If your Brother printer is not printing color properly, you’re not alone. This is one of the most common printing problems affecting Brother inkjet and color laser printers. You may notice missing colors, faded prints, blank pages, or documents printing only in black and white. Fortunately, most color printing issues can be resolved without replacing your printer.

In this guide, you’ll learn the most common reasons why a Brother printer stops printing in color, along with step-by-step troubleshooting methods, maintenance tips, and preventive measures to restore vibrant color printing.

What You’ll Learn

• Why your Brother printer is not printing colour
• How to fix missing color printing
• How to clean clogged print heads
• How to check ink cartridges and toner
• Driver and software troubleshooting
• Wireless printing fixes
• Print quality improvements
• When to reset your Brother printer
• Preventive maintenance tips
• Frequently asked questions

Why Is Your Brother Printer Not Printing Color?

Several hardware and software issues can prevent your Brother printer from printing color correctly.

Common causes include:

• Empty or low color ink cartridges
• Clogged print heads
• Dried ink nozzles
• Incorrect printer settings
• Outdated printer drivers
• Print quality settings configured to grayscale
• Damaged cartridges
• Firmware issues
• Blocked print nozzles
• Poor cartridge installation

Identifying the exact cause makes troubleshooting much easier.

Check Whether Color Printing Is Enabled

Sometimes the printer is configured to print only in black and white.

On Windows

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Printers & Scanners.
3. Choose your Brother printer.
4. Open Printing Preferences.
5. Disable grayscale printing or black & white mode.
6. Save the settings.

On macOS

1. Open System Settings.
2. Select Printers & Scanners.
3. Choose your Brother printer.
4. Verify that color printing is selected.

Many users accidentally enable grayscale printing without realizing it.

Inspect the Ink Cartridges or Toner

Low or empty cartridges are among the most common reasons a Brother printer stops printing color.

Check for:

• Empty cyan, magenta, or yellow cartridges
• Incorrect cartridge installation
• Protective tape left on new cartridges
• Damaged cartridges
• Expired cartridges

Replace any cartridge showing low or empty levels before continuing.

If you’re using compatible cartridges, ensure they are fully recognized by the printer.

Clean the Brother print head.

Inkjet printers often develop clogged print heads if they aren’t used regularly.

Run Print Head Cleaning

1. Open the printer menu.
2. Select Ink.
3. Choose Cleaning.
4. Select the affected color.
5. Wait for the cleaning cycle to finish.
6. Print a test page.

If the problem persists, repeat the cleaning process up to three times.

Avoid excessive cleaning, as it consumes ink.

Perform a Print Quality Check

Brother printers include built-in diagnostic tools.

Print a Print Quality Check Sheet.

Look for:

• Missing lines
• Broken patterns
• Faded colors
• Blank sections

If defects appear, perform another print head cleaning followed by a print alignment.

This diagnostic helps determine whether the issue is hardware- or software-related.

Update the Brother printer driver.

An outdated driver can cause communication problems between the computer and printer.

Update:

• Printer driver
• Brother utilities
• Firmware

After updating, restart both the printer and your computer.

Driver updates frequently resolve printing bugs and compatibility issues after Windows or macOS updates.

Verify Paper and Print Settings

Incorrect settings can affect color output.

Check:

• Paper type
• Print quality
• Media settings
• Draft mode
• Economy mode

Choose Normal or Best Quality for photos and graphics.

Draft mode often reduces color intensity to save ink.

Fix Brother Printer Not Printing Colour Over Wi-Fi

Wireless communication issues can interrupt print jobs.

Try these steps:

1. Restart your router.
2. Restart the printer.
3. Reconnect the printer to Wi-Fi.
4. Print a network configuration report.
5. Confirm both devices are connected to the same network.

If possible, temporarily connect the printer via USB to determine whether the issue is network-related.

Check for Firmware Updates

Firmware updates improve printer stability and fix known issues.

Updating firmware may resolve:

• Cartridge detection problems
• Print quality issues
• Communication errors
• Color calibration problems

Install firmware only when the printer has a stable power supply.

Reset the Brother printer.

If none of the previous solutions work, resetting the printer may help.

Basic Reset

1. Turn off the printer.
2. Unplug the power cable.
3. Wait one minute.
4. Plug the printer back in.
5. Turn it on.

Factory Reset

Use the printer’s initial setup or reset menu to restore factory settings.

Remember that this will erase saved Wi-Fi and network settings.

Common Brother Color Printing Problems and Solutions

Problem	Possible Cause	Recommended Fix
Prints only black	Grayscale enabled	Disable grayscale printing
Missing one color	Clogged print head	Run printhead cleaning.
Faded colors	Low ink	Replace cartridges
Blank pages	Blocked nozzles	Clean print head
Incorrect colors	Driver issue	Update printer driver
Poor image quality	Draft mode	Select Best Quality

Tips to Prevent Future Color Printing Problems

Regular maintenance keeps your Brother printer performing at its best.

Best practices include:

• Print a color page at least once a week.
• Use genuine or high-quality compatible cartridges.
• Store cartridges correctly.
• Keep the printer clean and dust-free.
• Update printer firmware regularly.
• Avoid leaving ink cartridges empty for long periods.
• Perform nozzle checks every month.
• Turn the printer off using the power button instead of unplugging it.

Routine maintenance can significantly reduce print quality problems.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Brother printer printing black but not color?

This usually happens because of clogged print heads, empty color cartridges, grayscale settings, or outdated printer drivers.

How do I get my Brother printer to print in color again?

Check the color cartridges, disable grayscale printing, clean the print head, update the printer driver, and print a test page.

Can dried ink stop color printing?

Yes. Inkjet printers that sit unused for long periods often develop dried ink inside the print head, preventing one or more colors from printing.

Why does my Brother printer print faded colors?

Low ink levels, draft mode, clogged nozzles, or incorrect print quality settings are the most common causes.

Should I replace the print head?

Only after completing all cleaning cycles and troubleshooting steps. In most cases, clogged nozzles or cartridge issues are responsible rather than a failed print head.

Conclusion

If your Brother printer not printing color is preventing you from producing high-quality documents or photos, the issue is usually fixable with a few simple troubleshooting steps. Start by checking your printer settings, inspecting ink cartridges or toner, cleaning the print head, updating drivers, and verifying your Wi-Fi connection. Regular maintenance and timely firmware updates can also help prevent future color printing issues, ensuring your Brother printer continues to deliver sharp, vibrant prints.