that side first. Make sure the ink has dried before reloading the paper to print on the other side. Adjust the density and/or ink drying time settings.
  • Run a nozzle check to see if any of the print head nozzles are clogged. Then clean the print head, if necessary.

  Note: Your product will not operate properly while tilted at an angle. Place it on a flat, stable surface that extends beyond the base of the product in all directions.

  Related concepts
  Print Head Maintenance
  Related tasks
  Selecting Additional Print Options - Windows
  Selecting Basic Print Settings - Windows
  Selecting Double-sided Printing Settings - Windows
  Related references
  Paper Specifications
  Compatible Epson Papers (U.S. and Canada)
  Compatible Epson Papers (Latin America)