Epson ET-8550 how to align the print head from the control panel
When printouts are grainy or blurry, vertical lines are misaligned, or dark or light horizontal bands appear.
Steps
- Make sure there are no errors on the LCD screen and the CD/DVD tray is not inserted for printing.
- Load a few sheets of plain paper in Cassette 2 (lower).
- Select the home icon, if necessary.
- Select Maintenance > Print Head Alignment.
- Select Vertical Alignment if the printout is blurry or its vertical ruled lines are misaligned, or Horizontal Alignment if it has horizontal banding.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to print an alignment sheet. Do not cancel printing while the pattern prints.
- For Vertical Alignment, select the number of the pattern with the least separation or overlap for each set. For Horizontal Alignment, select that number once.
- Follow the rest of the on-screen instructions to finish the alignment.
Source: Adjusting Print Quality: Aligning the Print Head Using the Product Control Panel Source: Adjusting Print Quality: Aligning the Print Head Using the Product Control Panel, pp. 240-241
Other ET-8550 procedures
- How to refill an ink tankWhen the ink level is below the lower line on a tank. Fill the tank to the upper line.
- How to run a nozzle check from the control panelWhen printouts are light or banded, to see whether the print head nozzles are clogged before cleaning.
- How to clean the print head from the control panelWhen the nozzle check pattern has gaps. The print head may not be cleanable when an ink tank is low; refill first.
- How to run a Power Cleaning from the control panelWhen white or dark lines or missing nozzles remain after cleaning the print head several times.
- How to clear a paper jam in the paper cassettesWhen the LCD screen reports paper jammed in a paper cassette.
- How to clear a paper jam inside the productWhen the LCD screen reports paper jammed inside the product.
- How to reset the ink levels when the LCD asks for itWhen the LCD screen prompts you to reset the ink levels. The message can appear even when ink remains in the tanks.
Sources
- User's Guide, ET-8500/ET-8550. Epson America, Inc. Document CPD-59879, revision CPD-59879R1, 346 pages, en-US. files.support.epson.com (PDF). Listed on the manufacturer's support page. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
Page numbers are the numbers printed in the manual. Where this page and the manual differ, follow the manual.