DCP-385C

FAQs & Troubleshooting

FAQs & Troubleshooting

When I print photos, the colour quality is not good.

When printing photos, there are various factors that can affect the quality of the printed image including: the brand of paper, colour mixing, generic ink supplies, driver settings and improper drying. The steps listed below will help to enhance the photos image quality .

 

 

 

StepA : Checking the print quality

  1. Print a Print Quality Check Sheet.

     

    1. Press Menu.(This step might be skipped in some models.)
       
    2. Press Ink or Ink Management.
       
    3. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to choose Test Print. Press OK.
       
    4. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to choose Print Quality. Press OK.
       
    5. Press Color (Colour) Start or Start. The machine begins printing the Print Quality Check Sheet.

     

  2. Compare the print quality of the Check Sheet you just printed with the examples listed below:

    (A) Mixing colours
     
    image

     

    (B) Missing colours
     
    image

     

    (C) Normal
     
    image

     

  3. If the Check Sheet is normal, go to stepB. If your Check Sheet is mixing colours or missing colours, you need to clean the print head. Please refer to "How can I improve poor print quality?"

    If mixing colours or missing colours are improved with head cleaning, please print your image again and check the print quality.

    If there is still a print quality issue, go to stepB.

 

 

StepB : Colour Enhancement

 

 

For PC printing
Depending on the current settings in the printer driver, you can make changes to the settings to improve print quality:

 

- For Windows users

  1. Open Printing Preferences. (Click here to see the details of how to open Printing Preferences.)
     
  2. On the Basic tab, you may adjust the following settings:

     

    • Media Type: To achieve the best print results, the media being printed on should be selected in the driver. The machine changes the way it prints depending on the selected media type.
       
    • Quality: The quality selection lets you choose the print resolution. As print quality and speed are related, the higher the quality, the longer it will take to print the document. The quality selections that are available will vary depending on the media type you choose.
       
    • Colour Mode: Colour is adjusted to get the closest colour match with the PC monitor.
      • Natural: Use for photographic images. The colour is adjusted to print more natural colours.
      • Vivid: Use for business graphics such as charts, graphics and text. The colour is adjusted to print more vivid colours.
         
  3. Click Apply.
  4. Click on the Advanced tab.
  5. Click Colour Settings.


     
  6. Check Colour Enhancement (True2Life®) and then adjust colour.
    This feature analyzes your image to improve its sharpness, white balance and colour density. This process may take several minutes depending on the size of the image and the specifications of your PC. With this option you may manually adjust the following settings:

     

    • Colour Density: Adjusts the total amount of colour in the image. You can increase or decrease the amount of colour in an image to improve a washed out or weak looking picture.
       
    • White Balance: Adjusts the hue of the white areas of an image. Lighting, camera settings and other influences will affect the appearance of white. The white areas of a picture may be slightly pink, yellow or some other colour. By adjusting the white balance you can adjust those white areas.
       
    • Brightness: Adjusts the brightness of the whole image. To lighten or darken the image, move the scroll bar to the right or left.
       
    • Contrast: Adjusts the contrast of an image. This will make darker areas darker and lighter areas lighter. Increase the contrast when you want an image to be clearer. Decrease the contrast when you want an image to be more subdued.
       
    • Red: Increases the intensity of Red in the image to make the image redder.
       
    • Green: Increases the intensity of Green in the image to make the image greener.
       
    • Blue: Increases the intensity of Blue in the image to make the image bluer.
       
  7. Click OK to close the windows.

- For Mac OS X users

  1. Open the Print dialogue. (Click here to see the details of how to open the Print dialogue.)
  2. In the Print dialogue box choose Print Settings.
  3. Click the Advanced button.
  4. Click the Colour Settings button.


     
  5. Check Colour Enhancement and then adjust the colour.
     

 

For Photo printing from a memory card or USB Flash memory drive

  1. Make sure you have put a memory card or USB Flash memory drive in the proper slot.
    Press Photo Capture .
  2. Press the up or down arrow key to choose View Photo(s). Press OK.
  3. Press the left or right arrow key to choose your photo.
  4. Set the number of copies.
  5. Repeat step 3 and step 4 until you have chosen all the photos.
  6. Press OK.
  7. Press the up or down arrow key to choose Colour Enhance or True2Life. Press OK.
  8. Press the left or right arrow key to choose On.
  9. Press the up or down arrow key to choose White Balance, Sharpness or Colour Density.
  10. Press the left or right arrow key to adjust the degree of the setting. Press OK.
  11. Press Color (Colour) Start to print.

 

Recommended ink type

  • Brother strongly recommends that customers do not use generic ink or refill their Brother ink cartridges. Using non-Brother supplies may affect the hardware performance, print quality and machine reliability since the ink formulation in genuine Brother ink cartridges prevents smearing and clogging of the print head. The Brother limited warranty does not apply to any problem that was caused by the use of unauthorized third party ink or cartridges.
    > Brother Genuine Supplies information

Paper types

  • Print quality is also affected by the type and brand of paper used as well as the selected print or copy resolution. In order to achieve optimum print quality, Brother Paper is recommended, but other brands may work depending on the type of document you are printing.

Proper paper handling after the page has been printed

  1. After the photo has finished printing, remove the photo immediately from the machine and place it on a flat surface to dry for 24 hours. Do not allow additional printed documents to lay on top of the photo while in the machines paper output tray.
  2. Do not place anything on top of the photo until after 24 hours. This can cause the picture not to dry properly.
  3. Do not place a photo in a photo album or a picture frame until after 24 hours. This can cause the picture not to dry properly.
 

 

 

If your question was not answered, have you checked other FAQs?

Have you checked the manuals?

If you need further assistance, please contact Brother customer service:

Related Models

DCP-385C, DCP-395CN, DCP-585CW, DCP-J515W, DCP-J715W, MFC-490CW, MFC-5890CN, MFC-5895CW, MFC-6490CW, MFC-J615W

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