Grainy prints I have done all necessary maintenance but still I'm getting grainy prints. What could this be?

How are the copies?

You need to go to the Maintenance/Utilities menu and clean the print heads. Print a 'nozzle check,' and continue to clean the heads until the nozzle check print out looks like it should (no broken or missing lines. Once you're done with that (make sure you have extra ink on hand), go back to the utilities/maintenance menu, and print a 'head alignment' check. Adjust the head alignments, as necessary, and reprint. That should take care of your problem. Again, make sure you have extra ink, as you may run out, and then you can't finish the maintenance/cleaning. Good lick!

This is a known problem with these machines,
if it's still under warranty contact brother and they'll send you to a local repair company that will replace the print head and also give you all new OEM inks.
If it's out of warranty than the cost of replacing the unit would be less than the cost of fixing it.


There's one thing you can try but there's no guarantee it'll work: (copied from another of my solutions)

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You'll have to run the cleaning mode a few times,
to do so you'll have to get into Maintenance Mode.

To do this:
Press MENU then * then 2 then 8 then 6 then 4
This takes some practice and you have to press them all within a few seconds.
If the machine doesn't say MAINTENANCE when you do it press STOP/EXIT and try again.

When in Maintenance Mode:
Press 7 then 6, then press 3, then press BLACK START
It will say Cleaning - this will take some time when it's done it will go back to MAINTENANCE

After it's completed try 0 then 9, this will print out a small Print Quality test page
it should have several rows of each color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black)
if they still don't look right then run the cleaning mode again and then print another quality page.

Continue to do this until the quality is back to normal,
when you're done to exit maintenance mode press 9 then 9 to return to normal operation.

note: this cleaning mode uses up a fair amount of ink, use sparingly

note: maintenance mode is for brother technicians and has some codes that can damage your machine, only use the codes I've explained in this solution

This is a known issue with these Brother InkJets, here's my solution for someone else with the same issue:
Note: If this model doesn't have a number pad to enter Maintenance mode try:
Menu, Mono Start, Up Up Up Up
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Unfortunately this is a known issue with these machines and often times the printhead needs to be replaced which need to be done by a service technician.
If it's still under warranty you can contact brother who will direct you to a local warranty shop for service, if it's out of warranty all you can do is try running the Power Purge operation a few times to see if it clears up.
If the Power Purge doesn't help and it's out of warranty you'll need to replace the printer as the cost of fixing it will be more than the cost of a new printer.

Here's my solution on how to run the cleaning mode from another post here on FixYa:

You'll have to run the cleaning mode a few times,
to do so you'll have to get into Maintenance Mode.

To do this:
Press MENU then * then 2 then 8 then 6 then 4
This takes some practice and you have to press them all within a few seconds.
If the machine doesn't say MAINTENANCE when you do it press STOP/EXIT and try again.

When in Maintenance Mode:
Press 7 then 6, then press 3, then press BLACK START
It will say Cleaning - this will take some time when it's done it will go back to MAINTENANCE

After it's completed try 0 then 9, this will print out a small Print Quality test page
it should have several rows of each color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black)
if they still don't look right then run the cleaning mode again and then print another quality page.

Continue to do this until the quality is back to normal,
when you're done to exit maintenance mode press 9 then 9 to return to normal operation.

note: this cleaning mode uses up a fair amount of ink, use sparingly

note: maintenance mode is for brother technicians and has some codes that can damage your machine, only use the codes I've explained in this solution

You'll have to run the cleaning mode a few times,
to do so you'll have to get into Maintenance Mode.

To do this:
Press MENU then * then 2 then 8 then 6 then 4
This takes some practice and you have to press them all within a few seconds.
If the machine doesn't say MAINTENANCE when you do it press STOP/EXIT and try again.

When in Maintenance Mode:
Press 7 then 6, then press 3, then press BLACK START
It will say Cleaning - this will take some time when it's done it will go back to MAINTENANCE

After it's completed try 0 then 9, this will print out a small Print Quality test page
it should have several rows of each color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black)
if they still don't look right then run the cleaning mode again and then print another quality page.

Continue to do this until the quality is back to normal,
when you're done to exit maintenance mode press 9 then 9 to return to normal operation.

note: this cleaning mode uses up a fair amount of ink, use sparingly

note: maintenance mode is for brother technicians and has some codes that can damage your machine, only use the codes I've explained in this solution

Unfortunatly this is a known issue with these machines and often times the printhead needs to be replaced which need to be done by a service technician.
If it's still under warranty you can contact brother who will direct you to a local warranty shop for service, if it's out of warranty all you can do is try running the Power Purge operation a few times to see if it clears up.
If the Power Purge doesn't help and it's out of warranty you'll need to replace the printer as the cost of fixing it will be more than the cost of a new printer.

Here's my solution on how to run the cleaning mode from another post here on FixYa:

You'll have to run the cleaning mode a few times,
to do so you'll have to get into Maintenance Mode.

To do this:
Press MENU then * then 2 then 8 then 6 then 4
This takes some practice and you have to press them all within a few seconds.
If the machine doesn't say MAINTENANCE when you do it press STOP/EXIT and try again.

When in Maintenance Mode:
Press 7 then 6, then press 3, then press BLACK START
It will say Cleaning - this will take some time when it's done it will go back to MAINTENANCE

After it's completed try 0 then 9, this will print out a small Print Quality test page
it should have several rows of each color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black)
if they still don't look right then run the cleaning mode again and then print another quality page.

Continue to do this until the quality is back to normal,
when you're done to exit maintenance mode press 9 then 9 to return to normal operation.

note: this cleaning mode uses up a fair amount of ink, use sparingly

note: maintenance mode is for brother technicians and has some codes that can damage your machine, only use the codes I've explained in this solution

You'll have to run the cleaning mode a few times,
to do so you'll have to get into Maintenance Mode.

To do this:
Press MENU then * then 2 then 8 then 6 then 4
This takes some practice and you have to press them all within a few seconds.
If the machine doesn't say MAINTENANCE when you do it press STOP/EXIT and try again.

When in Maintenance Mode:
Press 7 then 6, then press 3, then press BLACK START
It will say Cleaning - this will take some time when it's done it will go back to MAINTENANCE

After it's completed try 0 then 9, this will print out a small Print Quality test page
it should have several rows of each color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black)
if they still don't look right then run the cleaning mode again and then print another quality page.

Continue to do this until the quality is back to normal,
when you're done to exit maintenance mode press 9 then 9 to return to normal operation.

note: this cleaning mode uses up a fair amount of ink, use sparingly

note: maintenance mode is for brother technicians and has some codes that can damage your machine, only use the codes I've explained in this solution


If this doesn't resolve your issue you may need a replacement print head,
this is an expensive fix if the machine is no longer under warranty.
If it is under warranty contact Brother and they will arrange a meeting with a local technician to repair it for you.

This error code means that you have printed so many pages that it's time to get your printer serviced. Kind of how you get your car serviced after so many miles. I'd reccomend bringing it to the nearest printer repair shop. Most will just install a maintenance kit and reset the maintenence count. It will continue to print if you put off getting it serviced but who knows how much longer. It's better to get it done now before it craps out on you and you have to print something really urgent.

Please clean and align the print head and clean the nozzles. Maintenance tasks in the Printer properties. I hope that the color ink cartridge is not old. If so replace it.