Printer printing lines, streaks or faded areas

Print a reference page first

Print the printer test page or, for colour detail, the color printer test page, at 100% scale and normal quality. Solid patches, grey steps and fine lines make every kind of line easy to see. For black only, use the black and white test page. Keep the sheet to compare after each change.

Read the line

• Thin white lines running across the page, in the direction the printhead moves on most inkjets: blocked nozzles, the classic inkjet banding.
• Lines or streaks running down the page, in the paper's direction of travel: on lasers, usually the drum, toner or a dirty component; on inkjets, often paper rubbing the head, a dirty encoder strip or ink on the rollers.
• Faded bands or a faded whole page: low ink or toner, an economy or draft setting, or the wrong paper type.
• Marks that repeat at the same interval down the page: a roller or drum on a laser; measure the gap, since the manufacturer's repetitive-defect chart maps distances to parts.
• Blurry or doubled text: printhead alignment on inkjets, or paper moisture and fuser issues on lasers.
• Coloured edges around black text: colour registration, mostly on colour lasers.

Inkjet: what to do

1. Check the print quality setting is not Draft or Economy, and that the paper type matches the paper.
2. Print the printer's own nozzle check. Gaps in a colour mean blocked nozzles.
3. Run one cleaning cycle, print the nozzle check again, and only repeat once if it improved.
4. If lines remain but the nozzle check is complete, run the printer's head alignment and check with the printer alignment test page.
5. Faded output right after a new cartridge often clears after a cleaning cycle; a refilled cartridge can also starve the head.

Laser: what to do

1. Remove the toner cartridge and rock it gently side to side to spread the toner, if the manual allows, then reseat it. Faded vertical bands often mean low toner.
2. Print the printer's own configuration or print quality page from the control panel. If it shows the same lines, the problem is in the printer, not the computer.
3. Repeated marks: measure the distance between them and compare with the manufacturer's repetitive-defect chart to find the drum, roller or fuser.
4. Dark vertical streaks often come from a scratched or dirty drum or a worn toner cartridge, which is usually replaced rather than cleaned. Follow your model's instructions; some parts are hot or sensitive to light and touch.

Check the paper and the job

• Damp, curled or very textured paper causes smudges and streaks on both inkjet and laser.
• Print the same test page as the PDF and from the browser. If only one source shows the lines, the problem is in how that app renders the page, not the printer.
• Lines only in photos or gradients can be the image itself; compare with a fine gradient such as the colour test page.

When to stop and contact support

If the nozzle check is clean, alignment has been run and lines remain on an inkjet, or a new toner and drum do not cure streaks on a laser, contact the manufacturer with your test sheets. Do not keep running cleaning cycles: each one uses ink and fills the waste pad. If colours rather than lines are the problem, see printer missing colors.