Printable test page: unclog cyan, magenta and black

To find out whether a cartridge has dried up, print a nozzle test pattern: a block with cyan, magenta, yellow and black stripes. Wherever lines are missing or the colour comes out pale, that nozzle is clogged. It's the fastest diagnosis before you buy anything or touch the printer.

What is a nozzle test page?

It's an image with solid bars and fine lines in the four base colours (CMYK: cyan, magenta, yellow and black). When you print it, each colour should come out even, with no gaps or streaks. It lets you see at a glance which nozzle is firing well and which one is clogged with dried ink.

It doesn't replace the printer's built-in test, but it's more honest: you use your own paper and see the real result you'd get in a normal document, not a dressed-up demo.

When should you use this test?

Print it whenever you notice something odd in your copies. It's especially useful in these cases:

• The printer has sat idle for weeks and starts up faulty.
• Streaks, bands or lines appear on the pages.
• A colour looks faded or simply doesn't show up.
• You've just changed a cartridge and want to confirm it's running fine.

If your issue is repeated streaks rather than a missing colour, there's a dedicated guide: Printer printing with streaks or lines: causes and fix.

How do I print the test pattern?

Very easy. Leave the pattern below on screen, press Ctrl+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac) and send it to print. Print in colour and turn off any "ink saving", draft or greyscale option, because that distorts the result and will make you think there's a fault where there isn't one.

Print a single copy on plain paper. With the sheet in hand, we move on to what matters: reading it properly.

How do you read the test result?

Look at each colour bar separately, in good light. What you're looking for is simple:

• Even, solid bar: that nozzle is working fine, nothing to do.
• White lines or gaps within the bar: there are clogged nozzles of that colour.
• Pale or washed-out colour: the ink path is partly clogged or the level is low.
• Colour that doesn't come out: completely dried nozzle or empty cartridge.

Note down which colour or colours are failing. It's not the same for just cyan to fail as for all four at once, and the fix changes depending on the case.

What do I do based on which colour fails?

The missing colour tells you where the problem is. Translate the test result like this:

• A single colour fails (cyan, magenta or yellow): it's almost always that nozzle being dry. Run a printhead cleaning and print the test again.
• All three colours (CMY) fail but black is fine: it's usually the whole colour head or a dried-out tricolour cartridge. Deep clean.
• Only black fails: check the black cartridge or head; in text it's the one you notice most.
• Everything fails: printer idle for a long time. Time for a cleaning cycle and, sometimes, soaking the head.

Cleaning isn't magic: it uses ink and sometimes you have to repeat it two or three times. If the colour still won't come out after several attempts, the problem may be very dried ink in the head itself.

How do I really unclog the dried nozzle?

The right order saves ink and hassle. Start gentle and step up only if needed:

• Software cleaning cycle: from the printer menu or its program on the PC. Repeat the test afterwards.
• Resting: if it improves but not fully, leave the printer on and repeat the cleaning in a few hours.
• Manual printhead cleaning: for very dried ink, with a lint-free cloth and warm water. The step-by-step is here.

You'll find the full process in our guide to cleaning printheads (HP, Epson, Canon). And if the printer says it has ink but prints nothing, take a look at why the printer won't print even though it has ink.

And if after the test it's time to change the cartridge?

Sometimes the nozzle isn't clogged: the cartridge is empty or the ink has dried beyond saving. If the test keeps showing gaps after several cleanings, changing that colour's cartridge is the most cost-effective move, especially if the one you have was already giving you trouble.

You don't have to pay OEM prices for this. In our collection of compatible ink cartridges for HP, Epson, Canon and Brother you'll find replacements with excellent print quality for a good deal less. If your machine is HP, take a look at the compatible HP ink cartridges for OfficeJet and PageWide.

One final tip: print something in colour at least once a week. Nozzles dry out when they're not used, and that small habit saves you most of these clogs.

Frequently asked questions