Brother Print Quality Issues

Faint Check the machine’s environment. Conditions such as humidity, high temperatures, and so on, may cause this print fault. Check the machine’s environment. Conditions such as humidity, high temperatures, and so on, may cause this print fault. If the whole page is too light, Toner Save mode may be on. Turn off Toner Save mode in the machine’s menu settings or in the printer Properties of the driver. If this problem occurs when making copies or printing received faxes, turn off Toner Save mode in the machine’s menu setting. Clean the scanner window and the primary corona wire of the drum unit. If the print quality has not improved, put in a new drum unit. Put in a new toner cartridge.

Gray background Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. Check the machine’s environment. Conditions such as high temperatures and high humidity can increase the amount of background shading. Install a new toner cartridge Clean the primary corona wire and the drum unit. If the print quality has not improved, put in a new drum unit.

Ghost Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. Rough-surfaced paper or thick paper may cause this problem. Make sure that you choose the proper media type in the printer driver or in the machine’s Paper Type menu setting. Put in a new drum unit

Toner specks Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. Rough-surfaced paper may cause the problem. Clean the primary corona wire and the drum unit. (See Cleaning the corona wire on page 130 and Cleaning the drum unit on page 131.) If the print quality has not improved, put in a new drum unit.

Hollow print Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications.Choose Thick paper mode in the printer driver or in the machine’s Paper Type menu setting, or use thinner paper than you are currently using. Check the machine’s environment. Conditions such as high humidity can cause hollow print Clean the primary corona wire on the drum unit. (See Cleaning the corona wire on page 130.) If the print quality has not improved, put in a new drum unit.

All black Clean the primary corona wire on the drum unit. (See Cleaning the corona wire on page 130.) If the print quality has not improved, put in a new drum unit. The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit.

Black Spots at 3.7 in. (94 mm) intervals White Spots on black text and graphics at 3.7 in. (94 mm) intervals Dust, paper powder, glue, and so on may stick to the surface of the photosensitive drum (OPC) and cause black or white spots to appear on printed documents. Make a few copies of a blank, white sheet of paper. If you still see the spots on printed documents after making multiple copies, clean the drum unit.If the print quality still has not improved you need to install a new drum.

Black Spots Clean the drum unit.If the print quality still has not improved you need to install a new drum.  Caused by defective wiper blade or electrical fault in the drum.

Black toner marks across the page Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications If you use label sheets for laser printers, the glue from the sheets may sometimes stick to the OPC drum surface. Clean the drum unit. Do not use paper that has clips or staples because they will scratch the surface of the drum. If the unpacked drum unit is in direct sunlight or room light, the unit may be damaged. The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit.

White lines across the page Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. A rough surfaced paper or thick print media can cause the problem. Make sure that you choose the proper media type in the printer driver or in the machine’s Paper Type menu setting. The problem may disappear by itself. Print multiple pages to clear this problem, especially if the machine has not been used for a long time. Clean the scanner window with a soft cloth. The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit.

Lines across the page Clean the primary corona wire in the drum unit. Clean the scanner window with a soft cloth. The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit.

Black lines down the page Printed pages have toner stains or stripes down the page Clean the primary corona wire of the drum unit. Make sure the primary corona wire’s blue tab is at the home position (a). The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. The toner cartridge may be damaged. Put in a new toner cartridge. The fuser unit may be smudged. Call Customer Service

White lines down the page Clean the laser scanner window with a soft cloth. The toner cartridge may be damaged. Put in a new toner cartridge.

Page skewed Make sure the paper or other print media is loaded properly in the paper tray and that the guides are not too tight or too loose against the paper stack. Set the paper guides correctly. If you are using the MP tray, see Loading envelopes and other media The paper tray may be too full. Check the paper type and quality.

Curled or wave Check the paper type and quality. High temperatures and high humidity will cause paper to curl. If you do not use the machine often, the paper may have been in the paper tray too long. Turn over the stack of paper in the paper tray. Also, fan the paper stack and then rotate the paper 180° in the paper tray.

Wrinkles or creases Make sure that paper is loaded properly. Check the paper type and quality. Turn over the stack of paper in the tray or rotate the paper 180° in the input tray.

Envelope creases Open the back cover. Press against the "1" on the blue levers on either side of the machine As the top of the lever rotates backward, lift the bottom portion of the lever from below until it stops. Close the back cover and resend the print job.

Poor fixing Open the back cover and make sure that the two blue levers on the left and right hand sides are in the down position.