Streaks or lines on printed pages
White gaps, dark stripes or repeating marks on your prints? Work out whether nozzles, alignment, the drum or the scanner glass is to blame, and fix it.
Quick fix
Check whether the lines appear on pages printed from your computer or only on copies. If only on copies, clean the scanner glass. If prints are affected, run a nozzle check and one cleaning cycle on an inkjet; on a laser, clean the corona wire if your drum unit has a cleaning tab.
Didn’t work? Go to the full stepsYou might see
- Thin white or light lines running across the page in bands
- A dark line running down the full length of every page
- Marks that repeat at the same spacing down the page
- Lines on copies only, while computer prints look fine
Usually caused by
- Clogged inkjet nozzles or a misaligned print head
- Dirty corona wire, or a scratched or dirty drum on laser printers
- Ink or toner build-up on rollers inside the printer
- Dust or marks on the scanner glass, for copies
- Low ink or toner
Safety first. Power off and unplug the printer before reaching inside, let a laser printer cool because the fuser gets very hot, and never touch the drum surface or the print head's nozzles and copper contacts.
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 inkjet or laser printer
0 of 5 steps tried
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Find out if it is the copier or the printer
Print a test page from your computer, then copy a simple page on the printer. Lines only on the copy point to the scanner, so see our fix for lines on scans and copies. Lines on both mean the printing side is at fault.
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Run a nozzle check (inkjet)
Light lines running across the page, in the direction the print head travels, almost always mean blocked nozzles. Print a nozzle check from the printer's maintenance menu; broken lines confirm it. Run one cleaning cycle and check again.
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Align the print head (inkjet)
If the nozzle check is clean but lines or jagged edges remain, run print head alignment from the same menu or the maker's app, with plain white paper loaded.
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Clean the corona wire (laser)
A single dark line down every page is often a dirty corona wire. Many separate drum units, common on Brother models, have a small tab you slide gently from end to end several times. Return it to its home position, usually marked with an arrow, or it will leave a new streak.
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Check the drum and rollers (laser)
Lift out the drum or toner cartridge and look at the drum without touching it. Marks that repeat at an even spacing come from a roller whose circumference matches that spacing; many manuals have a chart to identify it. A scratched drum needs replacing.
Windows 11 / 10
0 of 3 steps tried
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Run cleaning and alignment from the driver
Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select your printer and click Printing preferences. Many inkjet drivers have a maintenance or services tab with cleaning and alignment; if not, use the maker's app or the printer's menu.
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Raise the print quality
In Printing preferences, switch from Draft or Fast to Normal or Best. Higher quality modes make more passes, which hides minor banding.
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Print a Windows test page
Click Printer properties and choose Print Test Page. If the test page is clean but one document shows lines, the problem is that file, such as a low-resolution image.
macOS
0 of 3 steps tried
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Raise the print quality
In the print dialog (Command + P), open Media & Quality or the maker's equivalent section, choose a higher quality, and check the media type matches the paper.
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Find the maintenance tools
macOS has no built-in cleaning button for most printers. Use the printer's control panel, the maker's Mac app, or the Utility tab under Options & Supplies in System Settings > Printers & Scanners, if your driver has one.
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Print a Mac test page
Open the printer's queue from Printers & Scanners or its Dock icon, then choose Printer > Print Test Page from the menu bar. A clean test page means the lines come from a particular file or app.
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? Our printer assistant can walk you through it by live chat, free. . Or the 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
Why do lines appear in only one color?
That color's nozzles or cartridge are the likely cause. Look at that color in the nozzle check and replace the cartridge if it's low.
Can I wipe a laser drum to remove lines?
Most makers advise against touching the drum, because its coating marks easily. Only try cleaning it if your manual explains a method.