Gradient / Banding Test
Print smooth gradients to reveal banding.
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 Gradient / Banding Test · print at 100% · plain paper
Banding check — smooth gradients (look for steps or lines)
How this test page works
A smooth gradient should print without visible steps or lines. Regular horizontal bands reveal a nozzle or feed problem that solid colour can hide.
What the results mean
- Banding
- Evenly spaced light or dark lines across the gradient — the signature of a partly blocked nozzle or an uneven paper feed.
Common problems and fixes
- The bands are evenly spaced and always in the same place
- Regular, repeatable spacing points at the paper advance rather than the nozzles — a roller that is dirty, worn or slightly out of round moves the sheet a fraction too far or too little on each pass. Clean the feed rollers first; cleaning cycles will not touch this and will only waste ink.
- Banding appears in one colour only
- That is a nozzle problem in that channel, and the nozzle check will confirm it. Run one cleaning cycle, print the nozzle check again, and stop if there is no improvement after a second — beyond that the cause is usually an empty cartridge or a head dried out from disuse, neither of which more cleaning fixes.
- The gradient bands on plain paper but not on photo paper
- Then it is the paper, not the printer. Plain stock absorbs ink unevenly and cannot render smooth tonal transitions, so banding that disappears on coated paper is a limitation of the medium. Judge the printer on the paper you intend to use for the work that matters.
Frequently asked questions
What causes printer banding?
Usually partly blocked nozzles (run a cleaning cycle) or an uneven paper feed (check the rollers). A gradient shows it far more clearly than a solid block, which is why this test exists.
Why use a gradient rather than a solid block?
Because a solid block hides exactly the fault you are looking for. A partially blocked nozzle or a slightly uneven feed shifts the tone by a small amount, which is invisible against a saturated colour and glaringly obvious as a line across a smooth transition. The gradient is what makes a small defect visible.
Is faint banding always a fault?
No. Every inkjet shows some banding under close inspection, especially on plain paper, and at normal viewing distance it disappears. What matters is change: banding that has appeared recently, is getting worse, or shows in one colour only is worth acting on, while a faint constant pattern is the machine working normally.