Printer test page: four free PDFs, plus how to print your printer’s own

Download one of the four test pages below, print it at 100% scale, and read the result. A test page tells you whether a print problem is the cartridge, the drum or the printer, and it takes about a minute.

The four test pages

All four are letter size PDFs. Nothing to install, no email required.

• Black and white print test. Text from 6pt to 24pt, grayscale steps, hairlines and a solid block. This is the one to print first on a mono laser.
• Grayscale and density test. 2% steps and a smooth gradient, which is where banding and a fading light end show up first.
• Color test. Single cyan, magenta, yellow and black blocks, tint ramps and a registration check for color lasers and inkjets.
• Alignment and margin test. A half-inch grid and a border at 0.25 inch, so you can measure scaling, skew and how much of the sheet your printer can actually reach.

Print with scaling set to 100% or Actual Size. If the print dialog shrinks the page to fit, the measurements on the alignment page stop meaning anything.

How to read the result

• A mark that repeats down the page at a regular interval is almost always the drum, not the toner. Drums are a separate part on most Brother mono lasers, and we list the matching one on every cartridge page.
• Fading on one side or across a band points at toner distribution or a cartridge near the end of its life.
• Light tones dropping out in the grayscale steps while solid black stays strong usually means the cartridge is low.
• Everything blank is a different problem. Start with blank pages.
• Color missing one channel means that cartridge, or on an inkjet a clogged nozzle.

Print your printer’s own report instead

Your printer can print a settings or configuration page without a computer, and it carries consumable counters and firmware version, which our PDFs can’t. Brother calls it the Printer Settings page and says it lists the remaining life of consumables. HP calls it the Configuration Report. Canon calls it the Configuration Page or Consumables Status Print.

Brother

On current models with a menu: press Menu, arrow to Print Reports, press OK, choose the report, press Start (Brother user guide). On touchscreen models: Settings > All Settings > Print Reports. On older button-only models such as the HL-2270DW, press Go three times within two seconds (Brother FAQ).

HP

On the LaserJet MFP M232 to M237 series, hold the Resume button for three seconds on a USB model. On a wireless model, hold Information for three seconds until the buttons light, then press Resume (HP user guide, PDF). On LaserJets with a menu display: Menu > Information > Print Configuration. HP’s panel path varies by model family more than any other brand, so check the guide for yours.

Canon

On imageCLASS lasers with a Utility button: press Utility, choose Configuration Page or Consmbl. Status Prt., press OK, then Yes (Canon manual). On models with no panel menu, open the Printer Status Window from the system tray and choose Options > Utility > Configuration Page Print.

Print a test page from Windows or macOS

This checks the driver and the connection rather than print quality, which is why Microsoft says to run it first: if the test page doesn’t print, troubleshoot the printer or driver before anything else.

• Windows 11: Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, pick the printer, Printer properties, then Print Test Page on the General tab (Microsoft).
• macOS: open the printer queue, select the printer in the sidebar, then Printer > Print Test Page (Apple).

Then what

If the test page says the cartridge is done, find yours with the printer finder or search the number on the cartridge label. If it points at the drum, the drum is a separate part and lasts through several cartridges. Replacing toner when the drum is the problem is the most common wasted purchase in office printing.