TestDock

CMYK printer test page

Print one sheet with a separate block for each process ink: cyan, magenta, yellow and black, each with a solid area and tints at 25, 50, 75 and 100%. A missing, streaky or weak block points to the ink or nozzles to look at.

PDF · A4PDF · Letter

In the print dialog choose 100% / Actual size (not Fit to page), turn on Background graphics, and pick the same paper size as here.

TestDock CMYK test pagePaper: A4 (210 × 297 mm) · print at 100%, colour onCYAN INK (C)25%50%75%100%MAGENTA INK (M)25%50%75%100%YELLOW INK (Y)25%50%75%100%BLACK INK (K)25%50%75%100%CHECK ON THE PRINTED SHEETEach block is printed in one ink only, solid and evenNo block shows white streaks, banding or gapsTints get lighter in four clear stepsBlack block is neutral, not brown or blueOriginal pattern. Colours are written in CMYK; the printer driver decides final ink use.TestDock CMYK test pagePaper: US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) · print at 100%, colour onCYAN INK (C)25%50%75%100%MAGENTA INK (M)25%50%75%100%YELLOW INK (Y)25%50%75%100%BLACK INK (K)25%50%75%100%CHECK ON THE PRINTED SHEETEach block is printed in one ink only, solid and evenNo block shows white streaks, banding or gapsTints get lighter in four clear stepsBlack block is neutral, not brown or blueOriginal pattern. Colours are written in CMYK; the printer driver decides final ink use.

How to print it

  1. Choose A4 or US Letter under Paper to match the paper in the tray.
  2. For the most direct CMYK path, download PDF · A4 or PDF · Letter and print the PDF. Print test page prints the same layout from the browser.
  3. In the print dialog choose 100% / Actual size, colour (not greyscale) and turn on Background graphics.
  4. Compare each block with the checklist at the bottom of the sheet.

Reading the ink blocks

  • A block is missing or very pale: that ink is empty, not detected, or its nozzles are blocked.
  • White streaks or gaps in one block only: partly blocked nozzles for that ink. Streaks in every block point to the print head or paper feed in general.
  • A block has the wrong colour, for example cyan looks greenish: another ink is being mixed in, or the cartridge is in the wrong slot.
  • The tints do not get lighter in four clear steps: the ink is weak, or the paper type setting does not match the paper.
  • The black block looks brown or blue: the driver is building black from colour inks, or the black cartridge is not printing. Check with the black and white printer test page.

What the labels can and cannot prove

The PDF writes each block as a pure CMYK colour (DeviceCMYK); printing from the browser sends the same colours converted to RGB. In both cases your printer driver converts them to its own inks. A block labelled cyan is meant for the cyan ink, but the sheet cannot prove which physical cartridge fired: drivers may add black or other inks, and printers with extra inks such as light cyan or photo black may use them too. If the browser print and the PDF print differ, trust the PDF for ink diagnosis.

For blocked nozzles, use your printer's own nozzle check and cleaning in its maintenance menu, driver utility or app. For mixes, hue ramps and grey balance, print the colour printer test page; for text, lines and scale, the printer test page.

Questions

Why does my CMYK print look different from the screen?

The screen shows an approximation of ink colours in light. Printed cyan, magenta and yellow depend on the inks, paper and driver, so they rarely match the screen exactly. This page is for checking whether each ink prints evenly, not for matching colours.

My printer has more than four inks. Is this test useful?

Yes for the four main colours. Extra inks such as light cyan, grey or photo black are chosen by the driver and have no block of their own, so use your printer's nozzle check pattern to see every channel.

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