MFC-J880DW

FAQs & Troubleshooting

Improve poor print quality

Brother strongly recommends that customers use only genuine Brother ink for best results. Using non-Brother supplies may affect the hardware performance, print quality and machine reliability since the ink formulation in genuine Brother ink cartridges prevent smearing and clogging of the print head. The Brother limited warranty does not apply to any issue that was caused by the use of third party ink and/or cartridges.
> Click here for more information about Genuine Brother Supplies.

Cleaning the four colour print heads (black, cyan, magenta and yellow) or adjusting the vertical alignment may improve the print quality.

If your printed pages have a horizontal line in the text or graphics (as shown in the illustration below) or blank text, some of the nozzles may be clogged and need to be cleaned. Go to Section 1 for instructions on how to print the Print Quality Check sheet and clean the clogged print head.

Changing the print quality setting in the printer driver to "Fine" may also improve the print quality.
If your printed pages have text that becomes blurred or images that become faded (as shown in the illustration below), you may need to adjust the print alignment. Go to Section 2 for instructions on how to print the Alignment Check sheet and adjust the print alignment.

Section 1: Checking the print quality and cleaning the print head

NOTE: Illustrations shown below are from a representative product and may differ from your Brother machine.

Press (Ink) > Improve Print Quality > Check Print Quality.

You can also press (Settings) > Maintenance > Improve Print Quality > Check Print Quality.
Press Start. The machine begins to print the Print Quality Check Sheet.
Check the quality of the four colour blocks on the sheet.
The machine's screen (LCD) asks about the print quality.
Do one of the following:
- If all lines are clear and visible, press No to finish the Print Quality check and go to STEP 11.
- If lines are missing as shown below, press Yes.
The LCD asks you to check the print quality of each colour. Follow the instructions on the LCD and press 1, 2, 3, or 4 that most closely matches the printing result.
If you press 2, 3 or 4, the LCD prompts you to start cleaning. Press Start.
After the cleaning procedure has finished, a message asking you to check the Print Quality appears. Press Yes.
Press Start. The machine starts printing the Print Quality Check sheet again.
When the Print Quality Check sheet has been printed out, check the quality of the four colour blocks on the sheet again.
The LCD will ask about the print quality.
Do one of the following based on the print quality of the check sheet:
- If all lines are clear and visible, select No to finish the Print Quality check and go to STEP 11.
- If the print quality continues to be poor, press (Home) and contact Brother Customer Service from the "Contact Us".
Cleaning the print head consumes ink. If the print quality continues to be poor, contact Brother Customer Service from the "Contact Us".
Press (Home).

Section 2: Checking the Print Alignment

Press (Ink) > Improve Print Quality > Alignment.

You can also press (Settings) > Maintenance > Improve Print Quality > Alignment.
Press Next, and then press Start.
The machine starts printing the Alignment Check Sheet.
For the (A) pattern, press Up or Down to display the number of the test print with the fewest visible vertical stripes (1-9), and then press it (in the example above, row number 6 is the best choice). Press OK.
Repeat the previous step for the rest of the patterns.

If the print alignment is not adjusted correctly, text looks blurry or crooked, as shown in the illustration below.

After the print alignment is adjusted correctly, text looks as shown in the illustration below.
Press (Home).