Brother Printer Prints Blank Pages: 4 Easy Fixes

It’s super frustrating when your Brother printer prints blank pages. While it might seem like a critical failure, it can be easily fixed.

Your Brother printer might be printing blank pages for these four reasons. It could be low on toner or ink. It could require a reset or a printer head cleaning. And it may require a printer firmware update.

Each of these is easily resolved. Here are four fast fixes for a Brother printer that prints blank pages.

Why is My Brother Printer Printing Blank Pages?

If your Brother printer is printing blank pages, there are a few possible causes.

It can be caused by ink, software, or hardware. Most times you can fix these issues at home. And in just a few minutes.

4 Ways to Fix a Brother Printer That Prints Blank Pages

Here are some troubleshooting steps that you can use to attempt to fix the issue on your own.

1. Restart Your Brother Printer

Restarting your Brother printer might seem pretty basic, but it can fix many issues that your printer is having. When you restart your printer, you’ll make it reconnect to WiFi and your computer.

It will also clear out any pending printing jobs.

If your Brother printer prints blank pages, restart it using the following steps:

1. Hold down the power button until the screen goes black.
2. Unplug the printer from the outlet.
3. Wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in.
4. Allow the printer to power back up completely, reconnect it to the WiFI if needed, and try printing something. If it still prints blank pages, you can move on to the next potential solution.

Here are 4 methods to reset your Brother printer.

2. Ensure You Have Enough Ink or Toner

Your next step is to check your ink or toner cartridges. Sometimes your printer or computer might not notify you that your ink or toner levels are low.

So you’ll need to check them yourself. Here’s one way to check your cartridge levels.

1. Ensure your computer and printer have a connection.
2. On your computer, find the settings and click on the “Devices and printers” section.
3. Click on “Options and supplies” or “View printer status,” depending on the computer you have.
4. Click on the “Supply levels” tab, and it will display your ink and toner levels.
5. If they’re low you should replace the cartridges. If they aren’t low, move on to the next troubleshooting idea.

When checking on ink levels, it’s worth checking to see if it has dried out. While it’s uncommon, an inkjet printer that isn’t used often can suffer from dried ink. And this can cause pages to print blank.

Before looking inside your printer, you should know the difference between ink and toner to see which one your printer has. 

• Laser printers use toner, which is a polymer powder that gets deposited onto the paper or other surfaces, rather than liquid ink.
• If you have an inkjet printer, your printer uses liquid ink. 

Here’s how to tell if you have an inkjet printer.

3. Update Your Brother Printer’s Software

If the issue isn’t mechanical, it could be technical. To update your printer’s software, follow these steps:

1. Go to the main menu of your printer and click “Setup” and then “Device settings.”
2. Find the “Firmware update” tab and click it.
3. Click “Install update” if there is one available.
4. It will notify you when the update finishes.

4. Clean the Printhead

Many Brother printers have an automatic printhead cleaning option.

1. To do this, you’ll need to hold the “Stop” button down and release it after two flashes.
2. You can sometimes access printhead cleaning from the printer maintenance section on your computer.

If you don’t have either of these, you’ll need to manually clean it. Here’s how to get printer ink off your hands.

To clean the printhead, follow these steps:

1. Unplug your Brother printer.
2. Open the printer’s lid and remove the ink cartridges. 
3. Remove the printhead. You may need your printer’s manual for help.
4. Wipe the printhead with a damp cloth.
5. Put the printhead in a container of warm water for five to ten minutes.
6. Take the printhead out, wipe it with a dry cloth, and allow it to sit on paper towels to dry.
7. After about half an hour, the printhead should be dry. Then you can put it back into the printer.
8. Plug the printer back in, turn it on, and try printing a test page. If your Brother printer is still printing blank pages, try the next troubleshooting idea.

Have more questions about Brother printers? Check out all our Brother printer guides. Here are a couple more tricks to try if you’re printer is still printing blank sheets.

Your Turn

If you notice that your Brother printer prints blank pages, it’s a sign there’s either a mechanical or a software issue. To solve the issue, go through the above fast fixes until the problem is resolved.

If nothing seems to help, you may need to contact Brother for professional help – it could be a manufacturing issue.

Did this fix work for you? Please share your experience in the comments!