Print Test Page

Free print check

Color print test page

1. Choose a sheet
2. Paper size

In the print dialog choose Actual size or 100%, and turn off headers and footers. Set the printer to Color, not grayscale. Only this sheet is sent to the printer.

Color · US Letter · 1 page

Color print test pageUS Letter · 100%CMYKRGB50CMYKFine linesCMYK0.2 mm0.7 mmText6 pt The quick brown fox jumps.8 pt The quick brown fox jumps.10 pt The quick brown fox jumps.12 pt The quick brown fox jumps.14 pt The quick brown fox jumps.Streak field0100 mmMeasure this line. At Actual size / 100% it is 100 mm.

Print this color print test page when a photo looks washed out, one color is missing, or you are not sure the driver is still set to Color. The sheet is one page. You print it yourself. The site never talks to the printer.

What the blocks mean

The top row is cyan, magenta, yellow, black, red, green, blue, and a middle gray. Under that are ten tint steps for C, M, Y, and K. Fine lines repeat in each of those colors, then the same text sizes and streak field as the black and white print test page.

The labels say C, M, Y, and K because those are the colors people compare. The file is still RGB. Your printer turns it into ink or toner. A missing cyan block on the paper is a clue. It is not proof of which cartridge is empty, and it is not a calibration target.

There is no separate CMYK page. The tint steps are the color check. A photo-style picture is a different job and is not on this sheet.

How to print the color sheet

Choose Letter or A4 to match the tray. Print this page, or download the PDF. Then set all of these before you confirm:

  • Actual size or 100%, not Fit to page
  • Headers and footers off
  • Color, not black and white or grayscale
  • Plain paper if that is what you loaded

If the whole sheet comes out gray, the driver setting won. The page cannot override it. If only one block is missing and the others are strong, compare with the printer's own color report before you replace a cartridge.

How to read color on paper

Look across the top row first. A block that is pale while its neighbors are dense is the one to remember. Then walk the tint steps: each step should be visibly darker than the one before it. A step that matches its neighbor, or a band through all four ramps, is a printer-output problem, not a monitor problem.

Yellow lines are drawn darker than the yellow block so they stay visible on white paper. Do not treat that line as a pure yellow ink sample. The yellow block above it is the patch to judge.

The 100 mm line is the size check. Color and scale fail for different reasons. A short line means the dialog scaled the page. A missing color with a correct 100 mm line means the scale is fine and the color path is not.

What this is not

This is not a nozzle-check pattern from the manufacturer, not an ink-level reader, and not a display calibrator. Aligning a print head still belongs to the printer menu. If crosses are the problem, use the printer alignment test page after that menu, not instead of it.

Common questions

Why is the color print test page printing in black and white?

The printer or the dialog is set to grayscale. Choose Color and print again. A webpage cannot switch the driver for you.

Is this a CMYK calibration?

No. The blocks are a visual reference. They do not measure delta-E, and they do not tell the printer how much ink to lay down.

Does it work on a laser printer and an inkjet?

Yes, if that printer can print a PDF or a browser page. Toner and ink will not match each other. Compare two prints from the same machine, not a laser print with an inkjet print.

Should I print on glossy photo paper?

Use the paper you are trying to judge. Photo paper and plain paper will not produce the same blocks. Set the driver paper type to what you actually loaded.