Color Printing Test Page

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The following table can be used to test color printing and demonstrate that your web browsers settings are correct before attempting to print a much larger document and then discovering that things aren't working correctly. If the background of the following table comes out white on your color printer, the settings to control background color printing in your web browser are not yet correct.

This row has high intensity colored fonts and a 100% white background	Red	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Purple
This row has lower intensity colored fonts and a 100% white background	Red	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Purple
This row has lower-intensity colored fonts and a 80% white background	Red	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Purple
This row has saturated colored fonts and a "gray card" (18%) background	Red	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Purple
This row has non-saturated colored fonts and a "gray card" (18%) background	Red	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Purple
This row has non-saturated colored fonts and a black background	Red	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Purple
This row has black fonts and backgrounds of non-saturated colors	Red	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Purple
This row has black fonts and backgrounds of non-saturated colors	Red	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Purple
This row has black fonts and backgrounds of saturated colors	Red	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Purple

The table should print with exactly the same colors and shadings stated here.

Notice: Some of the foreground/background combinations used here are not recommended for typical web page use. See http://nemesis.lonestar.org/reference/internet/web/color/index.html for discussions on how to select colors for web pages.

If the background colors of this table do not appear on your color printer, you need to adjust the settings of your web browser, or change web browsers. Information on setting changes can be found at http://nemesis.lonestar.org/site/color_tips.html.

Notes on the Test Colors Shown and Test Printing Results

Depending on your computer operating system and video hardware color depth, your computer may not be able to display the 18% gray card shade correctly. For printing, the gray card result may not be accurate if the printer used dithering to obtain that shade of gray. (Note that the two rows using 18% background really are the same shade of gray, even though when many people view them, they are convinced that they are different. This is an optical illusion caused by presence of the brighter row immediately above and the black row immediately below the 18% rows. The text can also alter the perception of the background color. If you obscure the adjacent parts of the screen, the illusion will disappear for most people.)

A PC with a 256-color (or higher) video mode should be able to display all other colors correctly without dithering.

If some colors (everywhere, not just in table backgrounds) are printing but other colors are not printing (for example, yellow areas print but blue or red do not), or wrong colors print (such as blue instead of green, yellow instead of orange), this usually indicates a problem with the printer color supply (ink, film or toner exhausted), a problem with the printer (stuck ink nozzle, dye film not advancing, toner drum clogged or jammed), or a problem with the printer drivers used on the computer. Refer to the documentation that came with your printer and printer software for assistance.

Tip: Most color printers are able to print a self-test page without even being connected to a computer. If such a self-test page doesn't print colors correctly, it is definitely a printer problem.

Color Printing Test Page

Notes on the Test Colors Shown and Test Printing Results

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