Horizontal lines in color printouts...please help me out.
 

My PSC 2110 ticked me off for the last time, and while I didn't take a bat to it, I decided I needed a new AIO printer. Unfortunately I can't afford a great one, so I settled for the Wallyworld special.

However, my test printout leaves a lot to be desired. I'd like to know what exactly is causing the horizontal lines in the color printouts. This is very annoying. See http://www.jella.net/bin/scanner.jpg for a scanned image of the test printout. It's a large file, about 800k, I wanted you to be able to see what I am talking about. Also the black text has visible "softness" to it. If you focus on the woman and the pics above her, you can see what I am talking about. Could this be an alignment issue, or an issue with the cartridges? I am using, so far, the ones that came with the printer. I remember seeing this very same thing with my grandmother's Lexmark from the very beginning.

have you cleaned the print heads yet? it should have a way to do it in the manual.

Yeah, cleaning the print heads should do the trick. Also, the black softness MAY be from a dying/drying cartridge. If you have an extra, try replacing it.

"Softness" can be added in the scanning process but I'll assume the original is where you first noticed the problem.

It could be your paper type. High-fiber paper tends to lead ink where it wasn't intended. Try other paper, ideally glossy to see if it improves.

It could also be caused by choosing "glossy" as your paper type if it isn't really glossy paper.

It can also be caused by print processing trying to do photoshop-esque effects. Depends on the driver. I don't know yours but try playing with the advanced properties. Maybe reset to defaults in case anyone has been messing with things.

Of course, like the guys said first clean the print heads. It sometimes helps to slide a wet paper towel between the "platen" and the print head (where the paper goes). This can soften dried ink deposits and reduce the number of cleaning cycles needed. Saves a bunch of ink. Depends on the ink type as to whether water or alcohol is the best choice to wet the towel.