My printout is blurry or smeared. What should I do?

• Try the following:
  • Epson inks, specialty papers, and printers are designed to work together. For the best results, use genuine Epson ink and paper.
  • Make sure your paper meets the specifications and isn't damp, curled, or wrinkled. In addition, if you are using special, coated, or glossy photo paper, try the following:
    • If the paper you're using has a printable side (check your paper packaging for details), make sure the printable side is loaded face up. The printable side is usually brighter or whiter.
    • Remove each sheet from the output tray as it is printed.
    • Avoid handling printouts on glossy paper for a few hours to allow the ink to set. Let your prints dry separately for at least 12 hours before framing or placing in a protective sheet. If you need to stack them, place a sheet of plain paper between each print.
  • If you are using double-sided paper and printing heavily saturated or dark images on the front side of the paper, you may notice that smudges or marks appear on the front when you print the second side. If one side of the paper will contain a lighter image or text, print that side first to help prevent marks or smudging.
  • If you're printing from a computer, make sure the following settings are set correctly in the Windows or Mac OS X printer driver:
    • Media Type: Select a Media Type setting that matches the paper you loaded.
    • High-Speed: Try turning this setting off.
      
      To access this setting in Windows, select Quality Options for the Print Quality setting.
      
      Note:
      This setting controls whether the print head prints in both directions (bi-directional) or in one direction (uni-directional, from right to left). Turning this setting off to print in one direction decreases print speed but may improve print quality.
    • Platen Gap: If you're printing on thicker paper, try selecting Wide for this setting by following the steps below for your operating system.
      
      Windows: Click the Paper Config button on the Main tab, then select Wide for the Platen Gap setting.
      
      Mac OS X: Select Advanced Media Control from the print options pop-up menu, then select Wide for the Platen Gap setting.
  • If you're printing directly from a digital camera and printing on thicker paper, try increasing the Platen Gap setting. Press the OK button to open the menu screen, select Setup, select Printer Setup, and then select Platen Gap. Select Wide as the setting.
    
    Note:
    This setting controls the distance from the paper to the print head and is used only when printing from a PictBridge-compatible camera. This setting will be reset to Standard when the printer is turned off.
  • Try aligning the print head.