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

  • Check the following:
    • Make sure your paper isn't damp or curled, or loaded face-down (the printable side should be face-up) in the sheet feeder. It's usually brighter or whiter.
    • Use a support sheet with special paper (such as a sheet of plain paper beneath the special paper sheet), or try loading your paper one sheet at a time.
    • Make sure your paper meets the specifications.
    • Use Epson papers to ensure proper saturation and absorption of genuine Epson inks.
    • You may need to clean or align the print head.
    • If ink smears on the back of a printout,
    • clean the paper path.
    • Remove each sheet from the output tray as it is printed.
    • Avoid handling printouts on glossy paper for a few hours to allow the ink to set. Let your prints dry separately for at least 12 hours before framing or placing them in protective sheets. If you need to stack them, place a sheet of plain paper between each print.
    • Turn off High Speed mode in the Windows or Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.3 and 10.4 printer software.
    • Make sure the paper type or media type setting matches the paper you loaded.
    • If you are using double-sided paper and printing heavily saturated or dark images on the front side of the paper, you may notice that smudges or marks appear on the front when you print the second side. If one side of the paper will contain a lighter image or text, print that side first to eliminate marks or smudging.
    • The printer won't operate properly if it's tilted or at an angle. Place it on a flat, stable surface that extends beyond the base in all directions.
Published:  Aug 20, 2008 Was this helpful?​ Thank you for the feedback!
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