Brother HL 2140R User Manual

							Troubleshooting
83
6
Paper handling6
First, make sure that you are using paper that meets Brother’s recommended paper specifications. (See 
About paperon page 5.)
ProblemRecommendation
The printer does not feed 
paper.„If there is paper in the paper tray, make sure it is straight. If the paper is curled, 
flatten it before printing. Sometimes it is helpful to remove the paper. Turn the 
stack over and put it back in the paper tray.
„Reduce the amount of paper in the paper tray, and then try again.
„Make sure that manual feed mode is not chosen in the printer driver.
The printer does not feed paper 
from the manual feed slot.„Fan the paper well and put it back in firmly.
„Make sure that you have chosen the manual feed slot in the Paper Source of the 
printer driver.
The printer does not feed 
envelopes.„The printer can feed envelopes from the manual feed slot. You must set up your 
application to print on the size of envelopes you are using. This is usually done in 
the page setup or document setup menu of your software. (See your application 
manual.)
A paper jam has occurred.„Clear the jammed paper. (See Paper jams and how to clear themon page 85.)
The printer does not print. „Make sure that the cable is connected to the printer.
„Make sure that you have chosen the correct printer driver.
When printing on normal paper, 
it creases.„Change the printer driver setting in Media Type to a thin setting.
The paper slides off the top 
output tray.„Lift up the output tray support flap 1 (1).
 
1
 
						

							Troubleshooting
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The paper slides off the back 
output tray.Follow these steps:
aRemove the output tray support flap 1 (1) from the top of the printer by first 
lifting the flap up.
Then push the flap to the left or right to release one of the posts (2) on the flap 
and pull up.
 
bAttach the support flap 1 (1) to the back output tray by inserting the posts of the 
support flap one at a time into the holes of the back output tray.
 
ProblemRecommendation
1
2
1
 
						

							Troubleshooting
85
6
Paper jams and how to clear them6
If a paper jam occurs, the printer will flash the Error LED as shown below.
 
HOT SURFACE 
After you have just used the printer, some internal parts of the printer will be extremely hot. When you open 
the front cover or back cover (back output tray) of the printer, DO NOT touch the shaded parts shown in the 
illustrations.
 
Clear the jammed paper as follows.
If the jammed paper is removed completely by following the steps below, you can install the paper tray first, 
and then close the front cover. The printer will resume printing automatically.
If the printer does not start printing automatically, press the Go button. If the printer still does not start printing, 
check that all the remaining jammed paper has been removed from the printer. Then try printing again.
Note
Always remove all paper from the paper tray and straighten the stack when you add new paper. This helps 
prevent multiple sheets of paper from feeding through the printer at one time and prevents paper jams.
   
 
						

							Troubleshooting
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aOpen the front cover. 
bSlowly take out the drum unit and toner cartridge assembly. The jammed paper will be pulled out with 
the drum unit and toner cartridge assembly.
 
CAUTION 
We recommend that you put the drum unit and toner cartridge assembly on a piece of disposable paper or 
cloth in case you accidentally spill or scatter toner.
  
To prevent damage to the printer caused by static electricity, DO NOT touch the electrodes shown in the 
illustration.
 
 
cClose the front cover.
Note
Do not put the drum unit and toner cartridge assembly back in at this point.
 
 
						

							Troubleshooting
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dPull the paper tray completely out of the printer. 
ePull the jammed paper down and out of the printer. 
fOpen the back cover (back output tray). 
 
						

							Troubleshooting
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6
g Pull the tab toward you to open the fuser cover (1). 
hPull the jammed paper out of the fuser unit. 
HOT SURFACE 
After you have just used the printer, some internal parts of the printer will be extremely hot. Wait for the 
printer to cool down before you touch the internal parts of the printer.
 
 
iClose the back cover (back output tray).
1
 
						

							Troubleshooting
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jPush down the green lock lever and take the toner cartridge out of the drum unit. Clear the jammed paper 
if there is any inside the drum unit.
 
CAUTION 
Handle the toner cartridge carefully. If toner scatters on your hands or clothes, wipe or wash it off with cold 
water at once.
  
To avoid print quality problems, DO NOT touch the shaded parts shown in the illustrations.
    
 
						

							Troubleshooting
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6
kPut the toner cartridge back into the drum unit until you hear it lock into place. If you put the cartridge in 
properly, the green lock lever will lift automatically.
 
lOpen the front cover. Put the drum unit and toner cartridge assembly back in the printer. 
mPut the paper tray firmly back in the printer.
nClose the front cover.
oMake sure that the Error LED is now off.
 
						

							Troubleshooting
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Improving the print quality6
If you have a print quality problem, print a test page first (see Print a test pageon page 56). If the printout 
looks good, the problem is probably not the printer. Check the interface cable or try the printer on another 
computer.
This section gives information on the following topics.
Examples of poor print 
qualityRecommendation
 
Faint„Check the printer’s environment. Conditions such as humidity, high 
temperatures, and so on, may cause this print fault. See Positioning the 
printeron page 4.
„If the whole page is too light, Toner Save Mode may be on. Turn off Toner Save 
Mode in the printer Properties tab of the driver.
„Put in a new toner cartridge. See Replacing the toner cartridgeon page 62.
„Put in a new drum unit. See Replacing the drum uniton page 69.
„You may clear the problem by wiping the scanner window with a soft cloth. See 
Cleaning the inside of the printeron page 74.
 
Gray background„Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. See About 
paperon page 5.
„Check the printer’s environment. Conditions such as high temperatures and high 
humidity can increase the amount of background shading. See Positioning the 
printeron page 4.
„Put in a new toner cartridge. See Replacing the toner cartridgeon page 62.
„Put in a new drum unit. See Replacing the drum uniton page 69.
 
Ghost„Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. Rough-surfaced 
paper or thick print media may cause this problem. See About paperon page 5.
„Make sure that the media type setting in the driver matches the type of paper you 
are using. See About paperon page 5.
„Put in a new drum unit. See Replacing the drum uniton page 69.
„The fuser unit may be contaminated. Call Brother Customer Service.
 
Toner specks„Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. Rough-surfaced 
paper may cause the problem. See About paperon page 5.
„The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. See Replacing the drum 
uniton page 69.
„The fuser unit may be contaminated. Call Brother Customer Service.
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							Troubleshooting
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6
 
Hollow print„Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. See About 
paperon page 5.
„Choose Thick paper mode in the printer driver, or use thinner paper than what 
you are now using.
„Check the printer’s environment. Conditions such as high humidity can cause 
hollow print. See Positioning the printeron page 4.
 
All black„Clean the primary corona wire inside the drum unit by sliding the green tab. Be 
sure to return the green tab to the home position (a). See Cleaning the corona 
wireon page 77.
„The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. See Replacing the drum 
uniton page 69.
„The fuser unit may be contaminated. Call Brother Customer Service.
 
White lines across the page„Make sure that you use paper that meets our specifications. A rough surfaced 
paper or thick print media can cause problems.
„Make sure that you choose the correct media type in the printer driver.
„The problem may disappear by itself. Print multiple pages to clear this problem, 
especially if the printer has not been used for a long time.
„The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. See Replacing the drum 
uniton page 69.
 
Lines across the page„Clean the inside of the printer and the primary corona wire in the drum unit. See 
Cleaningon page 73.
„The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. See Replacing the drum 
uniton page 69.
 
White lines down the page„Make sure that a torn piece of paper is not inside the printer covering the scanner 
window.
„Wipe the scanner window with a soft cloth. See Cleaning the inside of the 
printeron page 74.
„The toner cartridge may be damaged. Put in a new toner cartridge. See 
Replacing the toner cartridgeon page 62.
„The drum unit may be damaged. Put in a new drum unit. See Replacing the drum 
uniton page 69.
Examples of poor print 
qualityRecommendation
ABCDEFGH
abcdefghijk
ABCD
abcde
01234
ABCDEFGH
abcdefghijk
ABCD
abcde
01234
ABCDEFGH
abcdefghijk
ABCD
abcde
01234