Faint or streaky prints after the printer sat unused
Prints faint, striped or missing colors after weeks without use? Clear dried nozzles with a nozzle check and spaced cleanings, then keep the ink moving.
Quick fix
Print a nozzle check. If lines are broken, run one standard cleaning and check again, up to twice in a row. If gaps remain, leave the printer switched on and idle for several hours or overnight before another round. Once the pattern is complete, print a small color page every week so the nozzles don't dry out again.
Didn’t work? Go to the full stepsYou might see
- Faint or washed-out pages the first time you print in weeks
- White lines or bands running across text and images
- One color missing or weak, so photos look off
- Gaps in the nozzle check that shrink a little after each cleaning
Usually caused by
- Ink drying in the nozzles while the printer wasn't used
- Power cut at the wall instead of with the power button, which can leave the head uncapped
- Tanks left near or below the lower line during storage
- A warm, dry or sunny room that speeds up drying
Safety first. If you need to refill or look inside before cleaning, turn the printer off first, protect the surface with paper towels and keep bottles capped and away from children and pets, since ink stains and must not be swallowed.
Step-by-step fix
Work through the steps in order and check each one off. Most people are printing again before the last step.
Any ink tank printer
0 of 8 steps tried
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Check the tanks first
Make sure every tank is above the lower line before you clean, and top up any that are low. Cleaning with a near-empty tank can draw air into the ink path and turn a simple clog into a bigger problem.
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Print a nozzle check
Use the printer's Maintenance or Setup menu, the maker's app or the button combination in your manual. Keep the page so you can compare it with the next one.
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Run one standard cleaning
Start a standard cleaning, wait until it has fully finished, then print another nozzle check. Many printers let you clean black or color separately, which saves ink when only one is affected.
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Repeat once, then stop
If the pattern improved but isn't complete, run one more cleaning. After two in a row, stop: more back-to-back cycles mostly waste ink and fill the waste ink pad.
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Let the printer rest
Leave it switched on and idle for several hours, ideally overnight. Fresh ink in the head has time to soften dried ink in the nozzles, and the next nozzle check is often much better without any extra cleaning.
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Try one stronger cycle if needed
If gaps remain after a rest and another standard cleaning, run the stronger cycle, called power cleaning, ink flush or system cleaning depending on the maker, once. It uses a lot of ink, so rest the printer again before judging the result.
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Align the print head
Once the nozzle check is complete, run print head alignment if text looks fuzzy or straight lines look doubled. Load plain white paper and follow the prompts on the panel or in the maker's app.
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Keep the ink moving
Print a small page that uses every color, such as a nozzle check or a photo, about once a week. When you switch the printer off, use its power button rather than the wall switch, so it can park and cap the print head.
Windows 11 / 10
0 of 3 steps tried
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Use the maintenance tab in the driver
Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select your printer and click Printing preferences. Look for a Maintenance or services tab; if there isn't one, use the maker's app or the printer's panel.
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Rule out draft mode
In the same window, set quality to Normal or higher and turn off any draft or economy option, which can look like a clog.
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Print a test page
After cleaning, click Printer properties and choose Print Test Page.
macOS
0 of 3 steps tried
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Open the printer utility
In System Settings > Printers & Scanners, click your printer, choose Options & Supplies, then the Utility tab and Open Printer Utility, if your driver has one. Otherwise use the maker's Mac app or the printer's panel.
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Rule out draft mode
In the print dialog (Command + P), open Media & Quality or the maker's equivalent section and choose normal or higher quality.
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Print a test page
Open the printer's queue, then choose Printer > Print Test Page from the menu bar.
Did this fix it?
Good. To confirm everything is healthy, print a test page. It takes a minute and shows any quality problems early.
Try these next
Still stuck? The troubleshooter asks a few questions and narrows it down. If your printer is under warranty, the manufacturer can repair or replace it at no cost. Find their official support site on our brand pages.
Common questions
Should I leave the printer on all the time?
Leaving it plugged in and letting it sleep is fine for most models, and some run their own maintenance while powered. When you do switch it off, use the power button so it can cap the print head.
How should I store it if I won't use it for months?
Keep the tanks above the lower line, leave it level in a cool room out of direct sunlight, and switch it off with its power button. When you come back to it, start with a nozzle check before printing anything important.