Brother Printer Not Printing Color – How to Fix It

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If your Brother printer is not printing color, the issue may be due to low or empty color cartridges, clogged nozzles, incorrect print settings, or outdated drivers. Use the following steps to identify and fix the issue effectively.

Check Color Ink or Toner Levels
  1. On the printer’s control panel, navigate to Ink or Toner Status.
  2. Verify that cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges are not empty.
  3. Replace any low or empty cartridges with genuine Brother supplies.

Run a Print Quality Check
  1. Go to Settings > Ink > Test Print > Print Quality.
  2. Print the test sheet and review the colored blocks for missing or faded sections.
  3. If any colors are missing or streaked, proceed with cleaning the print head.

Clean the Print Head (Inkjet Models)
  1. On the printer, select Settings > Ink > Cleaning.
  2. Choose All to clean all color channels.
  3. Repeat up to three times if colors still do not appear clearly.
  4. Print another quality check sheet after each cycle.

Shake and Reinstall Toner Cartridges (Laser Models)
  1. Turn off the printer and open the toner compartment.
  2. Remove each color toner cartridge and gently shake it side to side.
  3. Reinstall the cartridges properly and power the printer back on.
  4. Try printing a color document again.

Adjust Printer Driver Settings

On Windows
  1. Open the Print dialog from the application.
  2. Click Printer Properties or Preferences.
  3. Under the Basic or Advanced tab, make sure Color or Auto is selected instead of Grayscale.
  4. Apply the changes and print again.

On macOS
  1. Go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners.
  2. Select your Brother printer and click Options & Supplies > Options.
  3. Make sure color printing is enabled.
  4. When printing, ensure the dropdown includes “Color” as the mode.

Disable Grayscale or Monochrome Mode
  1. On your PC, open Devices and Printers > Right-click Brother printer > Printing Preferences.
  2. Go to the Color tab.
  3. Make sure Grayscale or Monochrome is not selected.

Update or Reinstall Printer Drivers
  1. Go to the Brother Support Website.
  2. Download the Full Driver & Software Package for your model.
  3. Uninstall the current driver from your system.
  4. Install the updated driver and restart your computer.

Perform a Firmware Update
  1. Visit Brother’s support page and download the Firmware Update Tool.
  2. Connect your printer to the PC via USB.
  3. Follow the prompts to update the firmware.

Reset Color Settings on the Printer
  1. On the printer control panel, go to Initial Setup > Reset > Color Settings Reset (if available).
  2. Confirm the reset.
  3. Reprint a color document to check if the issue is resolved.

Replace the Drum Unit (Laser Models)
  1. If prints are still missing color despite working toner, the drum unit may be worn.
  2. Replace the color drum unit as needed according to your printer’s instructions.

If none of the steps above resolve the issue, it may be necessary to contact Brother Support for service or further diagnostics.