How to troubleshoot and fix a printer that is printing with misaligned colours or wrong colour profiles on Windows and macOS

Hardware & Peripherals KB-471

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to troubleshoot and fix a printer that is printing with misaligned colours or wrong colour profiles on Windows and macOS. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

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Common Causes

When your printer produces colours that look washed out, overly saturated, or simply wrong compared to what you see on screen, the issue usually lies with colour profiles, driver settings, or calibration. Misaligned colours — where colour bands appear shifted or offset from each other — can also occur when the print head needs alignment or the paper type setting does not match the media loaded. This guide walks you through diagnosing and resolving colour problems on both Windows and macOS, starting with the quickest checks before moving into deeper configuration.

Quick Fix Steps

Try these steps first — they resolve the majority of colour issues without requiring detailed configuration changes.

Restart the printer and computer. Power off the printer, wait 30 seconds, then power it back on. Restart the computer once the printer is ready.
Check ink or toner levels. Low or depleted cartridges are the most common cause of faded or incorrect colours. Replace any cartridge that is below 20%.
Run the printer's built-in print head cleaning cycle. Most printers have this option on the front panel or in the maintenance menu. Run two cleaning cycles if colours are streaked or missing.
Run the print head alignment utility. If colour bands appear shifted or misaligned, use the printer's alignment function (usually found in the maintenance menu on the front panel or in the printer's web interface). This is the primary fix for true colour misalignment.
Verify the paper type setting matches the paper loaded. Printing a photo on plain paper set to "Glossy Photo" in the driver will produce muddy, oversaturated colours. Match the setting exactly.
Print a test page. Use the printer's self-test option (usually on the front panel) to determine whether the colour problem is hardware-related or software-related.

If the printer's self-test page looks correct but printed documents from your computer still show wrong colours, the problem is almost certainly in the driver or operating system settings — continue to the detailed instructions below.

Detailed Instructions

Windows: Reset Colour Management Settings

Windows assigns colour profiles to each device, and a mismatched profile is a frequent cause of incorrect output.

Open Settings > System > Display > Colour profile.
Note the profile currently assigned to your display.
Search for Colour Management in the Start menu and open the control panel applet.
Select your printer under Devices, then tick Use my settings for this device.
Click Add and choose the manufacturer's recommended ICC profile for your printer model from the list, or browse to a profile downloaded from the printer manufacturer's website.
Click Set as Default Profile, then Close.
Open Printers & scanners, select your printer, click Printing preferences, and ensure Colour is selected rather than Black & White or Greyscale.

Windows: Reinstall the Printer Driver

A corrupted driver can override correct colour settings without warning.

Open Device Manager (right-click the Start button and select it).
Expand Print queues, right-click your printer, and choose Uninstall device.
Tick Attempt to remove the driver for this device and confirm.
Visit the printer manufacturer's website and download the latest full-feature driver for your specific model and Windows version.
Run the installer and restart the computer when prompted.

Do not rely on Windows Update to supply printer drivers. Manufacturer drivers include the colour profiles and calibration tools that generic drivers omit.

macOS: Reset ColorSync and Printer Settings

macOS uses ColorSync to manage colour profiles across devices. Resetting it often resolves profile conflicts.

Open System Settings > Printers & scanners.
Select your printer and click Remove Printer.
Open Applications > Utilities > ColorSync Utility.
Click the Devices tab and check that your printer's profile is listed and not marked with a warning icon.
If the profile is missing or faulty, download the correct ICC profile from the printer manufacturer. In ColorSync Utility, choose File > Open and select the downloaded profile to install it into the user profile library.
Re-add the printer using the Add Printer, Scanner or Fax button, choose the manufacturer's driver from the Use dropdown, and confirm.

macOS: Adjust Print Colour Settings

With a document open, choose File > Print.
Click Show Details to expand the print dialogue.
Select the Colour Matching or Quality & Media panel from the dropdown.
Set Colour Matching to ColorSync and choose the correct profile for your paper type.
If colours remain inaccurate, try switching to Vendor Matching to let the printer driver control colour output.

Calibrate Your Display

If colours look correct on screen but print incorrectly, your display may be poorly calibrated. Both operating systems include built-in calibration tools.

Windows: Search for Calibrate display colour in the Start menu and follow the wizard.
macOS: Open System Settings > Displays > Colour profile > Calibrate.

For professional colour-critical work such as photography or graphic design, consider a hardware calibrator like the Datacolor SpyderX or X-Rite i1Display. These measure your display's actual output and generate a precise profile.

Check for Application-Specific Issues

Some applications manage colour independently and can override your system settings.

In Adobe Photoshop, go to Edit > Colour Settings and ensure the working spaces match your printer profile.
In Microsoft Office, go to File > Options > Advanced > Print and disable Print document properties if colour issues only occur in Office documents.
In Google Chrome, go to chrome://settings/printing and check that the printer's colour option is not set to greyscale.

Troubleshooting

If colours are still wrong after completing the steps above, work through the following checks in order.

Print from a different application. If colours are correct from one program but not another, the issue is application-specific rather than system-wide.
Try a different USB cable or network connection. A faulty cable can cause data corruption that affects colour information.
Test with a different paper brand. Some papers absorb ink differently and can dramatically shift colour appearance.
Check for firmware updates. Visit the printer manufacturer's support page and apply any available firmware updates for your model.
Inspect for ink smearing or clogged nozzles. Print a nozzle check pattern — if any colours are missing or broken, run three cleaning cycles spaced 15 minutes apart.
Test on a second computer. If the second computer prints correctly, the issue is confined to the original computer's configuration.
Check the printer's internal colour calibration. Many mid-range and professional printers include a built-in colour calibration routine accessible from the front panel or web interface. Run this if available.
Contact the printer manufacturer. If the self-test page itself shows incorrect colours, the printer may have a hardware fault requiring service.

If your printer consistently produces colours that are slightly off across all paper types and applications, the print head may be worn or damaged. Most print heads have a service life of several years; if your printer is older or has been used heavily, professional service may be required.

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