Reference Guide Brief explanations for routine operations MFC-J491DW MFC-J497DW Brother recommends keeping this guide next to your Brother machine for quick reference. Online User's Guide For more advanced instructions, information, and product specifications, see the Online User's Guide at support.brother.
User's Guides and Where to Find Them Which Guide? What's in It? Where Is It? Product Safety Guide Read this guide first. Please read the Safety Instructions before you set up your machine. See this guide for trademarks and legal limitations. Printed / In the box Quick Setup Guide Follow the instructions for setting up your machine, and installing the Full Driver & Software Package for the operating system and connection type you are using.
Questions or Problems? Take a Look at our FAQs, Solutions, and Videos Online. Go to your model's FAQs & Troubleshooting page on the Brother Solutions Center at support.brother.com.
1 General Information Control Panel Overview 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 1 General Information 7 1. 1.8" Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Displays messages to help you set up and use the machine. 2. Mode buttons FAX Press to switch the machine to Fax mode. SCAN Press to switch the machine to Scan mode. COPY Press to switch the machine to Copy mode. Settings Press to access the main menu. OK Press to select a setting. d or c Press to adjust the ring volume while the machine is idle.
d or c Color Start • Press to move the cursor left or right on the LCD. • Press to start sending faxes in full color. • Press to either confirm or cancel a procedure which is in progress. • Press to start making copies in full color. 4. Telephone buttons • Press to start scanning documents (in color or black and white depending on the scan setting). Hook Press before dialing to ensure a fax machine answers, and then press Black Start or Color Start.
LCD Overview 4. Date and Time This screen shows the machine’s status when the machine is idle. When displayed, this indicates that your machine is ready for the next command. 5. Faxes in Memory Home Screen 1 2 Displays the date and time set on the machine. Displays how many received faxes are in the machine's memory. 6. Receive Mode 1 Displays the current Receive Mode. General Information When the Distinctive Ring feature is turned on, the LCD displays [D/R]. AM 01. 01. 2018 Fax 6 1.
2 Paper Handling Load Paper 1 Load the paper in the paper tray as follows. Fan the stack of paper well. Tray #1 How to Load Paper Letter/A4 Printing surface: Face down Legal Adjust the paper guides. Executive A5/A6 Photo 2L Index card Envelopes Photo Printing surface: Face down Adjust the paper guides. For more detailed information, see the Online User's Guide: Load Paper. 2 Unfold the paper support flap. Change the paper size setting in the machine's menu, if needed.
Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) Scanner Glass Place your document face down in the ADF. 2 Place the document face down in the upper left corner of the scanner glass.
3 Print Print from Your Computer Before attempting any printing operation, confirm the following: • Make sure you have installed the Brother software and drivers. Various Printing To use the various printing features, click the printing properties or preferences button to change the printer setting. Print on Both Sides of the Paper Automatically • Make sure the USB cable is connected correctly, or that you are connected to the network using your wireless access point/router.
4 Copy Copy a Document 1 Make sure you have loaded the correct size paper in the paper tray. 2 Load your document. 3 Press Other Copy Options You can use various copy features by changing copy settings. Enlarge or Reduce Copied Images (COPY). The LCD displays: Press Start 01 4 Quality Normal Copy Paper Type Plain Paper 4 2-sided Copy Enter the number of copies in one of the following ways: • Press - or + on the control panel. • Enter the number of copies using the dial pad.
5 Scan Before Scanning computer where you want to send data, and then press OK. Before attempting to scan, confirm the following: If the LCD prompts you to enter a PIN, use the control panel to enter the fourdigit PIN for the computer, and then press OK. • Make sure you have installed the Brother software and drivers. • Make sure the USB cable is connected correctly, or that you are connected to the network using your wireless access point/ router.
6 Fax Before Faxing • VoIP (Voice over IP) is a type of phone system that uses an Internet connection, rather than a traditional phone line. Telephone Line Interference/ VoIP If you are having problems sending or receiving a fax due to possible interference on the telephone line or if you are using a VoIP system, we recommend changing the modem speed to minimize errors in fax operations. 1 Press Settings.
• Caller ID (Select a number from the Caller ID history.) • If you are using the scanner glass and pressed Color Start, the LCD asks if you want to send a color fax. Press a or b to select the following: Press c to confirm. The machine starts dialing and sending the document. a. Select [Call History]. Press OK. b. Select [Caller ID History]. Press OK. c. Select the number you want, and then press OK. d. Press c to select [Apply]. • [Address Book] (Select a number from the Address Book.
If you do not want to answer every call manually to determine whether it's a voice call or a fax, contact your telephone provider and ask about Distinctive Ring services. Will you be using a Telephone Answering Device on the same telephone line as your Brother machine? Your external telephone answering device (TAD) will answer every call automatically. Voice messages are stored on the external TAD and fax messages are printed. Select [External TAD] as your Receive Mode.
A Routine Maintenance Check the Print Quality If faded or streaked colors and text appear or if text is missing on your printouts, the print head nozzles may be clogged. Print the Print Quality Check Sheet and look at the nozzle check pattern. 1 Press Settings. 2 Press a or b to select the following: 6 The LCD asks you to check the print quality of each color. Press d or c to select the pattern (1–4) that most closely matches the printing result, and then press OK. 7 Do one of the following: a.
When a print head nozzle is clogged, the printed sample looks like this. 4 Press c again. The machine starts printing the Alignment Check Sheet. (A) After the print head nozzle is cleaned, the horizontal lines are gone. 5 For pattern (A), press d or c to select the number of the test print that has the fewest visible vertical stripes (1-9), and then press OK. In the example above, row number 6 is the best choice. Repeat this step for the rest of the patterns.
B Troubleshooting Use this section to resolve problems you may encounter when using your Brother machine. Identify the Problem Even if there seems to be a problem with your machine, you can correct most problems yourself. First, check the following: • The machine's power cord is connected correctly and the machine's power is on. • All of the machine's orange protective parts have been removed. • The ink cartridges are installed correctly. • The Scanner Cover and the Jam Clear Cover are fully closed.
Error and Maintenance Messages The most common error and maintenance messages are shown in the table. For more detailed information, see the Online User's Guide. You can correct most errors and perform routine maintenance yourself. If you need more tips, go to your model's FAQs & Troubleshooting page on the Brother Solutions Center at support.brother.com. Error Message Action Absorber NearFull The ink absorber box must be replaced soon.
Error Message Action Disconnected Try to send or receive again. If calls are stopped repeatedly and you are using a VoIP (Voice over IP) system, try changing the Compatibility to Basic (for VoIP). See Related Information: Telephone Line Interference/VoIP at the end of this section. Document Jam The document was not inserted or fed correctly, or the document scanned from the ADF was too long. For more detailed information, see the Online User's Guide: Document Jams.
Error Message Action Jam C Rear Remove the jammed paper. For more detailed information, see the Online User's Guide: Printer Jam or Paper Jam. Make sure the paper guides are set to the correct paper size. DO NOT extend the paper tray when you load A5 or smaller size paper. Clean the paper pick-up rollers. For more detailed information, see the Online User's Guide: Clean the Paper Pick-up Rollers. Low Temperature After warming the room, allow the machine to warm up to room temperature.
Error Message Action Paper Size Mismatch 1. Check that the paper size you selected on the machine's display matches the size of the paper in the tray. For more detailed information, see the Online User's Guide: Change the Paper Size and Paper Type. 2. Make sure you loaded the paper in a Portrait position, by setting the paper guides at the indicators for your paper size. For more detailed information, see the Online User's Guide: Load Paper. 3.
Error Message Unable to Scan XX Action • Transfer your faxes to another fax machine or your computer before disconnecting the machine so you will not lose any important messages. Then, disconnect the machine from the power for several minutes and reconnect it. For more detailed information, see the Online User's Guide: Transfer Your Faxes or Fax Journal Report. Wrong Ink Cartridge The ink cartridge model number is not compatible with your machine.
C Appendix Enter Text on Your Brother Machine • The characters that are available may differ depending on your country. When you are setting certain menu selections, such as the Station ID, you may need to enter text into the machine. Most dial pad buttons have three or four letters printed on the buttons. The buttons for 0, # and do not have printed letters because they are used for special characters.
Press # Press 0 English: French: Spanish: Supply Specifications Ink The machine uses individual Black, Yellow, Cyan and Magenta ink cartridges that are separate from the print head assembly. Service Life of Ink Cartridge The first time you install the ink cartridges, the machine will use extra ink to fill the ink delivery tubes. This is a one-time process that enables highquality printing. Replacement ink cartridges will print the number of pages specified later in this table.
Brother International Corporation 200 Crossing Boulevard P.O. Box 6911 Bridgewater, NJ 08807-0911 USA Brother International Corporation (Canada) Ltd. 1 rue Hôtel de Ville, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC, Canada H9B 3H6 Visit us on the World Wide Web www.brother.com These machines are approved for use in the country of purchase only. Local Brother companies or their dealers will support only machines purchased in their own countries.