Printer Test Page: Free Printable Color and Black & White Test Sheet (PDF)

Last updated: October 24, 2026.

Quick answer: a printer test page is a sheet of solid color bars, gradients, fine lines and small text that shows at a glance whether every ink or toner channel is printing correctly. You can print our free color and black-and-white test page straight from this page – just press Ctrl + P (Command + P on a Mac) – or download the free two-page printer test page (PDF). If a block comes out streaky, faded, missing or the wrong color, the chart further down tells you what it means and how to fix it.

What Is a Printer Test Page?

A printer test page (also called a test print, color print test, print quality report or diagnostic page) is a standard sheet designed to push every part of the print path at once. An ordinary letter uses a little black ink; a test page lays down solid cyan, magenta, yellow and black, smooth tone ramps and very fine detail, so problems that hide in everyday printing become obvious.

There are three kinds you’ll run into:

• The Windows or macOS test page – a basic page that confirms the computer can talk to the printer. It proves the connection and driver work, but it says little about print quality.
• The printer’s built-in report – HP calls it a Print Quality Report, Epson and Canon call it a Nozzle Check, and Brother calls it a Print Quality Check Sheet. These are the best way to diagnose clogged printheads because the printer generates them itself.
• A printable test page like the one above – useful for checking color accuracy, gradients, skin tones, text sharpness and laser defects, or when your printer has no built-in option or no screen.

How to Print the Color Test Page From Your Browser

The test sheet above is built into the page, so there’s nothing to download. It works in Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox on Windows, Mac and Chromebook.

1. Press Ctrl + P on Windows or a Chromebook, or Command + P on a Mac. Everything on this page except the test sheet is hidden automatically when you print.
2. Choose your printer, set Color to Color and Scale to 100% or Default.
3. Under More settings (Chrome, Edge) or Show Details (Safari), turn on Background graphics and turn off headers and footers.
4. Print. Page 1 is the color test page; page 2 is black and white.

The solid bars, grayscale steps, nozzle grid and line weights are drawn as borders, so they print even if your browser ignores the background setting. If the gradient strips come out blank, background graphics is still off – or use the PDF version, which prints exactly the same way from any app.

On a phone or tablet, the PDF is easier: open it, tap Share, and choose Print. Chromebook users can follow our Chromebook printing guide.

Black and White Test Page for Inkjet and Laser Printers

Page 2 of the sheet is a dedicated black and white test page for monochrome laser printers, the black cartridge on an inkjet, and grayscale printing. It includes:

• A solid black bar – should be deep and even, with no white specks or streaks.
• Grayscale ramps in 10% and 5% steps – each step should differ from its neighbors. Light steps merging into white, or dark steps into black, means the printer runs light or heavy.
• A gray gradient – a greenish or pinkish tint on an inkjet means one color is off.
• Line weights, text from 6 to 24 pt and an alignment grid – check sharpness and alignment.
• A blank area – should stay pure white. Gray haze, dots or a faint repeat image are classic laser symptoms.

To print only the black and white test page, press Ctrl + P or Command + P and enter 2 in the Pages box, or print page 2 of the printer test page PDF. If you want to test the true black-only path on an inkjet, also set the print dialog to Black and White or Grayscale; our guide to grayscale vs monochrome settings explains the difference.

Download the Free Printer Test Page PDF

Prefer a file you can keep, email or print from any device? The PDF is the same two-page test sheet, sized for US letter paper.

Free Printer Test Page – Color + Black & White (PDF, 2 pages)
Page 1 (color printer test page): primary ink blocks, CMYK and RGB gradients, photo and skin-tone patches, nozzle-check lines and color text. Page 2 (black and white test page): solid black, 5% grayscale steps, text from 4 pt to 24 pt, line weights, a blank area for spotting haze or repeat marks, and an alignment grid.

Print it at Actual size or 100%, not “Fit” or “Shrink oversized pages”.

How to Read Your Test Page: Symptoms, Causes and Fixes

Hold the printed page under good light, compare it with the sheet on screen, and match what you see to the chart.

What a Good Test Page Looks Like

• Color bars: solid, even and the right color, with no white lines.
• Grayscale ramp: 11 distinct, neutral steps from white to black.
• Gradients: smooth, with no hard steps or blotches.
• Skin tones: natural-looking. Skin is the first thing to look wrong when one color is weak.
• Nozzle grid: every line and staircase step present in all four colors.
• Text: 6 pt readable, edges crisp.

Test Page Diagnosis Chart

What you see	Most likely cause	What to do
Gaps or broken lines in the nozzle grid	Clogged inkjet nozzles	Run one head cleaning from the printer’s maintenance menu, then reprint. See how to clean print heads and printer missing lines.
Thin horizontal white lines through color bars (banding)	Partially clogged nozzles, low ink or paper-feed slip	Clean, then align the head. See streaky or faded pages.
One color bar blank or very pale	That cartridge is empty, dried out, not seated, or still has its tape	Reseat or replace it. See how to fix printer color problems or new cartridge not working.
Black bar blank but colors fine	Empty or clogged black cartridge, or a dried black nozzle bank	See printer not printing black ink.
Every color missing; page prints in gray only	Grayscale is switched on, or a color cartridge is blocking color output	See how to print in color; Epson owners see Epson not printing color.
Everything faded, including black text	Draft mode, ink-saver mode, low ink or toner, or the wrong paper setting	Switch to Standard quality. See faded text fixes.
Color cast: pink grays, green skin tones, purple blues	One color channel weak or missing, or a color-profile mismatch	See how to fix color casts and printer printing pink.
Dull, flat skin tones and photo patches	Plain-paper setting on photo paper, low ink, or a weak color	See why photo prints come out dull.
Doubled or fuzzy small text, wavy grid lines	Print head misalignment	Run the alignment utility. See print head alignment and blurry printing.
Smudges, smears or wet ink on the page	Wrong paper type, ink on rollers, or a leaking cartridge	See why ink smudges.
Vertical black, white or gray lines (laser)	Scratched drum, dirty laser window or toner problem	See laser printer streaks and lines.
Faint repeat images in the blank area (laser)	Worn drum or roller, or a cool fuser	Measure the spacing between repeats. See printer ghosting.
Gray haze or speckles in the blank area (laser)	Toner leaking or a worn drum	Replace the toner or drum. See how to clean a printer inside and out.
Page comes out completely blank	Empty cartridge, tape left on, or a fully blocked head	See why a printer prints blank pages.
Page comes out solid black	Drum or charging fault (laser) or a driver error	See printer printing black pages.
Edges or bottom of the sheet cut off	Scale not at 100%, wrong paper size, or margins	See printer cutting off the page.
Only half the page prints	Memory, driver or connection interruption	See printer only printing half a page.
Random symbols instead of the test page	Wrong or corrupted driver	See printer printing gibberish.

How Do I Print a Test Page on Windows?

Windows 11

1. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
2. Click your printer.
3. Click Print test page if it’s listed, or open Printer properties and click Print Test Page on the General tab.

Windows 10

1. Open Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
2. Click your printer, then Manage.
3. Click Print a test page.

Any version: open Control Panel > Devices and Printers, right-click the printer, choose Printer properties, and click Print Test Page on the General tab.

If your printer isn’t listed, see how to add a printer in Windows. If the test page never comes out, the problem is the connection, not the ink – work through why a printer keeps going offline and how to restart a stuck print spooler.

How Do I Print a Test Page on a Mac?

macOS doesn’t have a universal test-page button. Some manufacturer drivers add one: open System Settings > Printers & Scanners, select the printer, click Options & Supplies, and look for a Utility tab. The simplest method is to press Command + P on this page to print the test sheet above, or open our test page PDF in Preview and press Command + P, making sure Scale is set to 100%. If your Mac can’t see the printer at all, see how to add a printer to a Mac or AirPrint not working.

How Do I Print a Test Page on an HP, Canon, Epson or Brother Printer?

The printer’s own diagnostic page is the best clog check because it doesn’t depend on your computer. Menu names vary by model; these are the usual paths.

Brand	Printer with a screen	From a computer
HP	Settings or Setup > Tools or Reports > Print Quality Report	HP Smart app > your printer > Printer Settings > Reports or Print Quality Tools
Canon	Home > Setup > Maintenance > Nozzle Check > Yes	Printer preferences > Maintenance tab > Nozzle Check
Epson	Settings (on some models) > Maintenance > Print Head Nozzle Check	Printer preferences > Maintenance or Utility tab > Print Head Nozzle Check (Mac: Epson Printer Utility)
Brother inkjet	Ink > Improve Print Quality > Check Print Quality (or Settings > Maintenance > Improve Print Quality on newer models)	Brother iPrint&Scan or the driver’s maintenance options
Brother laser	Settings or Menu > Print Reports > Printer Settings	The Windows test page (above) or page 2 of our test sheet

Printers without a screen: most button-only models print a status or nozzle-check page with a button combination listed in the manual (on many HP DeskJets it’s the Information i button). If you can’t find it, the browser test page above works on every printer.

Gaps in a nozzle check pattern mean run a cleaning. Brand-specific help: cleaning Canon printer heads, HP print quality fixes, and the common inkjet printer problems guide.

What Settings Should I Use to Print a Test Page?

• Scale: 100%, Default or “Actual size”. “Fit to page” changes line spacing and makes the alignment grid unreliable.
• Paper: plain white letter paper, with the paper type set to Plain. Photo paper hides some faults and wastes an expensive sheet.
• Quality: Standard or Normal. Draft mode deliberately lays down less ink and will look faded (see grayscale and draft mode explained).
• Color: make sure grayscale is off when printing page 1, or every block will come out gray.

How Often Should You Print a Test Page to Prevent Clogs?

Print one whenever output looks off, after installing a cartridge, and after moving the printer. For inkjets, regular use is the best clog prevention, because ink that sits in the nozzles for weeks thickens and dries. If your inkjet goes unused for long stretches, printing page 1 of this color test page about once a week keeps every color moving through the head – see do ink cartridges dry out?.

Also turn the printer off with its power button so the head parks and caps, and keep cartridges installed. Laser printers don’t clog because toner is a dry powder, so they only need a test page when something looks wrong or after a toner or drum change.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I print a test page?

The fastest way is to press Ctrl + P (Command + P on a Mac) on this page, which prints only the test sheet above. You can also print Windows’ built-in test page from Settings > Printers & scanners, run your printer’s own Print Quality Report or Nozzle Check, or download our test page PDF.

Is there a free printable color test page?

Yes. The color test page on this page is free to print as often as you like, with no sign-up. It’s also available as a free color printer test page PDF that includes a black-and-white page.

What should a printer test page look like?

Every color bar should be solid and even, gradients should blend smoothly, the nozzle-check lines should be complete, text down to 6 pt should be readable, grays should look neutral, and the blank area on page 2 should stay perfectly white.

How do I print a black and white test page?

Press Ctrl + P or Command + P and enter 2 in the Pages box to print only the black and white test page, or print page 2 of the PDF. To test only the black cartridge on an inkjet, also choose Black and White or Grayscale in the print dialog.

Why is my test page printing blank or streaky?

A blank page usually means an empty cartridge, protective tape left on a new cartridge, or a fully blocked printhead. Streaks usually mean partly clogged nozzles or low ink. Run one cleaning cycle and reprint; if it’s still blank, see why a printer prints blank pages. If only the gradients are blank on the browser version, turn on Background graphics in the print dialog.

Does printing a test page use a lot of ink?

Page 1 uses more ink than a text page because of the solid bars, but it’s still a single sheet. The built-in nozzle check uses far less, so start there if you only want to check for clogs, and print page 1 when you need to check color.

Why does my test page print fine but my documents don’t?

If the test page is clean, the printer hardware and ink are fine. Look at the application’s print settings (scale, paper type, grayscale), the file itself, or the driver – see what a printer driver does.

Can I print a test page from my phone?

Yes. Open the PDF on your phone and print it through AirPrint, Mopria or your printer’s app. Our guide to printing from a phone covers the setup.

My test page has streaks even after cleaning. What next?

Run no more than two or three cleaning cycles in a row – each one uses ink. Let the printer sit for a few hours, then try again. If the same color still fails, replace that cartridge; if it still fails with a fresh cartridge, see when a cleaning kit beats the built-in cycle.

Is a compatible cartridge the reason my test page looks bad?

A good compatible cartridge should produce a clean test page. If one color fails right after installation, reseat it, remove any leftover tape, and run a cleaning; if it still fails, contact the seller for a replacement. Castle Ink’s cartridges are covered by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. More on compatible vs remanufactured vs OEM ink.

Keep Printing

If your test page shows a faded or missing color, the fix is usually a fresh cartridge. Castle Ink, a family-run shop in Greenlawn, New York, has stocked compatible and remanufactured ink and toner since 2005 – find yours on the Find Ink by Printer page, or browse HP, Canon, Epson and Brother ink, or toner cartridges. For more fixes, visit our printer troubleshooting center.

Need paper for testing? A ream of plain multipurpose letter paper is all you need.

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