How to Troubleshoot Imperfections in Photo or Monochrome Printouts

Last Updated on May 14, 2022 by Carlo Dach

The Windows Print Wizard utility in Windows 7 enables people to choose a group of photos, select a particular size, and print on photo-quality paper. If you are printing a square format picture from a desktop, right-click on it and choose Print. This will reveal the wizard and then you have to choose the image size as 8½ x 11 to print the photo. If you see white space on a side of the printout on the Print Preview, the image setting is correct for printing with the Windows utility.

If you choose a layout that is smaller than that to print an image, you would see an element of cropping on the print preview. However, if the photo is jumbled inappropriately due to extensive cropping, crosscheck the image size setting in the Windows Print Wizard prior to printing. If you still face more cropped spaces on a print preview despite using the size as 8½ x 11, try updating the printer driver.

For that, go to the printer the manufacturer website, find the right driver of your printer model and download it. Once installation of the up-to-date printer driver is complete in Windows 7, restart the PC to retry printing the photo. Upon system reboot, it is recommended to test print with monochrome ink on a standard paper. If the quality is below par, maybe it is the misalignment or clogging of the printhead that causes lines on a printed page. In that case, it is best to look into the user manual of the printer for details on how to fix the printhead issues.

If the printouts turn out with horizontal lines or white spots, try cleaning the printhead with Windows utilities. Click on the Start menu and open Devices and Printers. Right-click on the printer driver and choose Printer Properties. In the next window that pops up, select the Preferences option under the General heading, and select Features in the pop-up that follows. Then click on the Printer Services button, navigate to the Device Services section in the next pop-up, and choose to Clean the Printheads several times.

Make it a point to print a trial page in between cleaning in order to prevent nozzle damage. Turn off the printer overnight and run the printhead cleaning process again.

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