Single-color test pages
A single-color test page prints one color at full strength, so you can judge that channel on its own. Cyan, magenta and yellow are inks your printer actually carries, so each of those pages isolates one cartridge or toner. Red, green and blue are made by laying two inks on top of each other, so they show how well those two inks combine. Use these after the full color test page points to one weak color, or to confirm that a cartridge swap fixed it.
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Pick a color
Cyan test page
Look for a faint or gapped cyan block, or blues/greens that look duller than they should.
Magenta test page
Look for photos or documents with an unexplained greenish or sickly cast, especially in skin tones.
Yellow test page
Look for color output that looks slightly cool, gray, or flat compared to what's on screen, without any bar being obviously missing.
Red test page
Look for red that looks orange, pink, washed out, or slightly fringed/doubled at the edges.
Green test page
Look for green that looks muddy or brownish, leans too blue-green or too yellow-green, or shows fringed edges.
Blue test page
Look for blue that reads as purple or indigo (often normal) versus a streaky, gapped, or uneven blue block (a real print head issue).
Want every color on one sheet? Print the full color test page first, or see all printer test pages.
Frequently asked questions
When should I print a single-color test page?
Print one when the full color test page shows a problem in one color, or after you replace or clean a single cartridge. A whole page of one color makes faint areas, streaks and gaps much easier to see than the small bars on a combined test page, so you can tell whether the fix worked.
Why does a red test page use two cartridges?
Most printers carry cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Red is printed by laying magenta and yellow on top of each other, green uses cyan and yellow, and blue uses cyan and magenta. If the red page looks orange or pink, one of those two inks is running low, clogged or slightly misaligned.
Will the printed color match what I see on screen?
Not exactly. Your screen mixes red, green and blue light, while your printer mixes cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink, so some bright screen colors can't be printed as they appear. Judge the printed page on how even and complete the color is, not on an exact match to your monitor.