The print quality is uneven, too light, or too dark, or lines appear in the printout. What should I do?

• If you notice that your print quality is uneven, too light, too dark, or there are lines in the print (banding), try these solutions:

  • Run a nozzle check to see if any of the print head nozzles are clogged. Then clean the print head, if necessary.
  • If the print surface is too far from the print head, the following problems may occur:
    • Lines in the image (banding)
    • Edges of the image are blurry
    • Text and straight lines are duplicated
    • Image is grainy

    Check that the spacer combination and platen height (scale) are suitable for the type of media you are using.

  • If you are printing on film, make sure that both spacers A and B are installed, the platen gap lever scale is set to position P, Platen Gap is set to Auto, and that the film is completely flat on the platen and secured with opaque adhesive tape.
  • If you are printing on film and print quality is poor even after printing under the same conditions as a previous film print job, the print surface may not be correctly detected. Load the film so that it is flat and make sure it is not curled, warped, damaged, or bent in any way, and that the tape is not peeling or lifted. 
  • If there is any fuzz on the print surface, it could contact the print head and cause nozzles to clog. Use a heat press immediately before printing to flatten any fuzz on the media.
  • If the printed surface is soiled, try cleaning the suction cap and around the print head. When you load media on the platen, remove any lint with a lint roller or sticky tape and press the fibers flat by using a hard roller.
  • Align the print head. If you are printing on film, select Dark Media to align White ink with CMYK inks on dark garments and Digital-Transfer-Film. Select Light Media to align CMYK inks on light-color garments.
  • Perform a feed adjustment.
  • If the image quality does not improve after aligning the print head and performing a feed adjustment, clean the encoder strip.
  • If the T-shirt you are printing on easily absorbs ink, ink may not remain on the surface of the T-shirt and slight misalignment may appear if bidirectional printing is enabled. If this occurs, align the print head. If the problem is still not resolved, try selecting Uni-Direction (Low Speed) as the Print Direction setting in the Garment Creator 2 software. To repeat printing or to print a job from a USB memory stick that has already been set to Bi-Direction (High Speed), set Head Move Direction to Uni-Directional on the preview screen.
  • Make sure your ink packs have not expired. For best results, use ink packs before the expiration date printed on the package (within a year of installation in the printer). Replace expired ink packs with new ones.
  • Make sure you are using genuine Epson ink supply units (ink packs). If you use non-Epson ink packs, printouts may be faint, or the color of the printed image may be uneven because the remaining ink level is not correctly detected.
  • Shake the ink packs thoroughly before installing them in the printer. To maintain optimum print quality, remove and shake the installed White ink pack at the start of every working day or when a message is displayed. Shake the color ink packs once a month.
  • Compare the printed result with the image on your computer screen. Since monitors and printers produce colors differently, printed colors and screen colors do not always look the same.
  • Make sure that the printer cover is closed during printing.
  • Check the ink levels on the LCD screen. Replace any ink packs that are low on ink.
  • If image quality varies even though the printing conditions do not change, it may be caused by the printer's sensor reacting to an uneven media surface, or if the media surface has slack or creases. Try reloading the media so that is flat. If the problem persists, do the following:
    1. Set Platen Gap to Manual.
    2. Check that the spacers you are using and the platen height are appropriate for the type of media you are using.
    3. Add or remove spacers and change the platen height, as necessary.
    4. Load the media you want to use on the platen.

       Note: Load it so that it is flat with no slack or creases on the media surface.

    5. Press the  moveable base button to move the platen inside the printer.
    6. Check the LCD screen and do the following:
       • If you see a message that says the media surface is too high, go to the next step.
       • If the Home screen is displayed, press the  moveable base button to move the platen forward, loosen the platen gap fixing lever and then move the lever to the left by one notch on the scale. Tighten the fixing lever, secure the platen gap lever, and then press the  moveable base button to move the platen back. Repeat the process until a message that says the media surface is too high appears on the screen.

         Note: If the A and B spacers are installed and aligned with the P scale, you cannot raise the platen height any further.

    7. Press the  moveable base button to move the platen forward.
    8. Loosen the platen gap lever fixing lever and then move the lever to the right by two notches on the scale.

       Note: The "." dot marks on the scale between the numbers are also counted as one notch. If the message is displayed while the scale is at 3, move it to 4.

    9. Tighten the fixing lever to secure the platen gap lever.
  • Adjust the print quality settings in the Garment Creator 2 software to a higher quality setting.
  • Adjust the density of the White ink in the Garment Creator 2 software.
  • Make sure the pre-treatment solution is not too diluted. If the pre-treatment solution has been diluted too much, the solidity of the White ink is weakened and the edges of the image may be blurred. Try reducing the density of the White ink in the Garment Creator 2 software or use a stronger pre-treatment solution.
  • Before applying pre-treatment solution, make sure you remove any lint from the fabric surface using a lint roller or sticky tape; otherwise, uneven print results can occur.
  • Make sure you are uniformly applying the correct amount of pre-treatment solution. Applying too much or too little, or applying it unevenly can cause uneven print results.
  • If you are printing on cotton T-shirts, uneven print quality may occur if the pre-treatment solution is too weak. Standing fibers may not be flattened sufficiently and can shift during printing or fixing. Adjust the dilution ratio of the pre-treatment solution.
  • If you are printing on polyester T-shirts, unevenness may occur depending on the fabric, even if the pre-treatment solution is applied correctly. Try increasing the temperature when fixing the pre-treatment solution.
  • If you are printing vivid colors, try setting Quality for Color Print Quality or White Print Quality in the Garment Creator 2 software.
  Related tasks
  Performing a Nozzle Check
  Cleaning the Print Head
  Checking Spacer Combinations and Platen Height (Scale)
  Cleaning Around the Print Head
  Aligning the Print Head
  Cleaning the Suction Cap
  Cleaning the Encoder Strip (Carriage Scale)
  Related references
  Media Settings
  Diluting the Pre-treatment Solution
  Optional Equipment and Replacement Parts
  Related information
  Shaking and Replacing Ink Packs
  Loading a T-shirt