Printing a Test Page

If you have a question about whether your printer is working correctly with Windows, one common approach is to print a test page. This is particularly helpful if you seem to be having problems printing within a particular program. The reason it is helpful is because if you can print a test page successfully within Windows but you cannot print successfully within the program, then you've narrowed down the source of the problem—it has to be with the program itself.

To print a test page on a Windows 7 system, follow these steps:

1. Click Start and then click Devices and Printers. Windows displays the Devices and Printers screen. Note that the current default printer has a green circle next to it that contains a check mark. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Devices and Printers screen.

2. Right-click on the printer from which you want to print a test page. Windows displays a Context menu.
3. Choose Printer Properties from the Context menu. (You may see two Properties choices in the Context menu; make sure you choose Printer Properties.) Windows displays the Properties dialog box for the printer. (See Figure 2.)



Figure 2. The Properties dialog box for a printer.

4. Click Print Test Page. Windows informs you that a test page was sent to your printer.
5. Click Close to dismiss the notification.
6. Click OK to dismiss the Properties dialog box.

If you are using Windows 8, the steps are a bit different, primarily in how you get to the printer drivers on the system:

1. Display the Control Panel.
2. Click the View Devices and Printers link, under the Hardware and Sound category.
3. Right-click on the printer from which you want to print a test page. Windows displays a Context menu.
4. Choose Printer Properties from the Context menu. (You may see two Properties choices in the Context menu; make sure you choose Printer Properties.) Windows displays the Properties dialog box for the printer.
5. Click Print Test Page. Windows informs you that a test page was sent to your printer.
6. Click Close to dismiss the notification.
7. Close the dialog boxes opened by following these steps.

 This tip (10723) applies to Windows 7 and 8.