Clogged print head nozzles. You need to run a cleaning cycle. First, load a few sheets of plain paper.
Fix from the printer control panel:
- Press the Home button.
- Select Maintenance.
- Select Print Head Cleaning.
- Select Start.
- When finished, select Check, then Print to run a nozzle check pattern.
If that didn't work: You can also run the cleaning from your computer. On Windows, right-click the printer icon in the taskbar and select Head Cleaning. On a Mac, open System Preferences, go to Printers & Scanners, select your printer, choose Options & Supplies, then Utility, and open the Printer Utility to find Head Cleaning.
Heads up: Never turn off the printer or open the front cover during a cleaning cycle. If quality doesn't improve after 4 cleaning cycles, wait at least 6 hours without printing and try again. If it's still bad, contact Epson.