Nozzle check test page: how to print and read it
A nozzle check is a pattern your inkjet printer prints from its own firmware. It draws fine lines from every nozzle of every colour, so a gap means a nozzle that did not fire. No website can print that pattern for you: a downloaded PDF goes through the driver like any document. Use the printer's own nozzle check to diagnose, and a test page to see the result on real content.
Nozzle check vs test page
- Nozzle check: printed by the printer itself, with a pattern designed for its exact printhead. It shows blocked nozzles directly. Only inkjet printers have one.
- Test page, such as the TestDock printer test page or CMYK test page: an ordinary document sent through the driver. It shows how real colours, greys and text come out, and helps you judge scaling and settings, but it cannot isolate a single nozzle.
Use both: the nozzle check to decide whether the printhead needs cleaning, the test page to confirm the printout looks right afterwards.
How to print the nozzle check
Load plain A4 or Letter paper and clear any error or ink warnings first; most printers refuse to run maintenance while an ink-out warning is showing. Then, depending on your printer:
- Epson: in the Windows printer driver, open the Maintenance tab and choose Nozzle Check, or start it from the printer's control panel. Some Epson guides note the driver utility is unavailable over a network connection; use the control panel then.
- Canon: open Canon IJ Printer Assistant Tool and select Nozzle Check, or use the maintenance menu on the printer.
- HP: HP inkjets print a Print Quality Report or print quality diagnostic page. On models with a screen it is usually under Settings or Setup, then Tools or Reports; HP Smart and, on a Mac, HP Utility can print it too.
- Brother: from the ink or maintenance menu choose Test Print > Print Quality (wording varies) to print the print quality check sheet.
Menu names differ between models and firmware versions. Your model's online manual has the exact steps. The brand guides for HP, Epson, Canon and Brother collect the routes.
How to read the pattern
- Every line complete: the nozzles are firing. If prints still look wrong, look at settings, paper or alignment instead.
- Small gaps or missing segments in one colour: some nozzles of that colour are blocked.
- A whole colour block missing: that ink is empty, its cartridge is not seated, or the channel is badly blocked.
- Lines present but staggered or blurred: more likely an alignment issue; see the printer alignment test page and run the printer's own head alignment.
Compare with the good and bad examples shown in your printer's manual or on its screen: patterns are model-specific.
Cleaning: once, then check again
- If the pattern has gaps, run one head cleaning from the same menu or utility.
- Print the nozzle check again and compare.
- If it improved but is not perfect, one more cleaning is reasonable.
- If two cleanings change nothing, stop. Manufacturers such as Canon reserve deep cleaning for this case, and several recommend leaving the printer idle for some hours before trying again.
Every cleaning uses ink and fills the waste ink pad a little. Cleaning a printer that already passes the nozzle check only wastes ink.
What about printer cleaning pages?
Pages sold or shared as cleaning pages are just solid blocks of colour. Printing them makes every nozzle fire, which can help a printer that has not been used for weeks, but it is not a diagnostic and does not replace the printer's own cleaning cycle. TestDock does not offer one: a browser cannot start a cleaning cycle or see the printhead.
Laser printers have no nozzle check
Laser printers use toner and a drum, not nozzles. Their equivalent is the configuration page, demo page or print quality page from the control panel. For streaks and repeated marks on a laser, see printer printing lines.
Questions
Can I print a nozzle check online?
No. A nozzle check is generated by the printer's firmware for its own printhead. Any downloaded pattern is printed through the driver like a normal page, so it cannot show which nozzle is blocked.
How do I print a nozzle check without a computer?
Most inkjets can print it from the control panel, usually in a Maintenance, Tools or Setup menu. Printers without a screen use a button combination described in the manual.
Why will my printer not run a nozzle check?
Common reasons are an ink-low or ink-out warning, a paper or cover error, or, on some Epson printers, using the driver utility over a network connection. Clear the warning or start the check from the control panel.
How often should I run a nozzle check?
Only when prints show gaps, streaks or missing colours, or after the printer has stood unused for a long time. Routine cleaning without a reason wastes ink.
Related tests
- Printer test pagePrint one page to check colour, black, text, lines, alignment and scale. PDF in A4 and Letter.
- Colour test pageA colour-focused sheet: solid inks, 10–100% tints, hue ramp and grey balance. PDF in A4 and Letter.
- Black & white test pageA black-only sheet: fine text, solid black, 5% grey steps and hairline grids. PDF in A4 and Letter.
- CMYK test pageOne block per ink — cyan, magenta, yellow and black — with 25–100% tints. PDF in A4 and Letter.
- Alignment test pageRulers, margin frames, circles and fine vertical lines to check scale, skew and print-head alignment.
- Duplex test pageTwo pages, front and back, with numbered sides, TOP arrows and mirrored registration crosses.
- Image DPI checkerPick an image and a print size to see its effective PPI and the largest print at 300 and 150 ppi.
Guides
- HP printer test pageWhere HP printers keep the status report, print quality report, alignment and printhead cleaning.
- Epson printer test pageHow to print the Epson nozzle check, read it, clean the head and align it from the panel, Windows or Mac.
- Canon printer test pageThe Canon nozzle check pattern, cleaning and head alignment from the printer, Windows or Mac.
- Brother printer test pageThe Brother Print Quality Check Sheet, alignment sheet and laser Test Print, from the control panel.
- Printer missing colorsFind out which ink is missing when prints turn pink, green or blue, and how to confirm it one step at a time.
- Printer not printing blackWhy black is missing, grey or faded while colours print, and the steps to check settings, the nozzle report and the cartridge.
- Printer printing linesTell apart white lines, dark streaks, faded bands and repeated marks, with separate inkjet and laser steps.
- Printer printing blank pagesWhy the printer feeds paper but prints nothing, and how to compare the self-test, system test page, PDF and document.