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Seaory S25 / S26 / S28 Streaks, Faded Prints or Wrong Colors: How to Fix Them
Seaory support · Print quality
Updated October 9, 2026
Color streaks, faded prints and colors that come out wrong look like three different problems, but they start with the same test. Print the test chart: if the chart looks good and your card does not, the printer is fine and the fix is in the design or the settings. If the chart looks bad too, it is the printer, the ribbon or the cards.
Quick answer
Streaks or smudges: ribbon supply tension −3 for lines across the middle of the card, +3 for lines at the leading or trailing edge. Faded: run a cleaning card and reset the image color settings to default. Wrong colors: reset image color to default, then send us the design file. Only on chip cards: lower the heating energy. Print coming off onto the badge sleeve: switch to PP or PETG sleeves.
Have an R330 or R660? Streaks on those printers are fixed differently. See streaks on the R330 / R660.
Start here: print the test chart
Printing preferences→Tool→Position Calibrate→Print Test Chart
Full walkthrough: How to print a test card. Then find your symptom below.
| What you see | Most likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Colored lines or smudges (red, green, blue, yellow), on the chart too | Ribbon tension | Fix 1 |
| Streaks only in the dark or black parts of your design | Design and heat | Fix 2 |
| Whole card faded or washed out | Dirty printhead, ribbon or color settings | Fix 3 |
| Colors wrong (green prints yellow, grays look muddy) | Image color settings or the file | Fix 4 |
| Red haze or poor print only on chip cards | Too much heat for that card | Fix 5 |
| Print transfers onto the plastic badge sleeve | Sleeve material | Fix 6 |
| One thin white line through the card | Printhead | White line guide |
| White strip along the short edge | Print position | White edge guide |
| Card comes out blank | Print position or printhead | Blank cards guide |
1
Streaks or smudges: adjust ribbon supply tension
First lift the ribbon cartridge and check the film is wound straight and snug on both spools. A loose or skewed ribbon straight out of the box causes streaks on its own. Then:
Printing preferences→Tool→Ribbon supply tension
Where the lines sit on the card tells you which way to go:
| Where the lines are | Change |
|---|---|
| Across the middle of the card | Lower the tension: −3 |
| At the leading or trailing edge | Raise the tension: +3 |
| The clear overlay is wrinkled | Lower the overlay (O) heating energy a few steps instead |
Print one card after each change. If the streaks come back after a few cards either way, set it back to 0 and contact us rather than going further.
2
Streaks only in dark areas of your design
The chart and our built-in templates print clean, but a black or very dark background picks up colored lines. Large solid dark areas are the hardest thing a direct-to-card printer does. Try in order:
- Ribbon supply tension −3 (Fix 1).
- Rotate 180° in Printing preferences, then print again.
- Lighten the background slightly, or break up the solid block with a texture or gradient.
Lowering the heat removes these lines, but too far makes the whole card pale. If you get stuck between the two, send us the design file and we will find settings that work for it.
3
Faded or washed out
- Run a cleaning card through the printer. Dust and residue on the printhead are a common cause. See how to clean your printer.
- Check the ribbon: 11011 for the S25, 17031 for the S26 and S28, and not years old.
- Reset the image color settings in Printing preferences to default if anyone has adjusted them.
- Use a fresh standard PVC card from a new pack.
- Still pale? Raise the heating energy a few steps (Printing preferences → Tool → Heating energy). If cards turn dark or the ribbon starts to stick, click Reset to return to the factory setting.
If a brand-new printer prints faded on the test chart, contact us. Something inside needs seating, and it is not a settings problem.
4
Wrong colors
Reset the image color settings to default, then print again. If the color is still off (a common one is a green that prints yellow), it is usually the file. Save the design in RGB with photos at full resolution, and print at 300 × 600 for the best image. Then send us the design file: we test it on the same printer and can adjust the color with you on a short screen-share.
5
Red haze or poor print on chip cards only
Chip and prox cards are not perfectly flat, and the default heat is set for plain PVC. Seaory's starting point is heating energy −50 and ribbon supply tension −3, then adjust from there. If you print chip cards every day, a retransfer printer gives a much cleaner result on them.
6
Print coming off onto the badge sleeve
Soft vinyl (PVC) badge sleeves can pull dye off the card surface. Switch to sleeves made of PP or PETG, and check the material before you buy a box.
Test one change at a time
Change one setting, print one card, look at it at arm's length. If you change three things at once you will not know which one helped, or which one to undo.
Supplies for this job
Bodno CC001 Cleaning Kit for S25 / S26 / S28
Seaory 11011 YMCKO Color Ribbon for S25
Seaory 17031 YMCKO Color Ribbon for S26 / S28
Still stuck?
Send these with your first message and we can skip a round
Most support cases take an extra day only because we have to ask for these. Attach them up front and we can usually give you the next step the same day.
- Printer model and serial number (label on the back of the printer)
- A screenshot of the printer information screen in the driver (firmware and driver version)
- A photo of the test chart (how to print it)
- A photo of the ribbon where it broke or stuck, and of the printed card
- Your card design file, and what cards you are printing on
- A short phone video of the problem happening, if it is a noise, a jam or a restart
Guide prepared with Seaory after-sales engineering from real Bodno support cases. Updated October 9, 2026. Applies to Seaory S25, S26 and S28 sold by Bodno.
