Faded, streaky or lined printouts: how to fix print quality

Lines through photos, washed-out text or smudges usually come down to ink flow, toner, paper or a single wrong setting. Here’s how to narrow it down without wasting a cartridge.

Why this happens

• Partially clogged nozzles or low ink in one color.
• Print heads out of alignment, causing blurry or doubled text.
• Draft or “Economy” quality turned on.
• Paper type mismatch — for example printing on photo paper with “plain paper” selected.
• Low toner or a worn drum on laser printers.

Inkjet printers

1. Print a nozzle check from the Maintenance menu. Gaps in the pattern mean clogged nozzles.
2. Run head cleaning, then another nozzle check. Repeat once if needed, then rest the printer for a few hours.
3. Run print head alignment if text looks blurry, doubled, or vertical lines look jagged.
4. In your print settings, set the correct paper type and choose Standard or High quality rather than Draft.

Laser printers

1. Check the toner level and gently rock the cartridge to redistribute toner.
2. Turn off any Toner Save or EconoMode setting.
3. Streaks at the same spot on every page often mean a dirty or worn drum. Clean the corona wire if your model has one (Brother drums have a small green tab you slide side to side), or replace the drum.
4. Use plain copy paper that isn’t damp — humid paper causes faded, patchy prints.

Brand-specific tips

Related fixes

• Printing Blank Pages