Brother MFC 295CN User Manual

							Troubleshooting and Routine Maintenance
97
B
Poor print quality. Check the print quality. (See Checking the print quality on page 121.) 
Make sure that the Printer Driver or Paper Type setting in the menu matches the 
type of paper you are using. (See Printing for Windows
® or Printing and Faxing for 
Macintosh in the Software Users Guide on the CD-ROM and Paper Type 
on page 22.)
Make sure that your ink cartridges are fresh. The following may cause ink to clog:
„The expiration date written on the cartridge package has passed. (Genuine 
Brother Innobella™ ink cartridges stay usable for up to two years if kept in their 
original packaging.)
„The ink cartridge has been in your machine for over six months.
„The ink cartridge may not have been stored properly before use.
If you are using generic ink, use Genuine Brother Innobella™ Ink.
Make sure you are using Genuine Brother Innobella™ Ink.
Try using the recommended types of paper. (See Acceptable paper and other print 
media on page 14.) 
The recommended environment for your machine is between 68°F to 91°F 
(20°C to 33°C).
White horizontal lines appear in text 
or graphics.Clean the print head. (See Cleaning the print head on page 121.)
Make sure you are using Genuine Brother Innobella™ Ink.
Try using the recommended types of paper. (See Acceptable paper and other print 
media on page 14.) 
The machine prints blank pages. Clean the print head. (See Cleaning the print head on page 121.)
Make sure you are using Genuine Brother Innobella™ Ink.
Characters and lines are stacked. Check the printing alignment. (See Checking the print alignment on page 122.)
Printed  text  or  images  are  skewed. Make sure the paper is loaded properly in the paper tray and the paper side guides 
are adjusted correctly. (See Loading paper and other print media on page 8.)
Make sure the Jam Clear Cover is closed properly.
Smudged stain at the top center of 
the printed page.Make sure the paper is not too thick or curled. (See Acceptable paper and other 
print media on page 14.) 
Make sure the paper is not curled when you print on the back side of the paper 
with the Print Odd Pages and Print Even Pages settings.
Smudged stain at the right or left 
corner of the printed page.Make sure the paper is not curled when you print on the back side of the paper 
with the Print Odd Pages and Print Even Pages settings.
Printing appears dirty or ink seems 
to run.Make sure you are using the recommended types of paper. (See Acceptable 
paper and other print media on page 14.) Dont handle the paper until the ink is 
dry.
Make sure you are using Genuine Brother Innobella™ Ink.
If you are using photo paper, make sure that you have set the correct paper type. 
If you are printing a photo from your PC, set the Media Type in the Basic tab of 
the printer driver.
Stains appear on the reverse side 
or at the bottom of the page.Make sure the printer platen is not dirty with ink. (See Cleaning the machine’s 
printer platen on page 120.)
Make sure you are using Genuine Brother Innobella™ Ink.
Make sure you are using the paper support flap. (See Loading paper and other 
print media on page 8.)
Printing (continued)
DifficultySuggestions
 
						

							98
The machine prints dense lines on 
the page.Check Reverse Order in the Basic tab of the printer driver.
The printouts are wrinkled. In the printer driver Advanced tab, click Color Settings, and uncheck 
Bi-Directional Printing for Windows
® or Bi-Directional Printing for Macintosh.
Make sure you are using Genuine Brother Innobella™ Ink.
Cannot perform ‘Page Layout’ 
printing.Check that the paper size setting in the application and in the printer driver are the 
same.
Print speed is too slow.  Try changing the printer driver setting. The highest resolution needs longer data 
processing, sending and printing time. Try the other quality settings in the printer 
driver Basic tab. Also, click Color Settings, and make sure you uncheck Color 
Enhance (True2Life
®).
Turn the borderless feature off. Borderless printing is slower than normal printing. 
(See Printing for Windows
® or Printing and Faxing for Macintosh in the Software 
Users Guide on the CD-ROM.)
Photo paper does not feed 
properly.When you print on Brother Photo paper, load one extra sheet of the same photo 
paper in the paper tray. An extra sheet has been included in the paper package 
for this purpose.
Clean the paper pick-up rollers. (See Cleaning the paper pick-up rollers 
on page 120.)
Machine  feeds  multiple  pages. Make sure the paper is loaded properly in the paper tray. (See Loading paper and 
other print media on page 8.)
Check that more than two types of paper are not loaded in the paper tray at any 
one time.
There  is a paper  jam. Make sure the paper length guide is set to the paper size. Do not extend the paper 
tray when you load A5 or smaller size paper. (See Printer jam or paper jam 
on page 113.)
Printed pages are not stacked 
neatly.Make sure you are using the paper support flap. (See Loading paper and other 
print media on page 8.)
Machine does not print from 
Adobe
® Illustrator®.Try to reduce the print resolution. (See Printing for Windows
® or Printing and 
Faxing for Macintosh in the Software Users Guide on the CD-ROM.)
Printing Received Faxes
DifficultySuggestions
Condensed print and white streaks 
across the page or the top and 
bottom of sentences are cut off.You probably had a bad connection, with static or interference on the telephone 
line. Ask the other party to send the fax again.
Vertical black lines when receiving. The senders scanner may be dirty. Ask the sender to make a copy to see if the 
problem is with the sending machine. Try receiving from another fax machine.
Received color fax prints only in 
black & white.Replace the color ink cartridges that have reached the end of their life, and then 
ask the other person to send the color fax again. (See Replacing the ink cartridges 
on page 116.)
Left and Right margins are cut off or 
a single page is printed on two 
pages.Turn on Auto Reduction. (See Printing a reduced incoming fax on page 39.)
Printing (continued)
DifficultySuggestions
 
						

							Troubleshooting and Routine Maintenance
99
B
Telephone Line or Connections
DifficultySuggestions
Dialing does not work. 
(No dial tone)Check that the machine is plugged in and switched on.
Check all line cord connections. Make sure the telephone line cord is plugged into 
the telephone wall jack and the LINE jack of the machine.
(Canada only) Change the Tone/Pulse setting. (See Quick Setup Guide.)
Verify that the telephone line and jack are working by connecting a known working 
telephone and telephone line to the jack. Then lift the external telephone’s handset 
and listen for a dial tone. If there is no dial tone, ask your telephone company to 
check the line and/or jack. 
The machine does not answer 
when called.Make sure the machine is in the correct Receiving Mode for your setup. (See 
Receive modes on page 35.) Check for a dial tone. If possible, call your machine 
to hear it answer. If there is still no answer, check that the telephone cord is 
plugged into the telephone wall jack and the LINE jack of the machine. If there is 
no ringing when you call your machine, ask your telephone company to check the 
line.
Receiving Faxes
DifficultySuggestions
Cannot receive a fax. Make sure your machine has a dial tone by pressing the Hook key. If you hear 
static or interference on your fax line, please contact your local telephone 
company.
Check all line cord connections. Make sure the telephone line cord is plugged into 
the telephone wall jack and the LINE jack of the machine. If you subscribe to DSL 
or VoIP services, please contact your service provider for connection instructions.
Make sure the machine is in the correct Receive Mode. This is determined by the 
external devices and telephone subscriber services you have on the same line as 
the Brother machine. (See Receive Mode settings on page 38.)  
If you have a dedicated fax line and want your Brother machine to automatically 
answer all incoming faxes, you should select Fax Only mode.
If your Brother machine shares a line with an external answering machine, you 
should select the External TAD mode. In External TAD mode, your Brother 
machine will automatically receive incoming faxes and voice callers will be able to 
leave a message on your answering machine.
If your Brother machine shares the line with a Voice Mail subscriber service, 
please see Voice Mail on page 41.  
If your Brother machine is on a line with the Distinctive Ring subscriber service, 
please see Distinctive Ring on page 42.     
If your Brother machine shares a line with other telephones and you want it to 
automatically answer all incoming faxes, you should select the Fax/Tel mode. In 
Fax/Tel mode, your Brother machine will automatically receive faxes and 
produce a pseudo/double-ring to alert you to answer voice calls.
If you do not want your Brother machine to automatically answer any incoming 
faxes, you should select the Manual mode. In Manual mode, you must answer 
every incoming call and activate the machine to receive faxes.
 
						

							100
Cannot receive a fax.
(continued)Another device or service at your location may be answering the call before your 
Brother machine answers. To test this, lower the ring delay setting:
„If the answer mode is set to Fax Only or Fax/Tel, reduce the ring delay to 
1 ring. (See Ring Delay on page 38.)
„If the answer mode is set to External TAD, reduce the number of rings 
programmed on your answering machine to 2.
„If the answer mode is set to Manual, DO NOT adjust the ring delay setting.
Have someone send you a test fax:
„If you received the test fax successfully, your machine is operating properly. 
Remember to reset your ring delay or answering machine setting back to your 
original setting. If receiving problems recur after resetting the ring delay, then 
a person, device, or subscriber service is answering the fax call before the 
machine has a chance to answer.
„If you were not able to receive the fax, then another device or subscriber 
service may be interfering with your fax reception or there may be a problem 
with your fax line.
If you are using a telephone answering machine (External TAD mode) on the 
same line as the Brother machine, make sure your answering machine is set up 
correctly. (See Connecting an external TAD (telephone answering device) 
on page 45.)     
1 Plug the telephone line cord directly from the wall telephone jack to your 
Brother machine’s LINE jack.
2 Remove the protective cap from your Brother machine’s EXT jack, and then 
plug the telephone line cord from your answering machine into the EXT jack.
3 Set your answering machine to answer within 4 rings. 
If you are having problems receiving faxes or voice messages, set your 
answering machine to answer within 2 or 3 rings.
4 Record the outgoing message on your answering machine.
„Record five seconds of silence at the beginning of your outgoing 
message.
„Limit your speaking to 20 seconds.
„End your outgoing message with your Fax Receive Code for people 
sending manual faxes. For example: “After the beep, leave a message or 
press l5 1 and Start to send a fax.”
5 Set your answering machine to answer calls.
6 Set your Brother machine’s Receive Mode to External TAD. (See Receive 
Mode settings on page 38.)
Make sure your Brother machine’s Easy Receive feature is turned On. Easy 
Receive is a feature that allows you to receive a fax even if you have answered 
the call on an external or extension telephone. (See Easy Receive on page 39.)    
If you often get transmission errors due to possible interference on the telephone 
line, try changing the Compatibility setting to Basic(for VoIP). (See 
Telephone line interference on page 105.)   
Receiving Faxes (continued)
DifficultySuggestions
 
						

							Troubleshooting and Routine Maintenance
101
B
Sending Faxes
DifficultySuggestions
Cannot  send  a  fax. Check all line cord connections. Make sure the telephone line cord is plugged into 
the telephone wall jack and the LINE jack of the machine.
Make sure that the Fax   key is illuminated. (See Entering Fax mode 
on page 28.)
Ask the other party to check that the receiving machine has paper.
Print the Transmission Verification Report and check for an error. (See Reports 
on page 56.)
Transmission Verification Report 
says ‘RESULT:NG’.There is probably temporary noise or static on the line. Try sending the fax again. 
If you send a PC FAX message and get ‘RESULT:NG’ on the Transmission 
Verification Report, your machine may be out of memory. If the problem continues, 
ask the telephone company to check your telephone line.
If you often get transmission errors due to possible interference on the telephone 
line, try changing the menu setting of Compatibility to Basic(for VoIP). (See 
Telephone line interference on page 105.)
Poor fax send quality. Try changing your resolution to Fine or S.Fine. Make a copy to check your 
machines scanner operation. If the copy quality is not good, clean the scanner. 
(See Cleaning the scanner on page 119.)
Sent faxes are blank. Make sure you are loading the document properly. (See Loading documents 
on page 18.)
Vertical black lines when sending. 
(MFC-295CN only)If the copy you made shows the same problem, clean the scanner. (See Cleaning 
the scanner on page 119.)
Handling Incoming Calls
DifficultySuggestions
The machine ‘Hears’ a voice as a 
CNG Tone.If Easy Receive is set to On, your machine is more sensitive to sounds. It may 
mistakenly interpret certain voices or music on the line as a fax machine calling 
and respond with fax receiving tones. Deactivate the machine by pressing 
Stop/Exit. Try avoiding this problem by turning Easy Receive Off. (See Easy 
Receive on page 39.)
Sending a fax call to the machine. If you answered at the machine, press Black Start and hang up at once. If you 
answered on the extension telephone, press your Fax Receive Code (default 
setting is l5 1). If you answered on the external telephone (connected to the 
EXT jack), press Start to receive the fax. When your machine answers, hang up.
Custom features on a single line. If you have Call Waiting, Call Waiting/Caller ID, Voice Mail, an alarm system or 
other custom feature on a single telephone line with your machine, it may create 
a problem sending or receiving faxes.
For example: If you subscribe to Call Waiting or some other custom service and 
it signal comes through the line while your machine is sending or receiving a fax, 
the signal can temporarily interrupt or disrupt the faxes. Brothers ECM (Error 
Correction Mode) feature should help overcome this problem. This condition is 
related to the telephone system industry and is common to all devices that send 
and receive information on a single, shared line with custom features. If avoiding 
a slight interruption is crucial to your business, a separate telephone line with no 
custom features is recommended.
 
						

							102
Menu Setting Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
The machine beeps when you try to 
access the Setup Send or Setup 
Receive menu.If the Fax   key is not illuminated, press it to turn on Fax mode. The Setup 
Send or Setup Receive setting is available only when the machine is in Fax mode.
Copying Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
Cannot make a copy.
Make sure that the Copy   key is illuminated. (See Entering Copy mode 
on page 58.)
Copies are blank. Make sure you are loading the document properly. (See Loading documents 
on page 18.)
Vertical streaks appear in copies. If you see vertical streaks on copies, clean the scanner. (See Cleaning the 
scanner on page 119.)
Poor copy results when using the 
ADF. (MFC-295CN only)Try using the scanner glass. (See Using the scanner glass on page 19.)
Vertical black line appears in 
copies. (MFC-295CN only)Vertical black lines or streaks on copies are typically caused by dirt or correction 
fluid on the scanner. Clean the glass strip  and scanner glass and the white bar and 
white plastic above them. (See Cleaning the scanner on page 119.)
Fit to Page does not work properly. Make sure the document is not skewed on the scanner glass. 
Reposition the document and try again.
Scanning Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
TWAIN/WIA errors appear when 
starting to scan.Make sure the Brother TWAIN/WIA driver is chosen as the primary source. In 
PaperPort™ 11SE with OCR, click File, Scan or Get Photo and click Select to 
choose the Brother TWAIN/WIA driver.
OCR does not work. Try increasing the scanner resolution.
Fit to Page does not work. Make sure the document is not skewed on the scanner glass. Reposition the 
document and try again.
Poor scanning results when using 
the ADF. (MFC-295CN only)Try using the scanner glass. (See Using the scanner glass on page 19.)
Software Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
Cannot install software or print. Run the Repair MFL-Pro Suite program on the CD-ROM. This program will repair 
and reinstall the software.
‘Device Busy’  Make sure the machine is not showing an error message on the LCD.
Cannot print images from 
FaceFilter Studio. To use FaceFilter Studio, you must install the FaceFilter Studio application from 
the CD-ROM supplied with your machine. To install FaceFilter Studio see the 
Quick Setup Guide.
Also, before you start FaceFilter Studio for the first time, you must make sure your 
Brother machine is turned on and connected to your computer. This will allow you 
to access all the functions of FaceFilter Studio.
 
						

							Troubleshooting and Routine Maintenance
103
B
PhotoCapture Center® Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
Removable Disk does not work 
properly.1 Have you installed the Windows
® 2000 update? If not, do the following:
1) Unplug the USB cable.
2) Install the Windows
® 2000 update using one of the following methods.
„Install MFL-Pro Suite from the CD-ROM. (See the Quick Setup 
Guide.)
„Download the latest service pack from the Microsoft Web site.
3) Wait about 1 minute after you restart the PC, and then connect the USB 
cable.
2 Take out the memory card or USB Flash memory drive and put it back in 
again.
3 If you have tried ‘Eject’ from within Windows
®, take out the memory card or 
USB Flash memory drive before you continue.
4 If an error message appears when you try to eject the memory card or USB 
Flash memory drive, it means the card is being accessed. Wait a while and 
then try again.
5 If all of the above do not work, turn off your PC and machine, and then turn 
them on again. (You will have to unplug the power cord of the machine to turn 
it off.)
Cannot access Removable Disk 
from Desktop icon. Make sure that you have correctly inserted the memory card or USB Flash 
memory drive. 
Part of my photo is missing when 
printed.Make sure that Borderless printing and Cropping are turned off. (See Borderless 
printing on page 73 and Cropping on page 73.)
 
						

							104
Network Difficulties
DifficultySuggestions
Cannot print over the network. Make sure that your machine is powered on and is online and in Ready mode. 
Print a Network Configuration list (see Reports on page 56) and check the current 
Network settings printed in this list.
(MFC-295CN only) 
Reconnect the LAN cable to the hub to verify that the cabling and network 
connections are good. If possible, try connecting the machine to a different port on 
your hub using a different cable. If the connections are good, the machine shows 
LAN Active for 2 seconds.
 (If you are using a wireless connection for the MFC-255CW or are having Network 
problems, see the Network User’s Guide on the CD-ROM for more information.) 
The network scanning feature does 
not work.
Firewall settings on your PC may be rejecting the necessary network connection. 
Follow the instructions below to configure the Firewall. If you are using a personal 
Firewall software, see the User’s Guide for your software or contact the software 
manufacturer.
For Windows
® XP SP2 and Windows Vista® users, see Firewall settings in the 
Software User’s Guide on the CD-ROM.
For Windows
® XP SP1 users, please visit the Brother Solutions Center.  
(http://solutions.brother.com
)

Re-select your machine in the Device Selector application located in 
Macintosh HD/Library/Printers/Brother/Utilities/DeviceSelector or from the model 
list in ControlCenter2.
The network PC-Fax Receive 
feature does not work.(Windows
® users only)
Firewall settings on your PC may be rejecting the necessary network connection. 
Follow the instructions below to configure the Firewall. If you are using a personal 
Firewall software, see the User’s Guide for your software or contact the software 
manufacturer.
For Windows
® XP SP2 and Windows Vista® users, see Firewall settings in the 
Software User’s Guide on the CD-ROM.
For Windows
® XP SP1 users, please visit the Brother Solutions Center.  
(http://solutions.brother.com
)
Your computer cannot find your 
machine.
Firewall settings on your PC may be rejecting the necessary network connection. 
For detail, see the instruction above.

Re-select your machine in the Device Selector application located in 
Macintosh HD/Library/Printers/Brother/Utilities/DeviceSelector or from the model 
list in ControlCenter2.
 
						

							Troubleshooting and Routine Maintenance
105
B
Dial Tone B
Setting the dial tone to Detection will shorten 
the dial detect pause.
aPress Menu, 0, 5.
bPress aorb to choose Detection or 
No Detection.
Press OK.
cPress Stop/Exit.
Telephone line interferenceB
If you are having problems sending or 
receiving a fax due to possible interference 
on the telephone line, we recommend that 
you adjust the Equalization for compatibility 
to reduce the modem speed for fax 
operations.
aPress Menu, 0, 6.
bPress aorb to choose Normal (or 
Basic(for VoIP)).
„Basic(for VoIP) reduces the 
modem speed to 9,600 bps. Unless 
interference is a recurring problem 
on your telephone line, you may 
prefer to use it only when needed.
„Normal sets the modem speed at 
14,400 bps. (Default)
Press OK.
cPress Stop/Exit.
Note
When you change the compatibility to 
Basic(for VoIP), the ECM feature is 
only available for color fax sending.
 
 
						

							106
Error and maintenance messagesB
As with any sophisticated office product, errors may occur and consumable items may need to be 
replaced. If this happens, your machine identifies the problem and shows an error message. The 
most common error and maintenance messages are shown below.
You can correct most errors and clear routine maintenance messages by yourself. If you need 
more help, the Brother Solutions Center offers the latest FAQs and troubleshooting tips.
Visit us at http://solutions.brother.com
.
Error MessageCauseAction
B&W Print Only
Replace XX InkOne or more of the color ink 
cartridges have reached the end 
of their life.
You can use the machine in black 
& white mode for approximately 
four weeks depending on the 
number of pages you print.
While this message appears on 
the LCD, each operation works in 
the following way:
„Printing
If you click Grayscale in the 
Advanced tab of the printer 
driver you can use the 
machine as a black & white 
printer.
„Copying
If the paper type is set to 
Plain Paper or 
Inkjet Paper, you can 
make copies in black & white.
„Faxing
If the paper type is set to 
Plain Paper or 
Inkjet Paper, the machine 
will receive and print faxes in 
black & white.
If a sending machine has a 
color fax, the machine’s 
‘handshake’ will ask that the 
fax be sent as black & white. 
If the paper type is set to 
Other Glossy or 
Brother BP71, the machine will 
stop all print operations. If you 
unplug the machine, or take out 
the ink cartridge, you cannot use 
the machine until you change to a 
new ink cartridge. Replace the ink cartridge. (See Replacing 
the ink cartridges on page 116.)