One color in my Brother 420CN is not printing, how do I find out why?

[sdmnh39]

One color in my Brother 420CN is not printing, how do I find out why... and then how do I fix it?

 

[sdmnh39]

I was told that part of the printer head may have dried out... Is that right?
Am I at all close to being right?

 

[ltsang]

Well sdmnh39, I had experience with Brother printers, once there are no color come out, bad news, just have to try head cleaning and hopefully it can clear the clog, otherwise use it as a b/w printer. That's why I avoid that printer though it is cheap. The other solution will be installing another print head which is never easy to do. Better buy another brand. Problem with a lot of head cleaning it uses all your ink and then an error 41 comes up and that will certify your printer dead. I guess that's why it sells so cheap for a lot of functions. You can still use the scanner as a spare though. Good luck. By the way, you should upload the nozzle check on the forum so that maybe someone can tell you what went wrong.

 

[sdmnh39]

So, first... How do I clean the head?

 

[ltsang]

Well, if I remember correctly, there is the menu button that allows you to select general setup. Go the 'ink'position by using the up and down arrow, it will give you the option of 'clean' or 'print test page', just select clean and it will do a clean routine, then print the test see if you get any improvement. Don't do too many clean cycles in a row otherwise the error code 41 comes up and the next thing it tells you to do is to bring the printer to the Brother service shop which I think they will advise you to buy a new unit cause the money you spend will be enough to get a new Brother printer. Hope this help! Good luck.

 

[Simon R.]

Hi,


you can read this if you have some free time- Brother MFC-420CN User Manual

 

[sdmnh39]

Thank you for fining that for me.... I'll let you know

 

[sdmnh39]

Trying "Cleaning the print head" now

 

[sdmnh39]

Cleaning the head did not work

 

[ltsang]

I am afraid you just have to use your printer on black alone instead of spending your time and money trying to fix it. If your printer is less than a year old, your might bring it back to where you bought it and see if they can send it back to Brother since they should come with a 1 yr warranty. I know some people did that and get a new print head replaced. Otherwise keep using the scanner and fax, just buy a basic printer. One good thing about Brother is that they give you a lot of functions for a cheap price which draw a lot of potential buyers.