Photo Print Quality Test
Photo quality is judged differently from a document or a chart: what matters is whether skin looks natural, whether skies and gradients look smooth instead of banded, and whether the overall scene feels balanced. This test combines a real reference photograph (continuous tone and atmospheric detail a synthetic scene can only approximate) with a row of six skin tones spanning light to deep and a continuous gradient bar, to cover everything a photo print gets judged on. The reference photo is "Rocky ride." by Simon Berger, released into the public domain (CC0) via Wikimedia Commons.
If the button doesn't work, press Ctrl+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+P (Mac) to open your browser's print dialog.
This is an on-screen preview. Your printer, paper, ink or toner level, and print driver settings all affect the final physical result.
How to use this printer test
- For the most representative result, print on the same photo paper (glossy, matte, or luster) you actually use for photos, not plain paper.
- In your print dialog, set the paper type to match what's loaded — this matters more for photo quality than almost any other setting.
- Choose your paper size above; the photo sizes (4×6, 5×7, 8×10) match standard print sizes if you want a like-for-like comparison.
- Judge the print under normal indoor lighting, not direct sunlight or a strongly tinted lamp, since ambient light shifts how colors appear.
What should the printed page look like?
Skin tones look natural, not shifted
Across the six swatches, look for an overall color cast — everything leaning slightly green, magenta, orange, or blue points to a color calibration issue rather than something wrong with any single tone.
The gradient is smooth, not stepped
The black-to-white bar should fade continuously. Visible bands or stripes (rather than a smooth transition) is banding — a common inkjet symptom, often improved by a nozzle cleaning cycle or a higher print quality setting.
Shadow and highlight detail survive
Check both ends of the gradient, not just the middle — some printers crush the darkest tones to solid black or blow out the lightest tones to pure white well before the true edges, losing detail exactly where photos often need it most.
Atmospheric haze and fine detail hold up
The reference photo's distant mountain layers fade through subtle graduated tones, and the sky transitions through several colors at once — both are demanding, realistic tests of whether your printer holds subtle color transitions instead of flattening or banding them.
Common printer problems
Skin tones and colors look consistently shifted toward one color
Likely cause: Wrong paper type selected in the driver, an outdated or generic ICC color profile, or a color cartridge running low.
How to fix it: Confirm the paper type setting matches what's loaded, check for a printer-specific color profile from the manufacturer, and run our CMYK Test Page to check for a depleted ink channel.
The gradient shows visible horizontal bands instead of a smooth fade
Likely cause: Partially clogged nozzles (inkjet) causing uneven ink laydown, or a print quality setting too low for photo output.
How to fix it: Run our Nozzle Check test to rule out clogs, and set print quality to "Photo" or "Best" rather than a standard document setting.
Dark areas print as solid black with no visible detail
Likely cause: The printer or driver's contrast/black-point setting is too aggressive for the paper being used.
How to fix it: Look for a color management or "photo enhancement" toggle in the driver — turning off automatic enhancement often restores shadow detail that a default profile crushes.
Frequently asked questions
How can I test my printer's photo quality without wasting real photos?
Print this test page — it includes a real reference photo, skin tones, and a gradient chosen and built specifically to reveal color cast, banding, and shadow/highlight detail loss, the same issues that show up on any photo you print.
Why do my printed photos look banded or striped?
Banding usually comes from partially clogged inkjet nozzles or a print quality setting too low for photo output. Run a nozzle check first, then print at your driver's highest photo quality setting.
Does the paper I use actually affect photo quality this much?
Yes, significantly — glossy, matte, and plain paper each need a different ink density profile, and printing on the wrong paper-type setting is one of the most common causes of dull or off-color photo prints.