Brother printer test page

Inkjet: the Print Quality Check Sheet

Brother's nozzle check is called the Print Quality Check Sheet. It is in the Ink or Ink Management menu. On the MFC-J4340DW, J4440DW and J4540DW, Brother's guide uses:

• Models with buttons and a small screen: Ink > Impr. PrintQuality > Impr. PrintQuality, then OK.
• Touchscreen models: Ink > Improve Print Quality > Check Print Quality.

Older models use Ink or Ink Management > Test Print > Print Quality. Load plain A4 or Letter paper before you start.

Reading the check sheet

The sheet has a block of short lines for each ink. The machine then asks whether the print quality is OK, and on many models asks about each colour in turn:

• All lines complete: answer yes and the check ends.
• Lines missing in a colour: answer no for that colour and the machine runs a head cleaning and prints the sheet again.

Brother's guides say to repeat the cleaning and check at least five times if lines are still missing; if short lines are still missing after the fifth time, replace the ink cartridge for that colour. If the problem continues and the machine is under warranty, contact Brother support. Brother also notes that its warranty does not cover problems caused by third-party ink or cartridges.

Inkjet: alignment

Alignment is for blurred or doubled text and crooked lines, not missing lines, so run the quality check first. On the MFC-J4340DW family the path is Ink > Impr. PrintQuality > Alignment; on touchscreen models Ink > Improve Print Quality > Alignment. Choose Auto, where the machine scans the printed sheet, or Manual, where you enter the numbers printed on it. Afterwards, print the check sheet again and a real document to confirm.

Laser: the Test Print page

Brother laser printers and laser all-in-ones have a Test Print for checking faint print, streaks and spots:

• Models with a small display (for example HL-L2370DW and HL-L2460DW): Printer > Print Options > Test Print, then Go.
• Touchscreen models (for example HL-L3280CDW and MFC-L2750DW): Settings > All Settings > Printer > Print Options > Test Print, then Yes.
• Older models with a Menu key use a numbered menu; on some it is Menu, 4, 2, 3, then Black Start, but the numbers vary.

Laser printers have no nozzles: repeated marks usually point to the drum or toner, and the manual for your model explains which part matches which spacing.

From a computer or phone

Brother's Windows driver has the standard Print Test Page button in Printer properties > General. That checks that the computer can reach the printer; it is not the quality check sheet. The Brother Mobile Connect and iPrint&Scan apps are for setup, printing and scanning; Brother documents the quality check and alignment on the machine's own panel.

Then print a real page from your computer

A built-in Brother report proves that the printer, ink and print head work on their own. It does not prove that your computer, driver and connection can send a job. Once the report looks clean, print the printer test page or the colour test page from your browser: if the report is fine but the page from your computer is not, the problem is in the settings, the driver or the connection rather than the hardware.

Print at 100% / Actual size, on plain paper, with Background graphics turned on, so each result can be compared with the next. For general steps on Windows, macOS and phones, see how to print a test page; to check the edges and scale of the print, use the alignment test page.

About this guide

TestDock is an independent site and is not affiliated with Brother. Menu names are quoted from Brother's own support pages for the model families named above; they change between models and firmware, so check the manual for your printer.