Model discontinued. This page is no longer updated.

When receiving a 1 page fax, why does the fax print on 2 pages or a blank sheet ejects afterwards?

When receiving a fax, your Brother machine automatically allows space at the top of the page for header information, such as the date and time, the sender's name, and the sender's Station ID. The contents of the document are printed beneath this space.

Sometimes, even though the entire document prints on one page, your Brother machine has already started processing a second page by the time it receives the end-of-transmission signal from the sending machine. Because the Brother machine allows this extra space at the top of the page for the header, a blank page is ejected along with the printed page.

In order to stop this from occurring, you can program your Brother machine to automatically reduce the size of an incoming fax to fit on one page of A4, Letter, or Legal (if applicable) size paper.


This setting is called Auto Reduction, and you can turn it on by following these steps:


  1. Press the Menu/Set key.
  2. Press the Up or Down arrow key until FAX appears on the LCD and press Menu/Set.
  3. Press the Up or Down arrow key until SETUP RECEIVE appears and press Menu/Set.
  4. Press the Up or Down arrow key until AUTO REDUCTION appears and press Menu/Set.
  5. Press the Up or Down arrow key until ON (or OFF) appears and press Menu/Set.
  6. Press Stop/Exit.

You can use three paper sizes for printing faxes and copies: Letter, Legal (if applicable), and A4.

When you change the size of the paper you have loaded in your Brother machine, you must also change the Paper Size setting so your Brother machine can fit incoming faxes on the page.


To set your Brother machine's Paper Size, follow these steps:


  1. Press the Menu/Set key.
  2. Press the Up or Down arrow key until GENERAL SETUP appears on the LCD and press Menu/Set.
  3. Press the Up or Down arrow key until PAPER SIZE appears and press Menu/Set.
  4. Press the Up or Down arrow key until the paper size you are using appears (LETTER or LEGAL) and then press Menu/Set.
  5. Press Stop/Exit.

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-1800C, FAX-2800, FAX-2900, FAX-3800, MFC-3100C, MFC-3200C, MFC-4420C, MFC-4800, MFC-4820C, MFC-5100C, MFC-5200C, MFC-6800

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