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 incorrectly in your product.
  • Slide the edge guides to the edges of the paper.
  • 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.
  • Make sure you loaded the printable side of the paper correctly for your product.
  • If you are printing on thick paper, select a thick paper Paper Type setting on the control panel.
  • In Windows, if the paper is still smeared after selecting the Thick Paper and Envelopes setting, select the Short Grain Paper setting in the Extended Settings of the printer software.
  • If you are printing on thick paper or envelopes, make sure you select the appropriate settings.
  • When manually printing 2-sided, make sure the ink is completely dry before loading the paper.
  • When vertical banding appears or the paper is smeared, clean the paper path.
  • When horizontal banding appears or the top or bottom of the paper is smeared, load paper in the correct direction and slide the edge guides to the edges of the paper.
  • 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. Adjust the density and/or ink drying time settings.
  • Run a nozzle check to see if any of the print head nozzles are clogged. Then clean the print head, if necessary.

  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 concepts
  
  • Print Head Nozzle Check
  • Print Head Cleaning
  Related tasks
  
  • Loading Paper in the Paper Cassettes and Rear Paper Tray
  • Selecting Double-sided Printing Settings - Windows
  • Selecting Double-sided Printing Settings - Mac
  • Cleaning the Paper Guide
  • Aligning the Print Head Using the Product Control Panel
  Related reference
  
  • Paper Specifications
  • Compatible Epson Papers
  • Paper or Media Type Settings - Printing Software