MFC-990CW

FAQs & Troubleshooting

FAQs & Troubleshooting
  • Date: 01/20/2011
  • ID: faq00000735_015

Cleaning the print head.

To maintain good print quality, the machine will automatically clean the print head when needed. You can also complete the cleaning process manually if there is a print quality issue, such as horizontal lines in text, blank text or faded print. You can clean Black only, three colors (Cyan/Yellow/Magenta) at a time or all four colors at once.


Cleaning the print head consumes ink. Cleaning too often uses ink unnecessarily.

 

Do the following to clean the print head:

*If your Brother machine has a touchscreen, please follow the steps under "For touchscreen models" below.

  1. Do one of the following:

    - If your Brother machine has the INK key on its control panel, press the INK key.

    - If not:
    1. Press the MENU key.

    2. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select Ink.

    3. Press the OK key.

  2. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select Cleaning.

  3. Press the OK key.

  4. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select BLACK, COLOR or ALL depending on what you want to clean.

  5. Press the OK key.
<For touchscreen models>

  1. Press Image or (Ink indicator).

  2. Press Cleaning.

  3. Select BLACK, COLOR or ALL depending on what you want to clean.

The machine will clean the print head. When cleaning is finished, the machine will go back to Ready automatically. If you are experiencing a print quality issue, we recommend you repeat the print head cleaning for each color showing an issue at least four (4) times.


If you are experiencing a print quality issue and want to see if the cleanings are improving the print quality, print a Print Quality Check Sheet (PQCS) after the first cleaning and then print another PQCS after repeating the print head cleaning steps at least three (3) more times (4 total cleanings). You can then compare the two Print Quality Check Sheets.


Do the following to print a Print Quality Check Sheet:

*If your Brother machine has a touchscreen, please follow the steps under "For touchscreen models" below.

  1. Do one of the following:

    - If your Brother machine has the INK key on its control panel, press the INK key.

    - If not:
    1. Press the MENU key.

    2. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select Ink.

    3. Press the OK key.

  2. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select Test Print.

  3. Press the OK key.

  4. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select Print Quality.

  5. Press the OK key.

  6. Press the COLOR START key.
<For touchscreen models>

  1. Press Image or (Ink indicator).

  2. Press Test Print.

  3. Press Print Quality.

  4. Press the COLOR START key.
The machine will generate the Print Quality Check Sheet (PQCS). On the PQCS each of the four colors is represented by a slanted square pattern. The colors should appear (from left to right): Black - Yellow - Cyan - Magenta. Cyan is the light blue color and Magenta is the pinkish color.

Related FAQs

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-165C, DCP-375CW, DCP-385C, DCP-395CN, DCP-585CW, MFC-250C, MFC-255CW, MFC-290C, MFC-295CN, MFC-490CW, MFC-495CW, MFC-5490CN, MFC-5890CN, MFC-5895CW, MFC-6490CW, MFC-6890CDW, MFC-790CW, MFC-795CW, MFC-990CW

Content Feedback

To help us improve our support, please provide your feedback below.

Step 1: How does the information on this page help you?

Step 2: Are there any comments you would like to add?

Please note this form is used for feedback only.

Submit