Nozzle Check Pattern
Print a nozzle pattern and find out which print head channels are blocked.
Print this page on plain white paper, then look closely at each comb. A healthy channel shows unbroken lines of even weight. Missing lines, faded sections or visible banding mean that channel’s nozzles are partly blocked.
RunTheTests nozzle check · print at 100% scale · plain paper
Cyan
Magenta
Yellow
Black
After printing, which channels show gaps?
How this test page works
The page prints four combs of fine lines, one per ink channel. Nozzles that are firing produce unbroken lines of even weight; nozzles that are partly blocked drop lines or fade them. Because the pattern prints at a fixed physical size rather than being scaled to fit, gaps stay visible at the scale they actually occur.
What the results mean
- Clean comb
- Every line present and evenly weighted. That channel’s nozzles are firing correctly.
- Missing lines
- Individual nozzles are blocked, usually by dried ink. A cleaning cycle normally clears them.
- Faded comb
- All nozzles firing but weakly. This is the pattern that most often indicates a cartridge genuinely running low.
- Three or more channels affected
- Almost always a dried-out head from disuse rather than empty cartridges. Clean before you buy anything.
Common problems and fixes
- The pattern printed smaller than expected
- The print dialogue scaled it. Set scaling to 100% or "Actual size" and print again — a scaled comb hides small gaps.
- The colours printed but look wrong
- That is colour management rather than a nozzle fault. This test only tells you whether nozzles fire, not whether colour is accurate.
- Cleaning made it worse
- Repeated cycles in quick succession flood the head and use a lot of ink. Stop, leave the printer for a few hours, then print the pattern again before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
Can this tell me how much ink I have left?
No, and neither can any other web page. Ink level is reported by the printer to its own driver and is never available to a website. Anything claiming otherwise on a web page is guessing. A faded comb across every channel is the closest indirect signal.
Should I use this or my printer’s built-in nozzle check?
Use the printer’s own if you can reach it — it bypasses the driver’s colour conversion and tests each ink in isolation. This page is for when the printer’s menu is awkward to reach, or when you want a quick before-and-after around a cleaning cycle.
Do I need special paper?
No. Plain white paper is better than photo paper for this, because photo coatings spread ink slightly and can mask small gaps.