How to Fix Issues With Printer Missing Lines

How to Fixing Issues With Printer Missing Lines, Printer Skipping Lines and Printer Printing Lines

Missing lines, streaks, or gaps in printed pages are one of the most common signs of printhead or ink delivery issues — and they can affect both text and photo prints. These problems often occur when ink nozzles become clogged with dried ink, when cartridges are low or improperly seated, or when the printer’s maintenance systems haven’t been run in a while. They can also be triggered by incorrect print settings, paper type mismatches, or even firmware and driver conflicts. In this troubleshooting video below, you’ll find clear, step-by-step solutions to diagnose and fix missing line issues on inkjet and laser printers — including printhead cleaning, alignment checks, driver updates, and cartridge inspections — so you can restore clean, continuous printing and avoid wasted pages and ink.

Transcript - how to solve issue of printer missing lines, printing lines, and skipping lines

If you've just recently replaced an ink cartridge and the printed page is entirely blank, contains blank gaps or missing text:

• Make sure you've removed the protective shipping tape or vent tape. This is easily overlooked but is quite simple to remedy. On HP, Lexmark, Dell and similar disposable print head cartridges, you'll find a strip of plastic film on the bottom of the cartridge covering the printhead. This tape is used to seal and protect the printhead during shipping. It prevents ink from entering the printhead where it dries to form an ink clog.
  On Epson, Canon and Brother ink cartridges, for fixed print head inkjet printers, you'll see a tear off strip, usually with a graphic which indicates that the tag is to be pulled. The tear off strip seals the the vent holes on the top of the cartridge to prevent it from drying out on the shelf or during shipping.
  After ensuring that the shipping tape has been removed, run the printer's "Head Cleaning" utility to prime the cartridge, then print a test page.
• If your printed output still indicates clogged ink nozzles:
  • From inside a software application such as MS Word or Notepad, go to the File menu and click "Print".
  • Click on your printer in the list to select it.
  • Click on the "Preferences" button and the "Utilities" or "Maintenance" tab
  • Locate and run the "Head Cleaning" utility at lease once but no more than 3 times consecutively.
  • Print a test page.