Epson America, Inc. - Support

Banding may be caused by a number of different reasons.

1. Incompatible paper
Using an incompatible type paper can cause banding due to the waythe ink is absorbed into the paper. Use genuine EPSON brand ink jetpaper to make sure the paper is not causing the problem.

2. Paper thickness lever in wrong position
Make sure the paper thickness lever is in the normal position forink jet paper and not in the envelope position. See your user's manualfor thickness lever setting instructions).

3. Video driver conflict
Some video drivers may cause a conflict in memory between the printerdriver and video memory. Try changing to the Windows video driverprovided by Microsoft or check to see if the video card manufacturerhas an updated video driver available. This is often the cause ofstrange printing problems such as heavy banding and missing characters.

4. Wrong driver or driver setup
Make sure you are using the correct printer driver for your EPSON inkjet model. Also make sure you have selected the correct print settingsto print with for the type of paper and resolution in the driver setup. MicroWeave should be turned on in the driver.

5. Clogged nozzle
Print the demo or self test page by pressing and holding the appropriate button for a few moments while applyingpower to the printer. See below for procedure.Check to see if white lines appear through your text. Also determine if the banding affects the color or black ink cartridge. If no banding is present then the cause is probably caused by the software or video driver.

If the white lines are present, perform two or more cleaning cycles on the affected color or black print head. (See instuctions under the printer's top cover or in the User's Manual for cleaning cycle instructions.)After performing the cleaning cycles check to see if the banding has improved or cleared. Most clogged nozzle problems are cleared with a few cleaning cycles but in some stubborn cases it may be necessary to perform many cleaning cycles in order to clear a blocked nozzle.

Model	Demo Page / Self test Instructions
Stylus COLOR Stylus COLOR II Stylus COLOR IIs Stylus 1500	Demo Page ALT + Power-On (hold ALT for 10 seconds while turning on the power)
Stylus COLOR Pro Stylus COLOR Pro XL Stylus COLOR 400 Stylus COLOR 600 Stylus COLOR 800 Stylus COLOR 1520	Printer's Self-Test Load/Eject + Power Switch
Stylus COLOR 200	Printer's Self-Test - Cleaning + Power-On, after first page feeds through, press Load/Eject to print the second page of the test. Demo Page - Load/Eject + Power-On
Stylus COLOR 500	Printer's Self-Test - Press the Color cleaning button and Power-OnDemo Page - Press the Black cleaning button and Power-On the unit
Stylus COLOR 3000	Printer's Self-Test (360 dpi) - LF/FF + Power-On

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