Kyocera ECOSYS P5026cdw Poor print quality

Hi everyone,I’m hoping someone has encountered a similar issue. My printer has started printing poorly. I’ve noticed artifacts appearing on the output—especially on light areas. When printing colored images, they come out very dark. For example, on a blue sky, I’m seeing gray pixel-like artifacts, similar to what you’d see in Minecraft.


I’ve attached a photo of the printout for reference. I’ve tried a basic cleaning cycle, but the problem persists. Any advice on what might be causing this or how to fix it would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks in advance!

Oleg67 said:

how to fix it would be greatly appreciated!

Click to expand...

Have you tried to print a nozzle check or whatever it’s called on your printer.
When you do post it up here please…

Oleg67 said:

Hi everyone,I’m hoping someone has encountered a similar issue. My printer has started printing poorly. I’ve noticed artifacts appearing on the output—especially on light areas. When printing colored images, they come out very dark. For example, on a blue sky, I’m seeing gray pixel-like artifacts, similar to what you’d see in Minecraft.


I’ve attached a photo of the printout for reference. I’ve tried a basic cleaning cycle, but the problem persists. Any advice on what might be causing this or how to fix it would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

Hi @Oleg67
This is not a printer quality issue. It is not an ink nozzle issue as you have a laser color printer.
The issue you're experiencing is likely due to using the incorrect setting when printing. I am not an expert on all the modes and settings available, yet I can recreate your image in Photoshop with a curves adjustment Layer, which I included with the resulting image. Its similar to a grayscale mode with extremely low contrast yet I would not be surprised if there are other ways to create the problem:



I suggest you read the possible options below and check your settings.
Just a quick suggestion
John Wheeler

PS - the strange blocking comes from the JPEG compression algorithms that block things up when the colors/tones are very similar to each other in the same vicinity.

Kyocera ECOSYS P5026cdw – Printing Options

Print Modes & Options

1. Full Color

- Supports full four‑color (CMYK) printing at up to 1200 × 1200 dpi.
- Print speeds equal for mono and color: approximately 26 ppm for
A4/Letter.

2. Grayscale or Black‑and‑White Options (Driver Tools)

- Print text as black: Forces colored text to black only.
- Print grays with black toner: Renders grayscale with black toner
only.
- Print graphics as black: Converts all graphics to black-only output.
- Contrast control: Adjustable from –100 (low contrast) to +100 (high
contrast).

3. Color Conversion Priority (KPDL mode)

- Printer settings: Uses device defaults.
- Speed priority: Optimized for RGB data (faster output).
- Quality priority: Optimized for full-color data (better fidelity).

Summary Table

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirement Setting / Behavior
------------------------ ----------------------------------------------
Full-color printing Default; CMYK, 1200 dpi, ~26 ppm

Text only in black Enable “Print text as black” (driver)

Grayscale in black only Enable “Print grays with black toner”

All graphics in black Select “Print graphics as black” with
Color=Black

Gray contrast control Adjust Contrast slider (–100 to +100)

Optimize speed Use Color Conversion: Speed or Quality
vs. quality priority
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

How to Access Settings - Windows: Control Panel → Devices and Printers →
Right‑click P5026cdw → Printing Preferences → Imaging or Basic tab. -
LCD panel: Some job-accounting and restrictions available, but driver
provides full control.

Final Takeaway - Supports true CMYK color printing. - Black‑and‑white
modes are available via driver (text only, graphics, or grays in
black). - Additional tools let you adjust gray contrast and balance
speed vs. quality.