Faint Print – 5 Steps
Article updated 04/08/2017
Is your printer printing too light even though it has ink / toner?
Faint print or is one of the most common printer issues and at one time or another we’ve all sent something to the printer, only to be left frustrated and irritated when something like this faded prints example comes out at the end…
Naturally, for many of us, the first reaction will probably be to assume that our ink/toner levels are low, and of course sometimes your instinct could be absolutely correct, you might need new ink/toner! But there could be something else that’s throwing a proverbial spanner into the workings of your printer and causing this faint prints.
If your printer has ink but prints faded, or your Epson, Canon, Oki or Brother printer is printing too light, we’re going to help you to find out why and help you to fix it and we’ll do it without costing you the earth or you needing to buy a new printer!
So before you get out your office scream box, stick with us and read on because we’re going to help you to stick it to your printer….How do you like them apples you printer jerk??
If you’re short for time, get your faint print cheat sheet here otherwise keep on reading…
The 5 most common causes of light or faded prints:
1. Low ink and toner levels
As mentioned above, your cartridges could simply be empty or running low, so give them a check. You can do this on your PC by going to the control panel and looking at your printer properties / status.
If you have a laser printer, it’s also worth giving your toner cartridge a shake (make sure you don’t do this with an ink cartridge or you might end up spilling ink on yourself or your surroundings). This redistributes the toner powder around the cartridge, giving you quite a few more pages before you need to replace it. Just grab the cartridge with both hands and gently shake it from side to side, and up and down, for about 10 seconds. Then pop it back into your printer and try printing.
Just remember, if you get asked to “shake it,” don’t do either of these:
2. Toner sticking to your fuser roller
In your laser printer, the fuser is the part that heats the toner powder, helping it to stick and seal the paper to create a print. (Find out more about how laser printers work).
Occasionally, toner can stick to a fuser’s upper roller. This could well be your problem if you can see a ghosted image of your print out somewhere else on the page.
Image courtesy of Lexmark
Try removing your fuser unit (after unplugging your printer) and check to see if the upper roller has toner stuck to it. If it does, then it’s probably worth replacing it with a new one which you should be able to buy online and get one delivered pretty quickly.
3. A low ink/toner density setting
Some printers allow you to change the density settings of your ink and toner. Unbeknownst to you, your default setting could be low, causing you to get those faint prints.
If your printer does have ink/toner density settings, you should be able to find them once you’ve clicked on your printer in ‘Devices & Printers.’ If it looks like you’re printing at a low density, increase it slightly and then try printing.
Image courtesy of HP
4. Problems with your transfer roller (laser printer)
Your transfer roller uses its electrical charge to get the toner from your cartridge’s drum unit onto the page.
Sometimes, it may be incorrectly positioned in your printer, causing those light prints. Carefully remove it using the hooks it comes with and try inserting it again. When properly inserted, it should look nice and flat. (If you’re having trouble removing it, don’t break out the tools or try and rip it out! Ask a technician for assistance).
Alternatively, it could have something on its surface that’s having a detrimental effect on its electrical charge and, thus, its ability to transfer toner properly onto your page, causing a faint print. Try not to touch the surface with your hands as this could make it even worse! Either wipe the surface with a dry cloth or use a can of compressed air to blow it clean.
5. Your printer might be located in an area of low humidity
We covered this a while ago, but the humidity in your office can actually affect the performance of your printer.
If your printer is in a room that’s got a low humidity level, ink can have a pretty tough job being able to set and dry properly on the page, causing prints that look faint and light.
The best place for your printer to be is somewhere that’s neither too humid or not humid enough! And remember that humidity levels will differ depending on the time of year.
6. Your printer paper is located in an area of high humidity
Another reason for faint prints caused by high humidity in your office is that the paper you are printing on can get damp or absorb water in the air around it causing the paper to slightly ripple and become uneven. Then when you try to print, the ink or toner is distributed unevenly across the page and you get poor quality faded print outs. A good tip is to move any spare paper into a dry non-humid area where you know it can be kept in tip top condition.
Hopefully your prints should now be as crisp as a new bank note!
If you’re still having problems with faint prints, leave a comment below or tweet us @TonerGiant – we’d be delighted to help or simply tell us about your tips on how you fixed a faint print problem.
About Stuart DeavallStu is the Digital Marketing Manager at TonerGiant.co.uk and is a big fan of gadgets, technology, and being creative!
Hi.
I am not sure if you can help us but we need a printer that can handle around 100 sheets of A4 per day BUT (here’s the catch) the printer needs to be able to effectively turn 200-300gsm white card into something that LOOKS like it is a sheet of black card, printed in white both sides.
Oddly, we have found a few printers that (at a push) can handle the thickness (An ancient HP 3550 for example with the back door open) but after about two acceptable prints, the solid black starts to become “greyish black”.
We are printing small quantities of “game cards” in house and because the numbers are small (that 100 sheets is 10 copies each of 10 different designs) it is not viable to get them printed commercially.
I think we are perhaps after a “small commercial digital printer” but just wondered if you could suggest (and/or supply) a laser printer that could do this. Speed is NOT at all important and we do not need colour.
An 8PPM B&W printer would be fine if it could handle DENSE black (about 90% coverage) and thickish card.
In fact the only requirement is at LEAST 250gsm card and it must be able to print DENSE black happily on upto 100 sheets per day (which will be turned over and put back through to do the other side).
If it would make the printer happier, we could even use this to print the “white cards too” which would mean it would print 10 white sheets, then 1 black sheet – repeat 10 times and then flip the whole lot over and print the backs.
Ideally, as we will be using a boat load of toner, it would help if the machine ise easily refilled with toner from a bottle – but I am guessing I am starting to dream now 🙂
We looked at using black card and a white toner printer – but struggling to find one that will handle at least 250gsm and has toner that isn’t a silly price.
Are there any ultra resilient workhorse laser printers that can handle this sort of 90% toner coverage per page?
Thanks for your time
Kind Regards
Mark
Hi Mark, that sounds like quite a task at hand. I’ve had a look through our database and checked with suppliers….The Brother HL-3170CDW can apparently take 300gsm paper or card through the manual paper feed but I don’t know any that will take the card through the automatic feed and unfortunately I don’t know what the results will be like. There are also a few suggestions of inkjet printers on this forum Daisy Chain
If you are set on laser printer then most of the high range OKI machines will print on 300gsm card but unfortunately the toner will be expensive. I don’t think there are any printers that can be refilled with a toner bottle that would be suitable.
thanks
Stu
Hi,
I’m trying to print a very simple .pdf document which shows a plan for a new large garage which is about to be built. The document comes out fine on my Brother office printer, but when I try to print on the home printer, an Epson Photo Stylus T50, there appears to be almost nothing on the page that is easily read anyway.
I’ve followed ALL your advice re density changes (mine is now set to +14) and all the other tips (the humidity info. is very interesting), but nothing makes any difference.
Do you have any clues as to what it could be? I use good quality paper and genuine cartridges.
Much appreciation for what you’ve written.
Thanks and regards.
Hi David, thanks for your comment. I haven’t actually come across this issue before but it could be something to do with either the print heads being dried up or damaged (if print is fine but just very light this is unlikely as this would cause smudges or missing areas of print), or it could be something to do with settings. There is a photo enhance option that could be on, try switching that off and see how you get on.
hi,
i am saheb i have a problem in my printer hp1606dn the printer print well as normal paper but the leeter head in(glossy paper 90gsm) print will fade or the ink has run out the paper. what is the problem of my printer.also i change the teflon and pressure roller.
Hi Saheb, your printer is a laser printer and glossy paper is meant for inkjet printers so the heat from the fuser that seals the toner will melt the gloss on the paper and not work correctly. I hope this helps! Stu
Hello:
I have a basic HP1210 series printer and recently purchased some inexpensive generic 56/57 cartridges from an on-line seller. They print very light! Is there anything I can change or adjust to use these cartridges? Thanks for any help, or suggestions…
Hi Keith,
if the cartridges you were using before you installed these were fine and you haven’t changed any settings then unfortunately it’s likely an issue with the cartridges.
Sometimes the printer can be set to print in draft or economy mode or sometimes the font you use can do that but if you haven’t changed anything then it will be the cartridges.
Stu
Hi Stuart,
Do you know if generic replacement cartridges are voltage sensitive?
I have a Brother printer that runs on 220V and takes a Brother TN 450 toner cartridge. I’ve seen some TN 450 compatible replacements online that mention 110V in their specifications. I’m not sure if this means there are 110V and 220V variants of the TN 450 cartridge.
Thanks!
Hi Vikram, in my experience I’ve never come across different voltage variants. The voltage has more to do with the fuser unit or maintenance kit which is the part that heats the wire and melts the toner sealing it to the paper. The toner should really match the specs of the printer unless it differs internationally due to the specs of plug sockets. I’m sorry I don’t have a great answer for you there! Stu