Retest PC

Brother Printer Test Page

Print a black and white, color or nozzle sheet on your Brother, then print the built-in Test Print or settings report from the control panel. Steps for each panel type are below.

HL, DCP and MFC, laser and inkjetUS Letter, A4 and PDF
Paper size
Test page
Download PDF11 KB

In the print window, set Scale to 100% or Actual size and Margins to Default or None, so the rulers print true to size.

Ink or toner covers about 24% of the sheet. A page of plain text covers about 5%.

What your Brother test page shows

Match the fault, then follow the fix

These are the faults this page shows most often. Match what you see on the printed sheet for the likely cause and the fix.

Faded or pale print

Ink or toner is low, or the printer is set to draft or toner save. Check the levels and set print quality to Standard.

Color test page

Smudges, smears or a faint double

The paper setting does not match the paper, the rollers are dirty or, on a laser printer, the drum or fuser is wearing out.

Black and white print test page

Nothing came out

The page never reached the printer. It may be offline, paused or out of paper, or another printer was picked in the print window.

Why is my printer offline

Something else on the sheet? Every fault with its fix is on the printer test page.

This Brother printer test page prints from your browser to any Brother HL, DCP or MFC printer, laser or inkjet. The black and white sheet suits the monochrome lasers that make up much of Brother's range, and the full color sheet checks every toner or ink on color models. Brother printers can also print their own Test Print and settings report from the control panel, without a computer. The steps for each type of Brother panel are below, followed by fixes for when the test page prints but nothing from the computer does.

Print a Brother printer test page from a computer or phone

  1. Load plain paper and pick the same size above the sheet: US Letter or A4.
  2. Choose Black and white page for a monochrome laser, such as the HL-L2300 range. Choose Full color page for a color laser or an inkjet.
  3. Press Print this page, choose your Brother in the print window and set the scale to 100% or Actual size.
  4. To print from a phone, press Download PDF and print the file with Brother Mobile Connect or the share menu.
  5. Check the solid black areas and the gray steps first: on a laser they show toner and drum faults clearly.

Brother's Test Print is in the Printer menu on models with a display. The exact path depends on the panel.

HL models with a one line display (HL-L2405W, HL-L2420DW, HL-L2460DW, HL-L2865DW)

  1. Press the up or down arrow until Printer shows, then press OK.
  2. On the HL-L2460DW and HL-L2865DW, select Print Options and press OK.
  3. Select Test Print, press OK, then press Go.

Color models with a Menu button (HL-L3300CDW and similar)

Press Menu, select Printer and press OK, then Print Options (on models with printer emulation) and Test Print. Press Black Start or Color Start, then Stop/Exit when it has printed.

DCP and MFC models with a touchscreen (DCP-L3560CDW, MFC-L3720CDW and similar)

Press the Settings icon, then All Settings, Printer, Print Options, Test Print, and press Yes.

HL models without a display (HL-L2400D)

Close the front cover, turn the printer on and wait until only the Ready light is lit. Press Go three times. The printer prints its Printer Settings page, which confirms the printer works and shows its setup.

The Print Reports menu lists every report your model can print. The two most useful:

  • Printer Settings (called User Settings on many MFC models): the printer's current settings, which is handy before you change anything.
  • Network Configuration: the IP address and connection status. Print it when a computer says the printer cannot be found, and use the WLAN Report to check a Wi-Fi link.

On the HL-L2460DW, select Print Reports, then Printer Settings, press OK and then Go. On the touchscreen DCP and MFC models, press Settings, All Settings, Print Reports, Network Configuration and Yes. On models with a Menu button, press Menu, select Print Reports, then the network configuration report, press OK and then Black Start or Color Start.

What the Brother test page should show

Area Good result Common Brother laser fault
Solid black areas Even black with no white lines Pale or faded: low toner or toner save mode
Gray steps 0 to 100 Every step a different shade Gray background over the whole page: worn drum
Small text 6 pt sharp and readable Fuzzy text: damp paper or the wrong paper type setting
Whole page Clean white margins Black dots or marks repeating at the same spacing: drum
Scale bars 100 mm and 4 inches exactly Shorter: the page was shrunk to fit

Faded print, streaks and spots on a Brother laser

Most print faults on a Brother laser come from the toner cartridge or the drum unit, which are separate parts on most models.

  1. Toner Save. Faded print across the whole page is often Toner Save mode. Turn it off in the printer's general settings or in the driver.
  2. Low toner. Take out the drum and toner assembly and rock it gently from side to side to spread the toner, then print again. Replace the cartridge when Toner Low or Replace Toner shows.
  3. Corona wire. Vertical dark lines or a stripe down the page usually come from a dirty corona wire. On monochrome models, slide the green tab on the drum unit from left to right and back several times, then return it to its home position.
  4. Drum unit. Dots or marks that repeat at the same distance down the page come from the drum. Clean it with the steps in Brother's guide, or replace it if Replace Drum shows.

The online user's guide for your model on Brother Support has illustrated steps for cleaning the corona wire and the drum unit.

Brother inkjets: check the print quality

On MFC-J and DCP-J inkjets, the print quality check prints blocks of fine lines in each ink. On touchscreen models such as the MFC-J4535DW, press Ink, then Improve Print Quality and Check Print Quality, and press Start. Models with a small display, such as the MFC-J4335DW, call it Impr. PrintQuality under the Ink button. The screen then asks whether every line is clear. If some are missing, answer Yes, pick the numbered pattern that looks most like your sheet, and the machine cleans the head and offers to print the check again. Use the nozzle check page here to see each ink in more detail.

Brother test page prints, but documents do not

If Test Print or the settings report prints, the Brother works, and the problem is getting jobs from the computer to it. Brother's own checklist:

  • Power Off mode. Make sure the printer is not in Power Off mode, then send the job again.
  • The driver. Check that the Brother driver for your model is installed and selected in the print window.
  • Errors. Look for an error on the printer's display or in the Brother Status Monitor on Windows. A paper jam or a Replace Toner message stops every job.
  • Offline. On Windows, open the printer's queue (See what's printing), open the Printer menu and make sure Use Printer Offline is not selected.
  • On a Mac. If the printer shows as offline, delete it in Printers & Scanners and add it again.
  • Stuck jobs. Cancel the job and clear it from the printer's memory, then send it again.

For the Windows spooler, ports and network drops, see why is my printer not printing and printer offline Windows 11.

Brother's own tools

  • Status Monitor (Windows): shows toner, drum and error messages from the computer.
  • Brother iPrint&Scan (Windows and Mac): prints, scans and opens the machine's settings.
  • Brother Mobile Connect (iPhone and Android): prints from a phone and shows the printer's status.
  • Web Based Management: type the printer's IP address from the Network Configuration report into a browser to see and change its settings.

What this test page cannot check

A web page sends the sheet like any other document. It cannot read toner or drum life, clear an error or start a cleaning, so use the printer's display or the Status Monitor for those. Brother also makes label printers, which need a label sized sheet rather than A4: use the label print test page for those. The scanner on a Brother all-in-one is checked separately with the scanner test page: print the chart, scan it and open the scan there.

Brother test page questions

How do I print a test page on a Brother printer with no screen?

On the HL-L2400D and similar models, make sure the front cover is closed and only the Ready light is on, then press Go three times. The printer prints its Printer Settings page, which doubles as a test page.

What is the difference between Test Print and the printer settings report?

Test Print checks the print quality with a test pattern. The Printer Settings or User Settings report lists how the printer is set up, and the Network Configuration report shows its IP address and connection. Print the report when a computer cannot find the printer.

Why does my Brother printer print a test page but nothing else?

The printer works, so the jobs are stuck on the computer side. Clear the queue, turn off Use Printer Offline, make sure the Brother driver for your model is selected, and on a Mac delete the printer and add it again. Brother's Status Monitor also shows errors that stop jobs.

How do I print a Brother test page from a Mac?

Open Print Center from Applications, then Utilities, select the Brother and choose Printer, then Print Test Page. Brother iPrint&Scan for Mac shows the printer's status and opens its settings page.

Why is my Brother test page blank?

On a laser, the toner is not reaching the paper: check that the toner cartridge is pushed fully into the drum unit and that all packing and tape came off a new one. On an inkjet, print the print quality check, since badly blocked nozzles print nothing. See printer printing blank pages for the full list.

Why does my Brother printer show an error after a test page?

Read the message on the screen, or the light pattern on models without one. A paper jam or Replace Toner stops printing, while Toner Low is only a warning you can print through. The control panel and the Status Monitor name the part to check, and the user's guide for your model lists every message.