〰️ Lines & Streaks

Streaks & Lines on Printer Test Page? How to Clean & Fix It

You print a beautiful photo or important document, and it comes out ruined by ugly horizontal white lines, dark vertical smears, or step-like banding. Streaks are the most common print quality complaint, but they are also the most solvable once you identify the type of streak.

⚠️ Diagnostic Step: Before attempting a fix, print a Color Test Page. Keep this baseline copy. After you perform a cleaning, print a second copy so you can compare them side-by-side to see if the issue is improving.

Type 1: Horizontal White Lines (Missing Ink)

What it looks like: Tiny, perfectly straight white lines cutting horizontally across text, color blocks, or photos.

The Cause: Clogged printhead nozzles. Your inkjet printhead has hundreds of microscopic nozzles. If even one or two get clogged with dried ink, they fail to spray, leaving a blank line right where ink should be on that specific pass.

The Fix: Automated Head Cleaning

  1. Access your printer's maintenance menu (either via the LCD screen or software).
  2. Select Clean Printheads or Head Cleaning.
  3. The printer will rumble and use a small amount of ink to flush the clog.
  4. Print a Nozzle Check Pattern. You'll see grid patterns. If lines are broken, run the cleaning again.
  5. Do not run it more than 3 times. If it's still clogged, let it sit overnight to dissolve, or try a "Deep Cleaning."

Type 2: Horizontal Banding (Step-like Colors)

What it looks like: A gradient or solid color block doesn't look smooth; instead, it looks built out of visible, stacked horizontal blocks or "bands."

The Cause: Misalignment or Draft Mode. The printhead is depositing ink slightly out of sync on each pass, overlapping or leaving gaps. Or, the printer is optimized for speed over quality downscaling ink output.

The Fix: Print Quality & Alignment

  1. Always check Preferences/Properties before printing. Change "Draft" to "Normal" or "Best."
  2. Change the paper type setting to match your tray (e.g., heavily banded photos usually happen when "Plain Paper" is selected instead of "Glossy Photo Paper").
  3. Run an alignment check using our Alignment Test Page.
  4. If the grid lines are wavy, go to your printer menu and run the Printhead Alignment utility.

Type 3: Vertical Dark Streaks (Smears & Roller Marks)

What it looks like: Dark, often blurry streaks running from the top of the page to the bottom, sometimes repeating at regular intervals.

The Cause: Dirty components. For inkjets, this means ink is pooling on the rollers or the encoder strip is dirty. For laser printers, this absolutely points to a failing drum unit or leaking toner cartridge.

The Fix for Inkjet: Clean Rollers & Encoder

  • Bottom Smears: Run the Bottom Plate Cleaning or Roller Cleaning utility from the printer menu. This runs a piece of blank paper through to mop up excess ink.
  • Encoder Strip (Advanced): Unplug the printer. Open the lid. Look for a thin, semi-transparent plastic strip running horizontally behind the print carriage. Gently—very gently—wipe it with a dry microfiber cloth to remove ink mist. Do not bend or detach it!

The Fix for Laser: Check the Drum

  • Remove the toner cartridge.
  • Look at the drum unit (the shiny, usually blue/green cylinder).
  • If you see visible scratches, streaks of toner dust, or fingerprints on the drum cylinder, do not touch it. The drum is failing and the entire toner/drum unit must be replaced.
  • If you see loose powder everywhere, the toner is leaking. Replace it.
✅ Pro Tip: Always use normal, high-quality copy paper (20lb to 24lb, 75 to 90gsm) when diagnosing streaks. Cheap, damp, or overly thin paper will warp in the printer, causing printhead strikes which look exactly like streaks.

Frequently Asked Questions

White lines (missing ink) cutting horizontally through text or images is the classic symptom of clogged printhead nozzles. Run a "Head Cleaning" cycle from your printer's maintenance menu. If the lines are perfectly vertical, it's usually a dirty encoder strip or a laser printer drum issue.

Banding is when you see visible horizontal "steps" or lines of darker/lighter color across a gradient or solid area, instead of a smooth color transition. This happens when the printhead alignment is off, or the printer is set to a low-quality draft mode on plain paper. Use our Alignment Test Page to calibrate it.

Thick, black vertical streaks on laser printer output almost always indicate a scratched or dirty drum unit, or a toner cartridge that is leaking powder. Remove the cartridge, gently rock it, and inspect the shiny greenish/blue drum cylinder for marks.