You need to perform a bottom plate cleaning. This removes ink from inside the printer to prevent smudges, especially important before duplex (double-sided) printing.
- Power on the printer and remove all paper from the front tray.
- Take one new sheet of A4 or Letter-sized plain paper. Fold it in half widthwise, then unfold it.
- Fold one side of the opened paper in half again, aligning the edge with the center crease, then unfold.
- Load this single sheet into the front tray with the ridges of the creases facing up and the edge of the half with no crease facing away from you (toward the far side).
- Open the output tray extension, open the main paper output tray, and extend the paper output support.
- Press and hold the Stop button until the Alarm lamp flashes eight times, then release immediately. The paper will feed through and clean the interior.
After the paper ejects, check the folded crease areas for ink smudges. If they're dirty, repeat the Bottom Plate Cleaning process. For a software-assisted method, you can also use the Bottom Plate Cleaning function in the Maintenance tab of your printer driver.