Scanned printout appear light or faded
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Scanned printout appear light or faded

The Print/Text on Scanned Images is Too Light When Using the Scanner Unit on a Lexmark X642, X644, or X646 Series Printer
What you will see
All scanned images and printouts appear light or faded when printed.
Determine first if the scanner unit is at fault
To find out if the issue involves the scanner unit or the base printer, try printing documents that do not use the scanner unit, such as a file from the computer or network. Alternatively, you can choose to print the internal settings pages by using the menus on the printer's operator panel.
NOTE:
 To print the settings pages, press the
Menus
 button to enter the menus. Select
Reports
 and then select
Menu Settings Page
. The printer will display the message
Printing Menu Settings Page
, then print the pages.
  • If the quality of print on these pages continues to be light, the cause of the issue is probably a low toner cartridge or a setting or a part on the base printer. Printed pages are coming out light or faded for further suggestions and settings to check on the printer.
  • If the quality of print on these pages appears correct and it is only on scanned images or documents that the print is light, continue with the suggestions below.
Change the imaging settings on the scanner
IMPORTANT NOTES:
  • Record the original values for each of these settings before changing them. If you are unable to correct the issue after changing the settings listed in the table below, restore the settings back to their original values before arranging a service call.
  • The directions in the table below for navigating the menus apply to the
    X644
     and
    X646
     models only. If you have an
    X642
     model printer, please see the
    User's Guide
    for directions on how to navigate the menus and change the settings.
Step
Action
1
Turn off the printer. Try cleaning the flatbed scanner glass and then printing again. For detailed directions on how to clean the flatbed scanner glass, How to properly clean the glass on the flatbed scanner.
2
If cleaning the scanner glass does not correct the issue, increase the
Darkness
 setting under the
Copy
 menu.
  1. Press the
    Copy
     button.
  2. Locate the
    Darkness
     setting in the lower left of the screen. Click here for image.
  3. Increase the Darkness value.
  4. Press the home icon to return the printer back to the normal ready screen.
  5. Try printing again. If changing this setting does not seem to affect the darkness of the prints, continue with the next suggestion below.
3
Confirm that the
Content
setting is set to
Text
.
NOTE:
 This is especially important if the setting is currently set to
Photo/Text
.
The
Content
 setting can be found under the
Copy
 menu.
  1. Press the
    Copy
     button.
  2. Press
    Options
    . The
    Options
     button is located in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Click here for image.
  3. Press the
    Content
     button. Click here for image.
  4. Select
    Text
    . Then press the
    Done
     button once to save the new setting.
  5. Press the home icon to return the printer back to the ready screen.
  6. Try printing again. If changing this setting does not seem to affect the darkness of the prints, continue with the next suggestion below.
4
Change the
Background Removal
 setting. The
Background Removal
 setting is accessed by selecting the
Copy
 menu, then selecting
Advanced Imaging
.
  1. Press the
    Copy
     button.
  2. Press
    Options
    .
  3. Press the
    Advanced Imaging
     button. Click here for image.
  4. Press the left arrow icon to remove less of the background. This should increase the overall darkness of the scanned image.
    NOTE:
     Try lowering this setting in increments of
    2
    . The lowest possible setting is
    -4.
  5. Press the
    Done
     button once to save the new value for this setting.
  6. Press the home icon to return the printer back to the ready screen.
  7. Try printing again. If changing this setting does not seem to affect the darkness of the prints, continue with the next suggestion below.
5
Change the
Contrast
 setting. The
Contrast
 setting is also accessed by selecting the
Copy
 menu, then selecting
Advanced Imaging
.
  1. Press the
    Copy
     button.
  2. Press
    Options
    .
  3. Press
    Advanced Imaging
    .
  4. Press the right arrow icon and increase the
    Contrast
     setting to
    4
    .
    NOTE:
    5
     is the highest possible setting.
  5. Press the
    Done
     button once to save the new value for this setting.
  6. Press the home icon to return the printer back to the ready screen.
  7. Try printing again. If changing this setting does not seem to affect the darkness of the prints, continue with the next suggestion below.
6
Change the
Shadow Detail
 setting. The
Shadow Detail
 setting is also accessed by selecting the
Copy
 menu, then selecting
Advanced Imaging
.
  1. Press the
    Copy
     button.
  2. Press
    Options
    .
  3. Press
    Advanced Imaging
    .
  4. Press the left arrow icon and decrease the
    Shadow Detail
     setting.
    NOTE:
     Try lowering this setting in increments of
    2
    . The lowest possible setting is
    -4
    .
  5. Press the
    Done
     button once to save the new value for this setting.
  6. Press the home icon to return the printer back to the ready screen.
  7. Try printing again.
7
If changing these settings does not correct the issue, a service action may be required. Return any settings changed to their original values.
Please contact Lexmark Technical Support or a local authorized service provider for additional assistance or to arrange a service action.
If the issue persists, search for more information related to this issue or contact support for further assistance.
LEGACY ID:
SO4682

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