How to print a test page
- Press Print color test page (or the black and white one for a laser printer or to save color ink).
- Pick your printer in the print dialog. Set the scale to 100% or Actual size, and choose plain paper with normal or high quality.
- Print and let it dry for a minute, then check each numbered section against the table below.
- Measure the 100 mm line at the bottom. If it is shorter, the page was scaled; print again at 100%.
This print test page works with any printer your computer can use, so it doubles as a test page for printer setup on a new computer: inkjet or laser, USB or Wi-Fi, HP, Epson, Canon, Brother and others. Nothing is uploaded; the page is drawn in your browser.
Color printer test page: what to look for
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Thin white lines across a solid block | Clogged nozzles in the print head | Run head cleaning once or twice, then test print again |
| One color missing or very pale | Empty or dried cartridge, or a fully blocked channel | Check ink levels, reseat or replace that cartridge |
| Wrong colors in the mixed blocks | A missing ink, or a cartridge in the wrong slot | Check which pure ink block is weak; that color is the cause |
| Bands or steps in the gradients | Partly clogged nozzles or low quality mode | Clean the head, print in normal or high quality |
| Doubled or blurry fine lines and text | Print head out of alignment | Run print head alignment from the printer's maintenance menu |
| Smudges or wet ink | Wrong paper type setting or glossy paper | Match the paper type setting to the paper you use |
The solid blocks use cyan, magenta, yellow and black, the four inks of most printers, so this CMYK printer test page shows exactly which ink channel has the problem. As an inkjet printer test page it is also a quick test print page after a cartridge change. For a fast color print test, the first two rows of this printer color test page are enough to spot a missing ink. Photo printers with extra inks such as light cyan still print it fine.
Black and white printer test page for laser printers
The black and white printer test page uses only black ink or toner: a solid black bar, 21 gray steps, a smooth gradient, line widths from 0.1 to 0.8 mm and text in two typefaces. On a laser printer test page, look for:
- Faded print or light vertical streaks: low toner or toner saver mode. Gently shake the toner cartridge side to side and check the print density setting.
- Marks that repeat at the same distance down the page: a dirty or damaged drum or roller. Measure the gap between the marks; your printer's manual lists which part matches that distance.
- Gray background haze: often a worn drum unit.
- Smearing toner: the fuser isn't fixing it to the paper. Check the paper type setting first.
Print a printer's built-in test page: HP, Epson, Canon, Brother
Your printer can also print its own test sheet, which shows the nozzles directly. Use it together with this page:
- Windows 11: Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Printers & scanners › choose the printer › Print test page.
- Mac: System Settings › Printers & Scanners, open the printer's queue, then Printer › Print Test Page in the menu bar.
- HP printer test page: most models print a Print Quality Report or Printer Status Report from the control panel's Setup, Reports or Tools menu, or from the HP Smart app.
- Epson printer test page: run Nozzle Check from the printer's Maintenance menu or the Maintenance tab of the Epson driver.
- Canon printer test page: print the Nozzle Check pattern from the Maintenance menu on the printer or in the Canon driver.
- Brother: look for Print Quality Check under Ink or Maintenance on the printer's menu.
Menu names differ between models; your printer's manual has the exact path. If the built-in printer test sheet is perfect but documents print badly, check the app's print settings rather than the printer.
Printer nozzle check and print head cleaning
A printer nozzle check is your printer's own pattern of tiny lines, one row per color. Gaps in that pattern show exactly which nozzles are blocked, something a web page can't do because a browser can't address single nozzles. Use both: this test page shows what the problem looks like on a real print, and the print head nozzle check shows where it is.
- Print the nozzle check. For an Epson nozzle check, use Nozzle Check in the Maintenance menu or driver; on Canon, Print Nozzle Check Pattern; on many HP models, the Print Quality Report.
- If lines are missing, run head cleaning once, then print the nozzle check again. Each cleaning cycle uses ink, so if two cleanings don't help, leave the printer switched off for a few hours and try again; your manual gives the exact advice for your model.
- Print this color test page again to confirm the solid blocks and fine lines are clean.
What about a printer cleaning page? No printed page can unclog an inkjet head on its own; only the printer's cleaning cycle does that. On some laser printers, such as many HP LaserJet models, a cleaning page in the maintenance menu runs a sheet through the printer to clean the fuser, which helps with smears and toner specks.
How we tested this tool
We printed both sheets to PDF with Microsoft Edge on Windows on US Letter paper and checked the result: each sheet fits on a single page, the gradients and all color blocks print, and the scale is exact, with one drawing unit equal to 1 mm, so the scale line comes out at 100 mm. An earlier version printed the gradients blank and added an empty second page; both were fixed before publishing. We also checked that each button prints only the chosen sheet and that Ctrl+P prints the sheet shown in the preview, and checked the page at a 375 px phone width. We haven't yet printed the sheets on a range of real printers ourselves. If you print one, tell us how it came out.
Frequently asked questions
How do I print a test page?
On this page, press Print color test page or Print black and white test page, pick your printer in the print dialog and print. Set the scale to 100% or Actual size. Your printer can also print its own test page from Windows printer settings, the Mac print queue or its control panel.
Why does my test page have white lines through the colors?
Thin white or missing lines in a solid block usually mean clogged print head nozzles. Run the head cleaning from your printer's maintenance menu once or twice, then print the test page again. If one color stays missing, that cartridge may be empty or dried out.
Can I save the printer test page as a PDF?
Yes. Press one of the print buttons and choose Save as PDF or Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer. You get a PDF of the test page that you can print later or on another computer.
Does a color test page use a lot of ink?
It uses more than a page of text because of the solid color blocks, but far less than a photo. Print it when you suspect a problem, not every day. The black and white page uses only black ink or toner.
Why does the 100 mm line measure shorter on paper?
The page was scaled to fit. In the print dialog set the scale to 100% or choose Actual size instead of Fit to page, then print again.