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 facedown in the sheet feeder (the printable side should be faceup).
  • 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.
  • Make sure the paper type setting in your product software matches the type of paper you loaded.
  • Remove each sheet from the output tray as it is printed.
  • Avoid handling printouts on glossy paper right after printing to allow the ink to set.
  • Turn off any high speed settings in your product software.
  • 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.
  • Clean the print head.
  • Align the print head.
  • Clean the paper path.
  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 references
  Print Head Cleaning
  Print Head Alignment
  Selecting Basic Print Setting - Windows
  Selecting Advanced Print Settings - Windows
  Selecting Basic Print Settings - Mac OS X 10.5/10.6/10.7
  Selecting Basic Print Settings - Mac OS X 10.4
  Selecting Printing Preferences - Mac OS X 10.5/10.6/10.7
  Selecting Printing Preferences - Mac OS X 10.4
  Cleaning the Paper Path
  Available EPSON Papers
  Paper Specifications
  Loading Paper