Printer test page

Print this page and you will get one sheet with color bars, a grayscale ramp, alignment marks and text at several sizes. Enough to tell you whether your printer is fine, low on something, or genuinely broken.

The PDF is the more reliable print, because browsers each handle printing a little differently. Use it if the page below comes out wrong.

What a bad print is telling you

Print the page, then compare it against this. Most printer problems announce themselves clearly once you have something known-good to compare against.

Horizontal streaks or repeating marks

Usually something on the drum or a roller. On a laser, a mark that repeats at the same interval down the page points at whichever part has that circumference.

Vertical bands or a lighter strip down the page

Commonly toner running low or sitting unevenly. Take the cartridge out, rock it gently side to side, put it back and print again.

One color missing or badly off

That cartridge is empty, clogged, or not seated. On an inkjet that has sat unused for weeks, a clogged head is the usual answer and a cleaning cycle often clears it.

Everything faded but even

Low toner or ink, or the printer is set to a draft or economy mode. Check the print quality setting before buying anything.

Page comes out blank

Often the protective strip left on a new cartridge, a cartridge not clicked in, or the wrong paper tray selected.

Text smudges when you touch it

On a laser that is the fuser not getting the toner to stick. On an inkjet the paper may just be wrong for the ink.

Print is crooked or the margins are wrong

Check the paper guides in the tray first. If the alignment marks below are square but your document is not, it is the document setup rather than the printer.

Still stuck, or the test page will not print at all? That is usually a driver or connection problem rather than the printer itself, and it is a short conversation. Get in touch and we will work out which it is.