Brother Printer Color Not Working? Techniques to Fix It
Brother is an established name in the printer market. It offers its range of printer models in various countries. However, none can ignore the fact that these high-performing printers can also face various issues at regular points of time. Brother printer color not working is one of the issues that many of its users commonly face. The printer prints only black and white, which often leaves users wondering about its cause.
But there’s no need to think that there’s no way to troubleshoot this issue. In this article, you’ll find out all the reasons why your printer is behaving in this manner. Furthermore, you’ll learn about some effective resolutions for it.
Why is Brother Printer Color Not Working?
There can be a host of causes behind Brother printer not printing color. You will understand the troubleshooting techniques better when you know about all these causes.
- The colored ink cartridges are empty.
- You have not installed the colored ink cartridges correctly.
- The printhead is blocked.
- Clogged nozzles in the printhead.
Fixes for Brother Printer Color Not Working?
You can make your Brother printer work effectively again by following a series of resolutions. Essentially, it involves troubleshooting the causes you’ve read about.
1. Examine the print quality and clean the printer’s printhead
Note that cleaning the printhead can consume a lot of ink. Also, when you are cleaning it, do not touch the printhead as it can result in permanent damage.
- Firstly, hit the ‘Ink’ icon.
- Hit’ Test Print.’
- Next, press ‘Print Quality.’
- Now hit ‘OK.’ You will find a Print Quality Check Sheet getting printed.
- Inspect the quality of the blocks on the sheet.
- The LCD display will ask you if the quality is fine. Choose ‘No’ if you see short or missing lines.
- The cleaning process will start and finish. Press’ OK.’
- Check the quality of the blocks in another Print Quality Check Sheet.
- Lastly, press ‘Home.’
2. Install a genuine Brother printer ink cartridge
If, even after implementing the above procedure, your Brother printer not printing color, you can try installing a genuine Brother ink cartridge. It will fix print quality problems. After that, clean the printhead once more.
3. Check the ink level in your printer.
It might be that the color ink levels are very low. You can follow the points below to examine the ink levels on your Brother printing device.
- Go to the printer and hit the ‘Menu’ button.
- Scroll through the options you see by using the buttons Up and Down.
- When you see the printer displaying ‘Ink Management,’ hit ‘OK.’
- Scroll through all the options and hit ‘OK’ when you see the ink volume displayed on the printer’s screen.
- You can also do this by opening the small door that covers the ink cartridges and examining them individually.
- If you find the ink levels too low or empty cartridges, you should replace the ink cartridge. It will fix the issue.
4. Install the colored ink cartridge correctly.
Many users will find their Brother printer color not working if they haven’t installed the color ink cartridges properly. In such a scenario, their printer will only print black and white. So, there’s a need to take away the ink cartridge and install it properly again. You can follow the steps below for the same.
- Open the door that’s covering the ink cartridge of the printer.
- Take away every cartridge. Do it by pushing down the color levers.
- At this time, you need to keep your printing machine turned on. It will enable it to detect the ink after you install the ink cartridge.
- Put every ink cartridge in its place as per its color. Ensure that you are inserting the cartridge from the arrow label present on it.
- The printer will give you a confirmatory message when you install every ink cartridge. For instance, if you install a magenta ink cartridge, it will ask you, ‘Did you change magenta?. Choose ‘Yes’ to this answer with every ink cartridge you install.
- Close the cover door after you install all the ink cartridges.
- Now, try printing, and see if the printer is printing in color.
Tips to follow to prevent the problem of printer color not working
Although the techniques above will help you resolve the problem, you can also prevent the occurrence of this issue. Here are some tips to keep in mind.
- Do not unplug the machine or leave it unplugged frequently.
- To ensure premium print quality, the Brother printer automatically cleans the printhead. When you
- unplug the machine, it’ll fail to complete the cleaning that ensures the ink doesn’t dries up.
- Always use the on/off button to turn down the printer. It allows less power to the printer and ensures regular cleaning of the printhead.
How to Get Your Brother Printer Print Black and White in Windows?
Are you a Windows user looking to make your Brother printer print in black and white? You can follow the steps below.
- Tap the ‘Start’ button. After that, choose ‘Control Panel’ followed by ‘Devices and Printer.’
- Now, choose your Brother printer model so that you can view its properties. After doing so, hit the option ‘Printing Preferences.’
- You will notice a ‘Color/Mono’ box on your screen. Tap it and then choose ‘Mono.’
- Now click ‘Apply’ followed by ‘OK.’ It will save the changes in the settings.
- Now, all your printing jobs will be monochrome.
- If you want the settings for a specific job, tap ‘Print Options’ from the application you desire to print.
- Then tap ‘Properties.’
- You will find a ‘Color/Mono’ box. Tap it and select ‘Mono.’
- Now, instead of ‘OK,’ tap ‘Print.’
How to Get Your Brother Printer Print Black and White in Mac?
Mac users can also make their Brother printer print in black and white only. Just follow the points below.
From your print application, hit ‘File.’ After that, click ‘Print.’
Now choose ‘Print Settings.’
Choose ‘Mono’ from the box of ‘Color/Mono.’
Save the setting. You must save it as preset.
For saving the setting as preset, tap the ‘Preset Menu’ and choose ‘Save current settings as a preset.’
Input the desired name for it and tap ‘OK.’
Final Words
Now you won’t feel troubled when you notice your Brother printer color not working. The fixes mentioned are quite easy to implement. Also, keep the tips in mind to prevent this problem from occurring in the future. If you feel the need to get quick assistance, reach out for expert Brother printer technical support services. The professionals will make your printer work efficiently, and you’ll be able to get color printouts.