Printhead Alignment Grid
Print registration marks to check head alignment.
Print settings
Print this on the paper you normally use, then examine each section. What a healthy result looks like is described above each pattern on the sheet.
RunTheTests Printhead Alignment Grid · print at 100% · plain paper
Alignment — registration crosshairs (lines should meet cleanly)
Duplex registration — print double-sided; marks should align through the page
How this test page works
Crosshairs and registration marks show whether the print head lays down each pass in the right place. Lines that fail to meet cleanly indicate misalignment.
What the results mean
- Registration
- The crosshair lines should cross exactly at the centre. Offset or doubled lines mean the head needs realigning.
Common problems and fixes
- Alignment drifts back within a few days
- Repeated loss of alignment is mechanical rather than a calibration that failed to save — a loose head carriage, a dirty or worn encoder strip, or debris on the rail. Clean the encoder strip carefully with a dry lint-free cloth and check for play in the carriage before running the routine again.
- Vertical lines are fine but horizontal ones double
- That separates head alignment from paper feed. Errors along the direction of travel come from the head; errors across the page, showing as doubled or offset horizontal detail, come from the paper advancing unevenly. Check the feed rollers and run the paper feed test before touching the alignment routine.
- Only bidirectional printing looks wrong
- The head lays ink in both directions of travel and the two passes are not meeting. Most printers have a bidirectional alignment step in their maintenance menu specifically for this. If it will not hold, setting the driver to unidirectional printing halves the speed and removes the problem entirely.
Frequently asked questions
How do I fix misalignment?
Run the printer’s own head-alignment routine from its menu or driver utility — it prints a calibration pattern and adjusts automatically. This page confirms whether the alignment held.
How often should I align the print head?
When there is a reason — ghosting, doubled text, colour fringing on black edges — and after any cartridge change or a move that jolted the printer. There is nothing to gain from running it on a healthy machine, and each run uses ink and paper.
Why does my printer print its own alignment sheet?
Because the correction has to be applied inside the printer, and only its own routine can write the value back. This page is the independent check on the result: run the printer's alignment, then print this to confirm it actually held, which is the step people skip and then wonder why the ghosting is still there.