FAQs & Troubleshooting

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MFC-J480DW

FAQs & Troubleshooting

FAQs & Troubleshooting

MFC-J480DW

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Date: 30/10/2018 ID: faq00002538_016

When I print photos, the colour quality is not good.

When printing photos, there are five factors that can affect the quality of the printed image. The brand of paper, mixing colour, generic ink supplies, driver settings and improper drying. The steps listed below will help to enhance the photos image quality.

 

STEP A: Checking the print quality

  1. Print a Print Quality Check Sheet.

     

    1. Press Settings.
    2. Press the Up or Down arrow key to choose Ink/Maintenance, and then press OK.
    3. Press the Up or Down arrow key to choose Impr. PrintQuality, and then press OK.
    4. Press the Up or Down arrow key to choose Impr. PrintQuality again, and then press OK.
    5. Press Color (Colour) Start. The machine prints the Print Quality Check Sheet.
  2. Compare the print quality of Check Sheet you just printed with the examples listed below:

    (A) Mixing colours

    Mixing colors

     

    (B) Missing colours

    Missing colors

     

    (C) Normal

    Normal

     

  3. If Check Sheet is normal, go to STEP B. If your Check Sheet is mixing colours or missing colours, you need to clean print head.
    > Click here to see how to improve poor print quality.

    If mixing colours or missing colours are improved in head cleaning, you can print the Check Sheet again to verify.

    If there is still a printing quality, go to STEP B.

 

STEP B: Colour Enhancement

Depending on the current settings in the printer driver, you can make changes to the settings to improve print quality:

 

(Windows)

 

  1. Open Printing Preferences. (Click here to see how to open Printing Preferences.)
     
  2. Open Basic tab, you may adjust the following settings:

    Adjust settings

     

    • Media Type: To achieve the best print results, the correct media being printed on should be chosen in the driver. The machine changes the way it prints depending on the chosen media type.
       
    • Print Quality: The quality selection lets you choose the print resolution. As print quality and speed are related, the higher the quality, the longer it will take to print the document. The quality selections that are available will vary depending on the media type you choose.
       
    • Colour Mode: Colour is adjusted to get the closest colour match with the PC monitor.
      • Natural: Use for photographic images. The colour is adjusted to print more natural colours.
      • Vivid: Use for business graphics such as charts, graphics and text. The colour is adjusted to print more vivid colours.
  3. Click Apply.
     
  4. Click Advanced tab.
     
  5. Check Colour Enhancement (True2Life®) and then click Settings.

    Open Color Enhancement Settings

     

  6. Adjust colour.
    This feature analyses your image to improve its sharpness, white balance and colour density. This process may take several minutes depending on the size of the image and the specifications of your PC. With this option you may manually adjust the following settings:

    Adjust color

     

    • Colour Density: Adjusts the total amount of colour in the image. You can increase or decrease the amount of colour in an image to improve a washed out or weak looking picture.
       
    • White Balance: Adjusts the hue of the white areas of an image. Lighting, camera settings and other influences will affect the appearance of white. The white areas of a picture may be slightly pink, yellow or some other colour. By adjusting the white balance you can adjust those white areas.
       
    • Brightness: Adjusts the brightness of the whole image. To lighten or darken the image, move the scroll bar to the right or left.
       
    • Contrast: Adjusts the contrast of an image. This will make darker areas darker and lighter areas lighter. Increase the contrast when you want an image to be clearer. Decrease the contrast when you want an image to be more subdued.
       
    • Red: Increases the intensity of Red in the image to make the image redder.
       
    • Green: Increases the intensity of Green in the image to make the image greener.
       
    • Blue: Increases the intensity of Blue in the image to make the image bluer.
  7. Click OK to close the windows.

 

(Macintosh)

 

  1. Open the Print dialogue. (Click here to see how to open the Print dialogue.)
     
  2. Choose Colour Settings in the Print dialogue box.

    Choose Color Settings

     

  3. Click Advanced Colour Settings.
     
  4. Check Colour Enhancement and then adjust colour.

    Adjust color

Recommended ink type

  • 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 issue that was caused by the use of unauthorised third party ink and/or cartridges.
    > Brother Genuine Supplies information

Paper types

  • Print quality is also affected by the type and brand of paper used as well as the chosen print or copy resolution. In order to achieve optimum print quality, Brother Paper is recommended, but other brands may work as well depending on the type of document you are printing.

Proper paper handling after page has been printed

  1. After the photo has finished printing, remove the photo immediately from the machine and place on flat surface to dry for 24 hours. Do not allow additional printed documents to lay on top of the photo while in the machines paper output tray.
  2. Do not place anything on top of the photo until after 24 hours. This can cause the picture not to dry properly.
  3. Do not place a photo in a photo album or a picture frame until after 24 hours. This can cause the picture not to dry properly.

 

Related Models

MFC-J480DW

If you need further assistance, please contact Brother customer service:

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