Every other line prints lighter on my Canon TR7020a printer.

[make_it_simple]

I looked on here, downloaded things I don't think I need, changed the intensity and still every other line prints lighter. 

It's not an over used printer. I used it today for eight pages, earlier this week printed a card and probably a month a go printed a few pages so it's used sporadically. 

Your knowledge is welcome and thank you.

[JayC1]

Hi make_it_simple! Thanks for posting in the Canon Community Forum. I see that the prints from your PIXMA TR7020 are coming out streaky (missing lines or sections).

Before you start troubleshooting, it is best to check the ink levels. If a level has dropped to Low, you can consider replacing the cartridge. If the cartridge is empty, we recommend replacing it immediately. For instructions that will hep you check the ink level, please visit the following page of the online manual for your printer:

https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/Manual/All/TR7000%20series/EN/UG/ug-128.html

We do recommend that you use our inkjet printers (like your TR7020) often. This keeps the ink in the nozzles fresh. When the printer sits unused for long periods of time, the ink in the nozzles can dry and clog.

This happens because ink has alcohol in it. The ink in the nozzles can get exposed to air and start to evaporate over time leaving behind a sticky clog. When you start seeing streaks or missing sections in your prints, you should print a nozzle check pattern to check if you are dealing with a clog. Instructions for printing the nozzle check pattern can be found in the following page of the manual:

https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/Manual/All/TR7000%20series/EN/UG/ug-133.html

The nozzle check should have a PGBK section at the top for the Pigment Black ink that is used when printing text on documents. The other section has the inks that are used when printing colored images: Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y), and Black (BK). The following page of the manual shows you how to look at the pattern to determine if there is an issue:

https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/Manual/All/TR7000%20series/EN/UG/ug-134.html

After the pattern is printed, the display on the printer should ask you to make a choice between “All A” (a good pattern) and “Also B” (problems with the pattern). If the pattern you printed looks good, you can choose All A. If you see missing lines or streaks of white in your pattern, it would be best to choose Also B.

After you choose Also B, you will have the option to Clean the Print Head Nozzles. You can select Yes to start cleaning the print head to clear out the clogs in the nozzles. When the Cleaning operation is complete, you will be asked if you want to print another pattern. You should print that pattern to check for improvement.

If there is improvement, you can wait an hour or two and do another cleaning. Waiting an hour give the ink time to soak through the clog (like Drano) and loosen it. You can select the “Cleaning” option from the printer’s Maintenance menu as well. The steps can be found in this page:

https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/Manual/All/TR7000%20series/EN/UG/ug-135.html

Once the pattern looks good, you should be able to print without issues. If there is no improvement after a Cleaning, we recommend you do a Deep Cleaning. You can select Also B, and then choose No. When you return to the Maintenance menu, you can choose the Deep Cleaning option. If you accidentally got out of the menu, the following page in the manual shows you how to do a Deep Cleaning.

https://ij.manual.canon/ij/webmanual/Manual/All/TR7000%20series/EN/UG/ug-136.html

After the Deep Cleaning is complete, you should print a nozzle check pattern to see if there is improvement. If the issue is not resolved, please wait at least 4 hours (but no more than 24 hours) and do another Deep Cleaning. It’s best to wait between 4 and 6 hours to give the ink time to soak through the clog line Drano and loosen it. You can do more Deep Cleanings (4-6 hours apart) if you continue to see improvement.

If you do not see improvement at any point after the third Deep Cleaning, it’s likely that the clog is too dry to fix.

The printer does come with a one-year warranty. If you purchased a warranty extension directly from Canon on or around the date of purchase and cleaning the print head does not help, I recommend that you create a Canon Account, register the printer, and call us at 1-800-652-2666. Our agents are available Monday through Friday from 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 PM Eastern time.

You can create your Canon Account and register the printer at the following website:

https://myprofile.americas.canon.com/us/signin

If the warranty has expired and cleanings don’t help, it may be more cost effective to purchase a replacement than to pay someone to fix your printer. Through our Canon Upgrade Program, we can offer you a discount and free shipping on a new printer. If you are interested in that, please call (866) 443-8002 from 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. (Eastern Time), Monday through Friday to speak with one of our sales agents who would be happy to help you.

I hope this information helps. Thanks for choosing Canon.

[make_it_simple]

Mine does this all the time and the info in the manual didn't help at all.

Try this - When you click Print a new window comes up, look for Printer Properties, then a tab Paper Quality, choose either Better or Best. This is on Word. 

I see this most often - a new window where you will find further down the page, More Settings which opens it up further and click print using system dialog, this opens a new window and at the bottom left (on mine) click More Settings where you will again see a tab Paper Quality and choose Better or Best.

I would think there’d be an option besides Draft to print every page, maybe it's to save ink. If there is a way to set it to Better printing to begin with I haven’t found it. Hope this helps.