Align the Print Head

If your printouts become grainy or blurry, or you see dark or light bands across them, you may need to align the print head.

Note:
Banding may also occur if your print head nozzles need cleaning.

You can align the print head using your product’s control panel or your software. See these sections below:

Using the Control Panel

From the Computer

Using the Control Panel

1.	Load a few sheets of plain paper in the sheet feeder.

2.	Press  Menu.

3.	Press  or  to select Maintenance, then press OK.

4.	Press  or  to select Head Alignment.

5.	Press the  Color button.

The alignment sheet prints.

6.	Look at pattern #0 and find the patch that is most evenly printed, with no noticeable streaks or lines.

7.	Press  or  to select the number for that patch, then press OK.

8.	Repeat steps 6 and 7 for each of the other alignment patterns.

9.	When you finish, you see a message indicating alignment is complete.

10.	When you’re done, press  Menu to exit.

From the Computer

1.	Load a few sheets of plain paper in the sheet feeder.

2.	Do one of the following:

•	Windows: Right-click the  product icon in the Windows taskbar and select Nozzle Check.

•	Mac OS X 10.6/10.7: In the Apple menu or the Dock, select System Preferences. Select Print & Scan or Print & Fax, select the FAX option for your product, and select Options & Supplies. Select Utility and select Open Printer Utility.

•	Mac OS X 10.4/10.5: In the Apple menu or the Dock, select System Preferences. Select Print & Fax, select the FAX option for your product, and select Open Print Queue. Select Utility.Follow the on-screen instructions to print an alignment sheet.

3.	Select Print Head Alignment.

Note:
Do not press the  Stop/Clear Settings button to cancel printing of the alignment sheet.

4.	Check the printed alignment pattern and compare it to the alignment criteria on your screen.

5.	Enter the numbers of the best patterns and click Next.

Note:
If no patterns are aligned, choose the closest one and click Realignment. Then print another alignment sheet and check it.

6.	Follow the on-screen instructions to print and compare each alignment sheet, or click Skip.