Faint Print – 5 Steps
Article updated 20/05/2019
Is your printer printing too light even though it has ink / toner?
Faint print or faded text 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 or toner cartridge, but there could be something else that’s throwing a proverbial spanner into the workings of your printer and causing faint prints or faded text.
If your printer has ink but prints faded, or your Epson, Canon, Oki, Brother or even Xerox printer is printing too light or printing faded, 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! We will give more detail each of the following causes lower down but here are the most common causes of a printed printing faded text or images:
- Low ink or toner levels
- Toner sticking to the fuser roller or problems with the transfer roller.
- Low ink or toner density settings
- Low or high humidity
- Inkjet print head is clogged.
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 / cartridge status.This will tell you exactly how much ink or toner is left in the cartridges and whether they are causing a problem. Also for inkjet printers, check that the nozzles on the cartridges aren’t blocked and don’t have dried material preventing the flow of ink. If they do, clean them with a lightly dampened cloth (making sure your printer is turned off and cartridges is removed first).
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 or problems with the transfer roller
Problems with the fuser roller – Ghosted images on the page
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. This occurs because the last thing that was printed out leaves toner particles that weren’t completely melted stuck to the fuser, when the next thing is printed it then transfers onto the paper and gives the effect of a faint ghostly picture over the top of the new print out.
Ghosting is a sure sign of a problem with the fuser. 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.
Image courtesy of Lexmark
Problems with the transfer roller
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.
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. Your printer might be located in an area of low or high humidity
We covered this a while ago, but the humidity in your office can actually affect the performance of your printer. Each ink or toner cartridge and also the paper you use has an optimum operating humidity rating and if the humidity is too high, problems can quickly occur. 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.
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.
5. Inkjet print heads are blocked or air bubbles are trapped in the ink well.
For inkjet printer owners, over a period of consistent use the mechanism that transfers the droplets of ink on to the paper called the print head can become blocked or clocked and cause faint or missing areas of print on the paper. Another cause for faded areas of print can be air bubbles trapped in the ink cartridge well. The air bubbles are pushed out of the ink cartridge instead of the ink droplet and you get missing areas of print on the paper.
The solution or fix to each of these problems is to get a very lightly dampened cloth and to clean the ink cartridges where the ink comes out. Remove the ink cartridges before you do this and be careful not to get any ink on your skin or clothing as it can be very difficult to remove.After you have cleaned the cartridges, run the print head cleaning process from your printer menu or PC. To clear out any air bubbles that may be trapped inside, after the first print head clean process, wait 2 hours and run another clean process and repeat until 3 to 4 cleaning processes have been done with 2 hour break in between. It’s important to wait a few hours in between or you may make the clogging of the print head worse.
Bonus – OKI printers with LED heads
Some OKi laser printers have what’s referred to as LED heads located under the top cover of the printer / above the toner cartridges when the cover is closed. Each time you replace a toner cartridge you get a cleaning cloth that you are meant to use to gently wipe down the LED heads. If these become dirty over time, they can cause faint print, faded text and black smudged lines on the page. See the image below to give you an idea of how to clean the LED heads.
Hopefully your prints should now be as crisp as a new bank note!
Lastly, there have been a few comments mentioning faded prints when attempting to print PDF’s off. It seems that some PDF’s have their own settings for density of print and it is possible withing the advanced PDF settings to change this for a better result.
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.
Xerox printers – Colour Density setting
Some Xerox laser printers have a menu setting that allows you to control the colour density (darkness of the prints). If your Xerox printer is printing faded, try to find the setting by visiting Menu > Calibrate Colours > Print Reference page.
This will allow you to see what the current density setting is for each colour and how dark the printer is able to print. If you wish to change the density of a colour visist Menu > Claibrate Colours > Adjust colour (eg. if you want to change the black it would say ‘Adjust Black’). Select that option for the colour you wish to change, and use the arrow keys to adjust the setting.
Remember, when you change the toners, you may need to reset the settings as a new toner will naturally print darker than an older toner.
About Stuart DeavallI have been working in the printing industry with TonerGiant for over 12 years and am the resident technical printer expert. I'm also the Digital Marketing Manager at TonerGiant.co.uk (degree qualified) and I have a passion for helping people fix their printer issues. I'm also a big fan of all gadgets and technology.
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
I have an Epson 3260 printer that recognizes the page to be printed but prints it very faded and not the full page. Replaced cartridges and ran nozzle cleaning program. This printer has not been used in over 5 years so could it be its just dirty.
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
Hi Stu, I have a brother MFC-J4620DW & when printing black images they are either turning out like a greeny black color or a faded black. I read it could be related to ink cartridges so I replaced them all but still no luck. It is the case on different types of paper.
Your help would be appreciated!
Hi there, it sounds like it could be a print head issue or blockage. You can sometimes buy cleaning kits that flush the print heads and any dried debris out of them. Unfortunately we don’t sell them so I’m not sure where you could get one for your printer model.
Hi
My printer(hp M125a) prints faded despite changing the tonner and drum
Hi Derrick, this could be a number of reasons and there are a few things you can check on. The Paper or media type can affect this (if you are using a type of paper that is absorbing the toner or not fusing to the paper correctly), so you could try some different paper. There is also an econo mode on the LaserJet pro M125a models. Here’s how to disable it:
Go to your control panel / printers and devices on your PC, and then click the printer name in the list of results.
HP Printer Assistant opens.
Click Print, and then click HP Device Toolbox.
Click the System tab, and then select the Print Quality page.
In the Economode area, select Off from the drop-down menu.
Print another page to see if the issue is resolved.
Thanks
Stu
Hi . I am using a zenerick k88 mini thermal printer which doesn’t use ink but it prints very feint. I can hardly see anyvhing
Hi. I’m sorry I’m not familiar with thermal printers! It sounds like it could be something to do with either settings or the heat filament (if that’s how it works)! Stu
As you seem so helpful I’m going to ask you a question too.
I have an Epson Workforce 7610. It prints perfectly when I print from Photoshop. However if I try to print a PDF, word document or direct from my browser it prints much fainter and makes words hard to read/colours look dull etc.
Any suggestions why this would be and how to remedy it?
Hi Nicola,
it sounds like the printer may be printing in draft mode. Draft mode is a setting that can normally be changed on the printer menu or on your computer settings and it’s purpose is to save the ink or toner that’s being used when you don’t need a high quality print. Photoshop would likely ignore the setting as it’s a photo editing software. Try and navigate through the settings on your printer and you should be able to switch draft mode off if it’s on.
My Brother 4040CDN has not been able to print red for a year now and I feel like I’ve tried every possible thing. Began with getting new magenta (now know that yellow is the issue is red won’t print, also replaced yellow); cleaned all of the rollers with both the integrated cleaner thing that slides along a wire for each colour and with alcohol swab; replaced the transfer roller (had to do anyhow as something adhesive from label stuck in one spot and showed up on every printout); changed settings within print properties to enhance red; and more. I’m at a loss 🙁 Any ideas?
Hi Sarah, it sounds like you’ve tried quite a few things with no luck but from my experience there are a couple of things that you didn’t mention that it could be. The first is to check that your drum units are not damaged at all. The drums are responsible for transferring the toner powder from the toner cartridge onto the page, so if a colour is not passing through, it could well be a damaged drum. The second is that the waste toner cartridge could be full or damaged (this normally collects any toner overspill), if that is full, it may also stop the correct printing process. I’d be surprised if it was these things as the printer would normally let you know they are at fault. I would try to ring Brother support as they would be able to get you to put the printer in maintenance mode and run diagnostics. Thanks, Stu.
I have a Oki C9655 and it ran fine for a few years. However in the last few months I suddenly had problems with the colours printing lightly, except for the black, which prints fine. I checked the settings, enhanced all the colours but the result is marginal at best and not remotely as deep in colour as they used to print. I replaced the drums for the colours as some were near end of life. This did not fix the problem. I cleaned the LEDs as often suggested and no effect. The colours are also slightly uneven across an A4, excluding the black so a background colour will not print consistently the same tone. Also the magenta is slightly off by half a millimeter so text is slightly fuzzy. I am at a loss as to why this occurs.
Hi Michael, it sounds like a very frustrating situation with your printer. I’ve tried to come up with a solution for you but the only thing I could find related to poor colour printing / light printing is that the LED head needs to be cleaned although I’m not sure how to do that. Alternatively I’d contact OKI support here: https://www.oki.com/uk/printing/support/contact-support/form/index.html
Hello dear,
I have color laser printer OKI c5950.
Suddenly it does not print Yellow anymore! Not at all!
I replaced the Yellow toner with a NEW one, but nothing!
I checked its drivers and reinstalled the printer.
Can you please help me with this issue?
Thank you in advance
Hi Jim,
it sounds like you may have an issue with the drum unit, does the cartridge register as installed in the printer / on your computer?
thanks
Stu
Hi!
My name is Affan and I have a small problem in my newly-bought printer. The printer is an HP deskjet 5820 and I’m pretty sure i assembled it correctly, but the cartridges print light colours. I don’t know what the problem is and i have auto-cleaned the cartridges an insane amount of times. The ink-level estimates show that my ink level is zero, even though i just inserted them about 2 weeks ago with barely any use.Any help would be appreciated,
Thanks!
Hi Affan, are you using compatible / remanufactured inks or original HP inks? Also if you could let me know what type of paper you are printing on, that would be great as some different paper types can cause issues with faint print.
Thanks
Stu