Model discontinued. This page is no longer updated.

FAX-1940CN

FAQs & Troubleshooting

FAQs & Troubleshooting

One or more of my colors are not printing (blank). What can I do?

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 and/or cartridges.
> Brother Genuine Supplies information


 

If one or more of the ink colors is missing from pages printed by your machine (received faxes, copies and/or documents printed from the PC), nozzles or ink jet in the print head may be clogged, or the ink cartridge in question may not be installed correctly. Verifying that the ink cartridges are installed correctly and/or cleaning the print head may resolve this problem.

 


To verify the ink cartridges are installed correctly follow the steps listed below:

  1. Close the black document support located on the top of the machine and the light gray document tray located in the front of the machine. Lift the machine's top cover by pulling up on its right corner until it locks securely into place.

  2. Remove the ink cartridge that is not printing by pulling the white plastic hook (locked over the edge of the ink cartridge) toward you, then lifting the cartridge out.

  3. Reinstall the ink cartridge. Press down FIRMLY on the top of the cartridge until it is fully seated. Push the white plastic hook towards the cartridge to verify it is fully latched over the cartridge's top edge.

  4. Lift the scanner cover to release the lock and gently push the scanner cover support down to close the cover.

  5. The fax machine should begin cleaning automatically, and the LCD will alternately show "CLEANING" and "PLEASE WAIT". When the fax machine completes its cleaning cycle, the LCD will display the date and time. Print the Print Quality Check Sheet and see if all colors are present:

    1. Press the Ink, Ink/Reports, Ink Management/Reports or Ink Management key.
    2. Use the up or down navigation key to select TEST PRINT.
    3. Press Menu/Set to confirm your choice.
    4. Use the up or down navigation key to select PRINT QUALITY.
    5. Press Menu/Set to confirm your choice. Press the Color(Colour) Start key to print the Test Sheet.

If one or more of the colors is still missing from the printed page, cleaning the print head may resolve this problem. When cleaning the print head, you are given the option to clean BLACK ONLY, three colors at a time (CYAN, YELLOW, and MAGENTA), or all four colors at once. For this issue we recommend cleaning only the affected color. If more than one color is missing then select ALL. Follow the steps listed below to clean the print head:

 

Cleaning the Print Head

  1. Press the Ink, Ink/Reports, Ink Management/Reports or Ink Management key.

  2. Use the up or down navigation key to select CLEANING.

  3. Press Menu/Set to confirm your choice.

  4. Use the up or down navigation key to select the color that is not printing
    -OR-
    Select ALL if more than one color is not printing.

  5. Press Menu/Set to confirm you choice.

  6. The machine should begin cleaning automatically, and the LCD will alternately show "CLEANING" and "PLEASE WAIT". When the machine completes its cleaning cycle, the LCD will display the date and time.

  7. Test by printing the "Print Quality Check Sheet":

    1. Press the Ink, Ink/Reports, Ink Management/Reports or Ink Management key.
    2. Use the up or down navigation key to select TEST PRINT.
    3. Press Menu/Set to confirm your choice.
    4. Use the up or down navigation key to select PRINT QUALITY.
    5. Press Menu/Set to confirm your choice. Press the Color(Colour) Start key to print the Test Sheet.

If one or more of the ink colors is still missing from the printed page, repeat the print head cleaning steps listed above up to 4 more times. After each cleaning, print the Print Quality Check Sheet to see if there is any improvement.

If the problem continues, please contact Brother Customer Service from "Contact Us".

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

FAX-1840C, FAX-1940CN, MFC-3240C, MFC-3340CN

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