Check the Print Quality

If faded or streaked colours and text appear or if text is missing on your printouts, the print head nozzles may be clogged. Print the Print Quality Check Sheet and look at the nozzle check pattern.

DCP-T310/DCP-T510W/DCP-T710W/MFC-T810W

  1. Press Menu.
  2. Press or to select the following:
    1. Select [Maintenance]. Press OK.
    2. Select [ImproveQuality]. Press OK.
    3. Select [Check Quality]. Press OK.
  3. Press Colour Start.
    The machine prints the Print Quality Check Sheet.
  4. Check the quality of the four colour blocks on the sheet.
  5. The LCD asks about the print quality. Do one of the following:
    • If all lines are clear and visible, press to select [Yes].

      Press Stop/Exit to finish the Print Quality check.

    • If lines are missing (see Poor, below), press to select [No].

      OK (DCP-T310/DCP-T510W)

      Poor (DCP-T310/DCP-T510W)

      OK (DCP-T710W/MFC-T810W)

      Poor (DCP-T710W/MFC-T810W)

  6. The LCD asks you to check the print quality of each colour. Press or to select one of the patterns that most closely matches the printing result, and then press OK.

    Refer to the sample below to check the print quality.

    DCP-T310/DCP-T510W

    Patterns

    Print Quality

    None

    A Few

    About Half

    Many

    DCP-T710W/MFC-T810W

    Patterns

    Print Quality

    None

    A Few

    About Half

    Many

  7. Do one of the following:
    • If print head cleaning is needed, press Colour Start to start the cleaning procedure.
    • If print head cleaning is not needed, press Stop/Exit to finish the Print Quality check.
  8. After the cleaning procedure is finished, press . Then, press Colour Start.
    The machine prints the Print Quality Check Sheet again. Check the quality of the four colour blocks on the sheet again.
If you clean the print head at least five times and the print has not improved, try cleaning the print head again up to three more times. If the print has not improved, contact Brother customer service or your local Brother dealer.
IMPORTANT
DO NOT touch the print head. Touching the print head may cause permanent damage and may void the print head's warranty.
When a print head nozzle is clogged, the printed sample looks like this.

After the print head nozzle is cleaned, the horizontal lines are gone.

MFC-T910DW

  1. Press Settings.
  2. Press or to select the following:
    1. Select [General Setup]. Press OK.
    2. Select [Maintenance]. Press OK.
    3. Select [Impr. PrintQuality]. Press OK.
    4. Select [Impr. PrintQuality] again. Press OK.
  3. Press .
    The machine prints the Print Quality Check Sheet.
  4. Check the quality of the four colour blocks on the sheet.
  5. The LCD asks about the print quality. Do one of the following:
    • If all lines are clear and visible, press to select [No].

      The Print Quality check finishes.

    • If lines are missing (see Poor, below), press to select [Yes].

      OK

      Poor

  6. The LCD asks you to check the print quality of each colour. Press or to select the pattern (1–4) that most closely matches the printing result, and then press OK.
  7. Do one of the following:
    • If print head cleaning is needed, press to start the cleaning procedure.
    • If print head cleaning is not needed, the Ink or Maintenance screen reappears on the LCD.
  8. After the cleaning procedure is finished, the LCD asks if you want to check the print quality again.

    Press [Yes] to start the print quality check.

  9. Press again.
    The machine prints the Print Quality Check Sheet again. Check the quality of the four colour blocks on the sheet again.
If you clean the print head at least five times and the print has not improved, try cleaning the print head again up to three more times. If the print has not improved, contact Brother customer service or your local Brother dealer.
IMPORTANT
DO NOT touch the print head. Touching the print head may cause permanent damage and may void the print head's warranty.
When a print head nozzle is clogged, the printed sample looks like this.

After the print head nozzle is cleaned, the horizontal lines are gone.