My printout is grainy when I print from any application. What should I do?

• See our how-to video or follow or the instructions below.

  Grainy Printout

  If your printouts are grainy, try these solutions:

  • Make sure you loaded the printable side of the paper correctly for your product.
  • Select a higher print quality setting and turn off any high speed settings in your product software.
  • Run a nozzle check to see if any of the print head nozzles are clogged. Then clean the print head, if necessary.
  • Align the print head.
  • Adjust the print quality in the product software.
  • You may need to increase the image resolution or print a smaller size; see your software documentation.

    Note: Images from the Internet may be low resolution and not result in a high quality printout.

  • If you enlarged the image size in an image-editing program, you need to increase the image resolution setting to retain a high image quality. Increase the image resolution by the same amount you increase the image size. For example, if the image resolution is 300 dpi (dots per inch) and you will double the image size for printing, change the resolution setting to 600 dpi.

    Note: Higher resolution settings result in larger file sizes, which take longer to process and print. Consider the limitations of your computer system when selecting a resolution, and select the lowest possible resolution that produces acceptable quality to keep file sizes manageable.

  Related concepts
  
  • Printhead Maintenance
  Related tasks
  
  • Selecting Basic Print Settings - Windows
  • Selecting Basic Print Settings - Mac
  • Aligning the Print Head Using the Product Control Panel
  • Removing and Installing Ink Cartridges
  Related reference
  
  • Paper or Media Type Settings - Printer Software
  Related information
  
  • Loading Paper