Improving the print quality

Examples of poor print quality
Recommendation
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White lines across the page
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Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. A rough surfaced paper or thick print media can cause the problem. (See Acceptable paper and other print media.)
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Make sure that you choose the appropriate media type in the printer driver or in the machine’s Paper Type menu setting. (See Acceptable paper and other print media and Basic tab in the Software User’s Guide on the CD-ROM.)
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The problem may disappear by itself. Print multiple pages to clear this problem, especially if the machine has not been used for a long time.
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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White lines down the page
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Wipe the laser scanner windows with a soft cloth. (See Cleaning the laser scanner window.)
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Make sure that a torn sheet of paper is not inside the machine covering the scanner window.
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The toner cartridge may be damaged. Put in a new toner cartridge. (See Replacing a toner cartridge.)
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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Hollow print
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Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. (See Acceptable paper and other print media.)
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Choose Plain Paper (Thick) mode in the printer driver, choose Plain(Thick) in the machine’s Paper Type menu setting or use thinner paper than you are currently using. (See Paper type and Basic tab in the Software User’s Guide on the CD-ROM.)
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Check the machine’s environment. Conditions such as high humidity can cause hollow print. (See Choosing a location.)
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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Grey background
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Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. (See Acceptable paper and other print media.)
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Check the machine’s environment. Conditions such as high temperatures and high humidity can increase the amount of background shading. (See Choosing a location.)
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The toner cartridge may be damaged. Put in a new toner cartridge. (See Replacing a toner cartridge.)
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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Page skewed
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Make sure that the paper or other print media is loaded properly in the paper tray and that the guides are not too tight or too loose against the paper stack.
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Set the paper guides correctly. (See Loading paper in the paper tray.)
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The paper tray may be too full.
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If you are using the manual feed slot, see Loading paper in the manual feed slot.
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Check the paper type and quality. (See Acceptable paper and other print media.)
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Ghost
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Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. Rough-surfaced paper or thick paper may cause the problem. (See Acceptable paper and other print media.)
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Make sure that you choose the correct media type in the printer driver or in the machine’s Paper Type menu setting. (See Acceptable paper and other print media and Basic tab in the Software User’s Guide on the CD-ROM.)
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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The fuser unit may be contaminated. Call your Brother dealer for service.
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Wrinkles or creases
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Check the paper type and quality. (See Acceptable paper and other print media.)
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Make sure that paper is loaded properly. (See Loading paper in the paper tray.)
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Turn over the stack of paper in the tray or rotate the paper 180˚ in the input tray.
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Poor fixing
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Choose Improve Toner Fixing mode in the printer driver. (See Device Options (For Windows®) or Print Settings (For Macintosh®) in the software User’s Guide on the CD-ROM.)
If you print only a few pages, change the printer driver setting in Media Type to a thin setting.
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Curled or wavy
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Check the paper type and quality. High temperatures and high humidity will cause paper to curl.
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If you do not use the machine often, the paper may have been in the paper tray too long. Turn over the stack of paper in the paper tray. Also, fan the paper stack and then rotate the paper 180˚ in the paper tray.
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White Spots on black text and graphics at 75 mm intervals
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Black Spots at 75 mm intervals
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Make ten copies of a blank, white sheet of paper. (See Making multiple copies.) If the problem is not solved, the drum unit may have glue from a label stuck on the OPC drum surface. Clean the drum unit. (See Cleaning the drum unit.)
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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Faint
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Check the machine’s environment. Conditions such as humidity, high temperatures, and so on, may cause this print fault. (See Choosing a location.)
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If the whole page is too light, Toner Save mode may be on. Turn off Toner Save mode in the machine menu settings or Toner Save mode in the printer Properties of the driver. (See Toner Save or Advanced tab in the Software User’s Guide on the CD-ROM.)
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Clean the scanner window and the primary corona wire of the drum unit. (See Cleaning the laser scanner window and Cleaning the corona wire.)
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The toner cartridge may be damaged. Put in a new toner cartridge. (See Replacing a toner cartridge.)
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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Toner specks
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Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. Rough-surfaced paper may cause the problem. (See Acceptable paper and other print media.)
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Clean the primary corona wire and the drum unit. (See Cleaning the corona wire and Cleaning the drum unit.)
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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The fuser unit may be contaminated. Call your Brother dealer for service.
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All black
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Clean the primary corona wire inside the drum unit by sliding the green tab. Be sure to return the green tab to the home position (Bsymbol.utri). (See Cleaning the corona wire.)
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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The fuser unit may be contaminated. Call your Brother dealer for service.
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Black toner marks across the page
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Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. (See Acceptable paper and other print media.)
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If you use label sheets for laser machines, the glue from the sheets may sometimes stick to the OPC drum surface. Clean the drum unit. (See Cleaning the drum unit.)
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Do not use paper that has clips or staples because they will scratch the surface of the drum.
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If the unpacked drum unit is in direct sunlight or room light, the unit may be damaged.
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The toner cartridge may be damaged. Put in a new toner cartridge. (See Replacing a toner cartridge.)
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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Line across the page
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Clean the laser scanner window and the primary corona wire inside the drum unit. (See Cleaning the laser scanner window and Cleaning the corona wire.)
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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Black lines down the page
Printed pages have toner stains down the page
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Clean the primary corona wire inside the drum unit by sliding the green tab. Be sure to return the green tab to the home position (Bsymbol.utri). (See Cleaning the corona wire.)
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The toner cartridge may be damaged. Put in a new toner cartridge. (See Replacing a toner cartridge.)
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The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. (See Replacing the drum unit.)
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The fuser unit may be smudged. Call your Brother dealer for service.
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Curled
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Choose Reduce Paper Curl mode in the printer driver when you do not use our recommended paper. (See Device Options (For Windows®) or Print Settings (For Macintosh®) in the Software User's Guide on the CD-ROM.)
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Turn the paper over in the paper tray, and print again. (Excluding Letterhead paper)
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Lift up the output tray support flap.
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Replace the paper in the paper tray with paper from a freshly opened ream.
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Make sure you are using paper that is recommended for your machine. (See Acceptable paper and other print media.)