Text Sharpness Test Page
Print type samples at multiple sizes.
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 Text Sharpness Test Page · print at 100% · plain paper
Text sharpness — decreasing sizes (all should be crisp and readable)
12pt — The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. 0123456789 iIlL1 oO0
9pt — The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. 0123456789 iIlL1 oO0
7pt — The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. 0123456789 iIlL1 oO0
5pt — The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. 0123456789 iIlL1 oO0
4pt — The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. 0123456789 iIlL1 oO0
How this test page works
The same line of text is printed from large down to tiny, so you can see at what size your printer stops rendering type cleanly.
What the results mean
- Small-type sharpness
- Where letters fill in or fuzz is your printer’s legibility limit — important for fine print and forms.
Common problems and fixes
- Small text fills in and becomes unreadable
- On an inkjet, ink is spreading into the paper fibres — move to a smoother or coated stock and make sure the driver knows what is loaded. On a laser, it is usually low toner or a resolution reduced for speed. Both show first in counters, the enclosed spaces in letters like e and a.
- Text has coloured fringes on its edges
- The colour channels are not registering with the black one, which is a head alignment problem rather than a text or font issue. Run the printer's alignment routine and confirm with the alignment page. Printing black text with black ink only also avoids it entirely, at the cost of a slightly less dense black.
- The same document prints crisply on another printer
- Then the file is fine and the difference is in the device or its settings. Compare quality mode, paper type and resolution between the two before concluding the printer is failing — a laser at 1200 dpi and an inkjet in draft mode on plain paper are not printing the same document in any meaningful sense.
Frequently asked questions
My small text is fuzzy
On an inkjet this is often ink spreading on absorbent paper — try a smoother stock. On a laser it can mean low toner or a resolution setting reduced for speed.
What is the smallest text a printer can hold?
Most modern printers render 6pt legibly on decent paper, and many hold 4pt on smooth stock. The limiting factor is ink spread rather than resolution, which is why the same printer manages noticeably smaller type on coated paper. This sheet shows where your own combination stops being readable.
Does the typeface matter?
Considerably at small sizes. Fonts with thin strokes and tight counters — most modern display faces — close up long before a face designed for small text does. If small print is disappearing, changing the typeface to something with sturdier strokes often recovers more legibility than changing any printer setting.