Brother Support -10E, 20E 101, 103, 105, 107, 201, 203, 205, 207,

Solution: Try running 1-2 print head cleanings. This is a command you can send to your printer which directs it to clean itself up. Below are general instructions for how to perform a print head cleaning, however this is done in di erent ways on every printer, so consult your manual for exact steps.

From your computer

1. On the computer, click Start, then click on Settings/Control Panel.

2. Select Printers and Faxes (On Windows Vista, select Printer under Hardware and Sound)

3. Right-click on your printer, and click on Properties. 4. Select the Maintenance / Service tab, then select Print Head Cleaning.

On your Printer:

Click on Ink or Menu then Tools or Cleaning.

Do the following to clean the print head:

*If your Brother machine has a touchscreen, please follow the steps under "For touchscreen models" below.

  1. Do one of the following:

    - If your Brother machine has the INK key on its control panel, press the INK key.

    - If not:

    1. Press the MENU key.
    2. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select Ink.
    3. Press the OK key.
  2. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select Cleaning.
  3. Press the OK key.
  4. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select BLACK, COLOR or ALL depending on what you want to clean.
  5. Press the OK key.

<For touchscreen models>

  1. Press Image or (Ink indicator).
  2. Press Cleaning.
  3. Select BLACK, COLOR or ALL depending on what you want to clean.

The machine will clean the print head. When cleaning is finished, the machine will go back to Ready automatically. If you are experiencing a print quality issue, we recommend you repeat the print head cleaning for each color showing an issue at least four (4) times.

 

If you are experiencing a print quality issue and want to see if the cleanings are improving the print quality, print a Print Quality Check Sheet (PQCS) after the first cleaning and then print another PQCS after repeating the print head cleaning steps at least three (3) more times (4 total cleanings). You can then compare the two Print Quality Check Sheets.

Do the following to print a Print Quality Check Sheet:

*If your Brother machine has a touchscreen, please follow the steps under "For touchscreen models" below.

  1. Do one of the following:

    - If your Brother machine has the INK key on its control panel, press the INK key.

    - If not:

    1. Press the MENU key.
    2. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select Ink.
    3. Press the OK key.
  2. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select Test Print.
  3. Press the OK key.
  4. Press the UP OR DOWN ARROW key to select Print Quality.
  5. Press the OK key.
  6. Press the COLOR START key.

<For touchscreen models>

  1. Press Image or (Ink indicator).
  2. Press Test Print.
  3. Press Print Quality.
  4. Press the COLOR START key.

If you receive this message on a newly refilled cartridge there is a chance that the chip did not reset (you can bring the cartridge back to Printer Refillers to have use reset the chip again).This will not affect the functionality of the cartridge, but it does cause a constant message. The following message occurs when using Brother cartridges that have a chip:

The printer will bring up a dialog box when printing from a computer EVERY TIME you send a print stating that one or more of the cartridges do not have enough ink to maintain print quality.

Just click OK and it will continue printing.

After EVERY PRINT the printer screen will display the “cannot detect ink” volume message.

This is just a printer message and nothing needs to be done to continue printing. To make it disappear press the exit button on the printer.

When cartridge is truly empty

When one of the color cartridges is truly emptied the printer will bring up a dialog box on the computer screen which will state that the printer can only print in B&W, or grayscale. The printer screen will display which cartridge is empty. Replaced the cartridge with a full one and the printer will continue to print. When the black cartridge is empty you will need to replace it to continue to print.

  1.  Determine which ink colors are affected.  The affected colors will be listed on the machine’s display below the yellow status bar. With your printer on please try the following:
    1. Open the ink-cartridge cover.
    2. Press the lock-release lever(s) to release the affected ink cartridge(s).
    3. Remove the affected ink cartridge(s) from the machine.

      Remove and examine the affected ink cartridge(s).

  3. Now slowly insert the cartridge back into the printer. The error message should clear. If it does not you can bring the cartridge back and we can reset the chip on the cartridge again. 

Note if you have more then one printer that take these cartridges the cartridges with setup on the table will only working in the one printer.

For more trouble shouting support on this error please visit Brothers website dealing with this common error at:

https://help.brother-usa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/85406/~/cannot-detect

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