Calibrate to Improve Print Quality

Do your printed pages appear a little blurry or fuzzy?  Are the colors slightly misaligned or leaving shadows?

Do the colors on the computer screen print differently on the page?  Perhaps your printer is telling you it needs to be calibrated.

Calibration refers to the proper alignment of printer cartridges to the paper and each other.   If your machine is not properly aligned, the print quality degrades and produces unwanted effects like those shown here. Think of it as a tweaking tool to optimize the quality and clarity of your prints.

Every printer brand and model has somewhat different on-screen controls for calibrating.  Most are accessible from the printer’s Properties dialog box.

For Inkjet printers try following the general guidelines below:

• Start by clicking on the start icon on your computer, then click devices and printers (or) click start and then settings and then printers and faxes.  You might also go to your computer’s control panel to find printers or simply do a search for ‘printers’ on your computer.

• Next, a window should open up displaying at least one printer (if not more) and other devices.  Right-click on the printer you want to calibrate.  A pop-up menu will appear.  Choose Properties.

• Locate the calibration function.  If it isn’t readily visible, you might have to search for it under an advanced tab, or try clicking Printer Preferences.

• Now, run the calibration.  Don’t turn off your printer until the calibration process has completely finished; the process takes just a few minutes.  As soon as it’s done, print a page and see the difference in clarity!

Follow these steps to calibrate toner printers with built-in control panels:

• On the product control panel, press the Setup button.
• Open the following menus consecutively:
  1. System Setup
  2. Print Quality
  3. Color Calibration
  4. Calibrate Now
• A Calibrating message will display on the product control panel. Don’t turn off your printer until the calibration process has completely finished; the process takes just a few minutes.
• Now, try printing again and see the difference in the clarity of your color prints!