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Epson Printer Test Page
Epson fits a permanent printhead to most of its consumer machines, which makes a nozzle check the single most useful page you can print and the one most likely to save an expensive head. Here is the sequence for machines with a screen and for machines without one.
Set scaling to 100%. Choose Actual Size in the print dialog, never Fit to page — scaling distorts every measurement on this sheet. The Download PDF button hands you that same sheet as a ready-made file, so there is no scaling decision to get wrong.
How to print the Epson Printer Test Page
- Load plain white paper. Glossy stock changes how the ink sits and will hide gaps.
- Set quality to Best or High and leave draft or eco mode off.
- Set scaling to Actual Size or 100%.
- Print this sheet, then run the nozzle check from the table above and keep both.
- Compare them under even light; the utility rows and the rows here exercise the same head.
- After one clean, wait five minutes before reprinting — repeated cleaning on an EcoTank wastes more ink than a cartridge costs.
Built-in test page by model series
| EcoTank, Expression, WorkForce with an LCD | Home → Setup → Maintenance → Print Head Nozzle Check → Start |
| EcoTank with no display | Hold Stop, press Power, release both — then press Stop until the nozzle check prints |
| Epson Printer Utility on Windows | Epson Printer Utility → Nozzle Check |
| macOS | System Settings → Printers & scanners → Options & Supplies → Utility → Open Printer Utility |
| Any Epson through the Windows driver | Printer properties → General → Print Test Page |
Reading the result
| All rows are solid | Every nozzle is firing. On an EcoTank also confirm the tanks sit above the minimum line, since a half-empty tank can starve a head that still passes a check. |
| One colour row is broken | A clog, or air trapped in that channel. Run one head clean from the utility, wait five minutes and reprint. Air usually clears without cleaning if you leave the printer powered on. |
| Rows are solid but the gradient bands | A delivery fault at particular densities rather than a blockage. One more clean at most, then check the paper type setting before touching the head again. |
| Black is missing entirely | On a continuous-ink machine the black line has probably lost its prime. Run the ink charging routine once from the utility; it takes several minutes and uses real ink, so do not start it on a low tank. |
| The sheet prints with an overall colour cast | Epson drivers offer a colour mode and a paper type that interact with each other. Set the media correctly first, and only then adjust colour management — never both at once, or you will not know which change worked. |
Also check
- Nozzle check — The pattern this brand page is built around, available as a PDF you can keep beside the printer for the fortnightly test.
- Gradient and banding page — A head can pass a nozzle check and still band at certain densities, which is where EcoTank banding usually shows itself.
- Photo printer test page — Worth running on an Expression or EcoTank Photo once the head is clear, since photo faults live in smooth tonal steps rather than rows.
Related test pages
- Nozzle Check printer test page — A nozzle check is the fastest way to find out whether an inkjet printhead has clogged nozzles. Print this page and read the gaps.
- Banding printer test page — Solid bars hide banding. Gradients expose it. This page prints both, side by side, for each channel.
- Colour printer test page — One sheet that exercises every colour channel at once: bars, a smooth gradient, a mixing grid and a type scale.
Frequently asked questions
How do I print a nozzle check on an Epson printer with no screen?
Hold the Stop button, press and hold Power, then release both. Press Stop repeatedly until the pattern feeds out; the exact number of presses varies by model. If you have the printer on a computer, the Epson Printer Utility does the same job without that guesswork.
What does the Epson nozzle check actually show?
One row of marks per colour straight from the printhead. A break in a row means that nozzle is not firing. It says nothing about alignment or colour accuracy, so move to the alignment and colour pages once the rows are solid.
Should I print a test page after refilling an EcoTank tank?
Once. Filling a tank introduces air into the line, and a single check immediately afterwards confirms the channels refilled before you commit to a real job. A partial row here is normal for a day or two after a refill.
Can a failed nozzle check damage my Epson?
The check itself cannot, but the obvious fix can. More than two or three cleaning cycles in a row wastes ink, shortens head life and can leave a head worse than it started. Clean, wait, retest — and if three rounds change nothing, the fault is not a clog.
Where is Print Test Page for Epson on Windows 11?
Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, then Printers & scanners. Select the Epson queue, open Printer properties — not the plain Properties entry — and use Print Test Page on the General tab.