In recent years, it’s no secret that data theft has been on the rise. But while financial institutes and large enterprises have borne the bulk of these cyber-attacks, criminal organisations have been increasingly targeting SMBs as their lack of safeguards make them especially vulnerable to all forms of data breaches. These malicious attacks not only cost companies millions of dollars in losses each year, but with valuable customer information being compromised, a loss of trust in your business can be truly difficult to recover from.

While this ever-present and ever-evolving threat has led businesses to take steps in securing their computers, laptops and smart devices, there still remains one aspect of the workflow that is frequently overlooked – your printing environment.

Safeguarding your printing workflow

With the advancement of mobile and wireless technology, it is now easier than before for workforces to print, scan and copy wherever they are.  However, with this convenience comes certain vulnerabilities as confidential data sent to your printers and scanners could be compromised and stolen by hackers. That is why organisations around the world are turning to trusted brands such as Brother that equips its printing solutions with enterprise-level security features to keep businesses safe from threats.

Block unauthorised access to your printers

As invaluable productivity tools, printers and scanners are one of the most widely used devices in any department. However, leaving your printers open to indiscriminate use could lead to unchecked data leaks. To combat this, Brother printers with Secure Function Lock features advanced security capabilities that give businesses full control and protection of their print infrastructure. With Secure Function Lock 3.0, your IT department can easily gain control over groups or individual usage of the printer by authorising users to access specific functions of the printer such as colour or monochrome printing, page limits, scanning features, and printer web connectivity for up to 200 configurations.

Print securely from the Cloud

Through the power of the Cloud, businesses can now share and collaborate from anywhere in the world. But too often, print jobs with confidential or sensitive data are directly sent to the printer for printing, resulting in printouts being left at the printer for unauthorised personnel to view. With this in mind, Brother devices with the Cloud Secure Print feature allows user to send secure, password-protected documents through either email or by uploading the documents on a web browser to a Brother machine for printing from wherever they are. To prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, these documents are then held securely in the device and can only be retrieved for printing after a password is entered at the destination machine.

Mobile productivity without compromises

With an increasing amount of work being done via mobile devices it simply makes sense for your workforce to print and scan straight from their smartphones and tablets for productivity. Brother’s iPrint&Scan app enables users to securely print, scan, fax or copy documents directly from their smartphone or tablet without the need for a PC. Best of all, Brother iPrint&Scan is a free app available on Android and Apple mobile devices for maximum productivity on the go.

Protect your data with a leader in print security

When it comes to data security, place your trust in a proven name in print security. Find out more about how Brother printing innovations can help your business to safely, securely and reliably maximise your printing productivity here.

If you are in search of a printing solution for your home or office, the common choice would most likely be the regular A4 printer. After all, they are widely available and will enable you to start printing standard documents without much fuss. As with any purchase, it would be great if you could enjoy more functionality and productivity on your investment, and that’s why we believe that you should consider getting an A3 printer instead.

A4 or A3 printers – what’s the difference?

Simply put, an A3 printer or Multi-function Centre (MFC) is a device which is capable of handling paper sizes up to A3 size (29.7 x 42 cm) .This means that A3 printers can not only print at up to double the dimensions of a standard A4 office document, but everything in between as well. This gives you greater versatility when it comes to your printing options while ensuring that your everyday printing needs are well-covered too.

Make a bigger impact without the bulk

When it comes to making an impact, nothing beats a large, vibrant printout. Whether it’s creating an attention-grabbing marketing poster, a presentation chart, or even a sales brochure, having the ability to print A3 materials in-house can truly open up a world of creative possibilities. Best of all, rather than being the bulky, space-eating devices that you might expect, today’s A3 printers and MFCs can be found in sleek, compact designs that barely take up more space than the average A4 printer, making them suitable for not only office environments, but within your home workspace too.

Types of A3 printers available

Although there are some A3 laser printer models in the market, it is much more common to find an A3 inkjet printer. With fast print speeds of up to22/20 images per minute¹, the ability to print vibrant colour graphics and images, crisp lines and clear text, and cost-saving features such as Brother’s Refill Tank System which allows for quick and fuss-free refills using ultra high-yield ink bottles, Brother’s inkjet printers offer a unique blend of performance, print quality, and cost-effectiveness that simply cannot be beaten. Best of all, these modern A3 printers come packed with the latest wireless and mobile connectivity to ensure that you have the freedom to stay productive from wherever you are.

Finding the perfect A3 printer for your needs

Now that you’ve gained a better understanding of the many benefits of an A3 printing solution, where can you find the right device for your specific needs? As a world leader in printing innovation, Brother’s wide range of A3 inkjet solutions would be a good place to start. Find yours today here.

1.     Based on ISO/IEC 24734.

Clueless about auto duplex printing on laser printers? Don’t worry we’ve got you covered. Auto duplex printing is basically printing on two sides of the paper automatically. Yes, it means that you don’t have to flip the pages manually when you want two-sided printed pages.

But how do you do that? Is there a special switch that you need to flip? Read on to find out!

Manual VS Auto Duplex Laser Printer

Manual duplex printing can achieve the same result as automatic duplex printing — the only difference is that you will have to turn the page over yourself to print the other side.

On the other hand, in auto duplex printing, the printer does the flipping for you. This saves you time, money, effort, and paper!

An auto duplex laser printer helps you to enjoy higher print quality, faster print speeds, cleaner prints, lower print costs, and more efficient printing.

Check out some of Brother’s best Laser Duplex Printers

• HL-L2375DW
• DCP-L2550DW
• HL-L3270CDW
• DCP-L3551CDW
• MFC-L3770CDW

Here are some additional tips to enhance your printing efficiency:

Two Ways to Optimize Printing Speed

1. Use a Laser Printer

Compared to inkjet printers, laser printers usually print more quickly, regardless of whether your prints are in colour or monochrome (black and white).

2. Use Auto Duplex

As mentioned previously, auto duplex printing saves you the hassle of manually flipping the pages. Just press print, make yourself a cup of coffee, and come back with double-sided prints!

How do you set up auto duplex printing?

How To Do Auto Duplex Printing

Setting up duplex printing can change your printing routine and reduce costs. All you have to do is to follow the steps below:

Are you a student who needs an affordable printer for your printing needs?

Tired of paying for expensive prints every time a school project is due?

Having to wait in the long queue at the school’s printing shop during submission deadlines?

Perhaps you are a parent who grimaces at the struggle of your children, and wishes to make their lives easier.

Students (and parents) rejoice! In this article, you will learn how you can save money on printing by investing in the right affordable home printers perfectly suited for your needs.

Why Do Students Need Affordable Printers

But first, let us address the elephant in the room — do children, teenagers and youths need printers?

The short answer is a resounding yes! Here are four reasons why students need low-priced printers at home.

Printing of School Projects and Assignments

With project-based learning and school projects being the norm these days, students need to print reports, essays, photos, and other assignments.

These may sometimes include colour printouts of charts and graphs, or captioned photos depicting different locations that they’ve been. It is also common for students to print out lesson plans and notes from their teachers.

Tertiary level students in universities may also need a printer to proof-read long essays or churn out copies of their research reports.

Printing of Personal Fun Projects

Beyond school projects, having an affordable printer also allows your child to stretch her imagination with fun personal projects.

She could design and print out a photo book documenting your last family vacation. Create a sign-board just for her room. Or write a fictitious story involving space aliens and cowboys!

A home printer also allows you to print out family photos — a perfect way to decorate your home during these times.

Expensive Shop Printing Costs

Beyond the above reasons, printing can also be increasingly more expensive at print shops with rising labour and rental costs.

While professional printers may be suited for large volume commercial prints, small-scale printing costs for home users are likely to be high. This is especially so for high resolution colour printouts for images such as photos, posters, or other illustrations.

 Inconvenience of Printing in School or at a Shop

Faced with mounting pressures at school, students who need urgent print-outs of their assignments may find it frustrating to look for an available print shop.

Often, queues at such printing shops may form — especially close to project deadlines!

Besides battling other students to get your job printed first, you may also have to contend with occasions where the shop closes, like weekends, public holidays, or non-retail hours.

What To Look For in an Affordable Student Printer

Getting an affordable printer will help you to solve your student printing woes. You won’t need to go to a library or an internet cafe to print out your work, or rip your hair out when your regular print shop closes.

Before you run out to get any affordable printers you can find, consider these factors when you choose a printer that is best suited for a student.

Print Quality of Printer

Low cost shouldn’t equate with low quality. While searching for the best economically-priced printer, you’ll need to ensure that your printer doesn’t skimp on print quality.

Check that your value-for-money printer can print out various documents with perfect clarity. It would be such a shame if your hard work came out with a bunch of blurs, lines and smudges!

Space Needed for Printer

Next, consider the space you have for your printer. You wouldn’t want a printer that takes up too much space, given the constraints of your room.

Try to find one that is compact yet packed with the features that you need for your school and personal printing needs.

Cost of Printer — Think Long-Term Costs

Lastly, you’ll need to consider the price of the printer itself, as well as its running costs.

Often, students and their parents opt for the cheapest printer available in the market without considering the ongoing cost of its consumables. Such costs may add up — especially when the volume of school work that needs to be printed goes up.

There are four running cost components that you should consider:

1. Printer Ink or Toner Cost
2. Printer Paper Cost
3. Printer Electricity Consumption
4. Printer Maintenance or Repair Cost

Printer Ink or Toner Price

The printer ink or toner is one of the biggest running costs when it comes to owning a printer. You wouldn’t want to get a cheap printer that has a huge cost for its ink or toner.

You may want to consider if the majority of your print jobs are to be in black and white or colored. This will help to determine your budget for the cartridges — yes, colour cartridges are more expensive.

Do also be careful of using third party ink or toners — those may not be suitable for your machine and may damage it in the long-term.

It is wise to find a balance between your cost-per-page and the upfront printer cost.

Once you have these costs figured out, it would be easier to see if a printer will burn a hole in your pocket in the long term.

Pro Tip: If you’re looking to get an inkjet printer, you should use it at least weekly to maximize its cartridge use. Idle printers can dry up cartridges or result in clogged print heads.

If you are not printing constantly, and have longer idle time in between prints, it is better to get a laser printer. While the upfront costs of Laser printers may be higher than inkjet printers, toner replacement wouldn’t be as often. Besides, laser printer toners are dry powders which wouldn’t dry up with time.

Printer Paper Price

The next cost to consider are your paper costs. There are different types of printing media and they all have different prices.

If you need to print art pieces on a certain print medium, its costs and compatibility may vary from printer to printer. Getting these special papers from the same printer brand ensures that your printouts will be of a premium quality — it also helps you to avoid printer jams and other mishaps.

If you are just printing regular documents, sticking to regular A4 plain paper shouldn’t be much of a problem. A cost saving tip is to buy your printing paper in bulk or during a sale — it is much cheaper than buying them individually.

Printer Electricity Consumption

This next cost might seem negligible to some, but with any electrical appliances, the electricity consumption costs of your printer do add up over time.

Where possible, look for printers that have a deep sleep mode or energy saving functions. This might not seem like an important cost to consider in the beginning — however, in the long run, it will save you a considerable amount.

Printer Maintenance and Lifespan

What’s the point of buying a printer which spoils the next year? Fixing it or buying a new one altogether can be both troublesome and costly.

To prevent this, ensure that you buy a reliable printer with a good warranty. Often, this is a good sign that its maintenance costs will be manageable.

Do also look out for printers from established trustworthy brands that provide reliable customer service. This can help you to reduce your printer maintenance costs, and minimise the need for you to replace your student friendly printer every few years.

Where To Buy The Best Printers for Students

If you are looking to buy the best affordable printer for students, here are a few printers from Brother that can meet a student’s needs for affordability, high print quality, low consumables prices, and compact in size.

1. Brother Laser Printer For Students

Monochrome Laser printer:

DCP-L2550DW

• Print, Scan & Copy
• Monochrome Laser Printer
• Automatic 2-sided Printing
• Wireless Networking
• Print Quality: Up to 600 x 600 dpi, HQ1200 (Up to 2400 x 600 dpi), Up to 1200 x 1200 dpi
• Size: 410 mm x 398.5 mm x 318.5 mm

Colour Laser Printer:

DCP-L3551CDW

• Print, Scan & Copy
• Color LED Printer
• Auto 2-sided printing
• Wireless & Network Connectivity
• Print Quality: Up to 600 x 600 dpi, 2,400 dpi (600 x 2400)
• Size: 410 mm x 475 mm x 414 mm

MFC-L3770CDW

• Print, Scan, Copy & Fax
• Color LED Printer
• Auto 2-sided printing & scanning
• Wireless, Network Connectivity & NFC
• Print Quality: Up to 600 x 600 dpi, 2,400 dpi (600 x 2400)
• Size: 410 mm x 509 mm x 414 mm

2. Brother Inkjet Printer For Students

Colour Inkjet Printer:

DCP-T520W

• Print, Scan & Copy
• Inkjet Printer
• Wireless and mobile printing
• Print Quality:
  • Windows: Up to 1,200 x 6,000 dpi
  • Mac: Up to 1,200 x 3,600 dpi
• Size: 435 mm x 380 mm x 159 mm

Now go find your perfect printer and skip the nuances!

Looking for a Nifty Photo Printer? We’ve Got You Covered

Picture this — You’ve taken tons of photos of your kids, your family home, and even your two cats. You’ve shared them on social media, and occasionally, get to relive those special moments as you scroll through the memories that your smartphone throws up.

Wouldn’t it be nice to hold physical prints of those precious photos in your hand? Or to frame your priceless captures to be hung on that empty wall in the hallway?

In today’s Internet, smartphone and wireless-powered age, making physical photo prints can be as easy as snapping your fingers. You can send photos directly to your home printer (no computer or wires needed), or better still, print photos on a portable printer with a few taps on your phone.

Thinking about investing in a portable photo printer? Photo printers in Singapore come in all shapes, sizes, and specifications. How do you buy the right photo printer for your home or office? What kind of inks do you need to consider? More importantly, what features should you consider?

In this article, you’ll learn all about the different types of photo-friendly portable printers, how to choose a portable printer, as well as the range of printers small and lightweight enough to be easily transported yet robust enough to handle your everyday printing needs.

Types of Portable Printers

Portable printers come in three main flavours:

1. Inkjet Printers: These are the most common portable printers, and are commonly used for home printing of photos and other image-based documents.
2. Dye-sublimation Printers: While dye-sublimation printers in commercial settings tend to be larger in footprint, there are a few such printers designed for portability and accurate photography reproduction.
3. Pocket Photo Printers: These are specifically made for printing photographs, and are often carried around for events like weddings, parties and other occasions where “instant” photos are needed.

If you need to print out documents as well as photos, an inkjet printer is likely to be your best bet.

Dye-sublimation printers, on the other hand, are more specialised printers. Used to produce high-quality photo prints, they are ideal for professional photographers. The downside is that such printers are expensive and are not suitable for printing text documents.

Meanwhile, pocket photo printers are more suited for once-off uses — such printers are unable to handle a large variety of printing jobs.

Now size can be misleading — you might think that the smaller the printer, the cheaper it is. This simply isn’t the case. On the contrary, portable printers that have an extremely small footprint may cost more than larger multi-purpose printers.

Brother DCP-T520W is one of Brother’s most popular ink tank printers, suited for printing high-quality and long-lasting photos, while also capable of handling document printing jobs.

This refillable ink tank printer features a transparent cover that allows for easy front access to the embedded ink tank, and handles a variety of print jobs speedily and efficiently. With a document print speed of up to 17/9.5 inch per min (ipm), this nifty printers will empower you to print more in less time. It also works with Brother’s Ultra High Yield Ink bottles, which roughly translates to 7,500 pages in black and 5,000 pages in colour!

Considering a pocket photo printer?

The Kodak Photo Printer Mini is a pocket-sized printer that can print wallet-sized photos from iOS or Android devices.

At just 0.9 by 3 by 6 inches, the Mini’s star quality is definitely its portability. You can easily slip it into a handbag or even a large pocket, making it a useful companion for parties or events where you want to snap photos and give out to friends.

How Does Portable Printing Work?

Most portable printers in the market today come with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology to enable seamless communication with your laptop, smartphone or tablet.

Some of these are also battery-powered, which allows for even more freedom in printing documents, photos and other materials when you are on-the-go.

In short, portable mobile printing no longer requires you to lug heavy printer cables to connect from your device to a printer. What a relief!

What To Look Out For in a Portable Printer

In this section, you will learn all about the key features and functionalities of portable printers, as well as what you should consider prior to buying a portable photo printer.

Size/Portability of Portable Printers

Portability is one of the biggest decision-making factors when choosing a portable printer. While they may be easier to carry, smaller printers usually result in a trade-off in print quality. Hence, you have to balance the need for easy transportation with your ideal print quality output.

While small pocket-sized printer options do exist, you will experience some limitations in your print sizes. In the long run, you may get more bang for your buck by investing in a compact desk printer that can handle document printing while printing consistently high-quality photos.

Print Resolution of Portable Printers

Most photo printers — be they inkjets, sublimation-dye, or pocket-sized — offer good resolution, providing better-quality prints relative to traditional printers. A photo printer with a resolution of 1,200 x 3,600 dpi or even higher would suffice for crisp-looking photos and images.

Inkless vs. Ink Cartridges

Another important consideration is the type of cartridges or ink used.

Today, most printers use Zero Ink (or Zink for short), which involves embedded dyes in the photo paper itself. Zink saves money in the long-run but has trade-offs in print resolution or the ability to reproduce a rich black colour.

A traditional inkjet printer, on the other hand, shoots microscopic dots of ink to produce an image or a printed page. Only the necessary ink for the image is used, and the remaining ink in the cartridge can be used for subsequent prints.

For Brother printers that work with ultra high-yield ink bottles, you can enjoy printing up to 7,500 pages in black and 5,000 pages in colour on a single round of cartridges!

A dye sublimation printer works by heating a special ribbon containing solid inks. The ink sublimates (becomes a gas without liquefying first), laying down varying amounts of the three primary colours onto the paper. The gas then solidifies on the page, resulting in full-colour images.

The dye sublimation process tends to result in lower efficiency in terms of ink: the printer transfers only a portion of the ribbon’s colour panels onto the page. The ink that remains on the panel cannot be reused.

Paper used in Portable Printing

Inkjet printers work with copier paper, envelopes, labels and other forms of office media. They offer greater flexibility as inkjet printers can accommodate specialty paper with matte or glossy finishes for photo printing.

Dye sublimation printers, on the other hand, require specially-coated paper. Beyond postcards and photo prints, dye sublimation printers can also be used to print novelty items such as T-shirts and tote bags. All these are fine and dandy at the beginning but your printing costs can chalk up quite easily.

Print Speed of Portable Printers

If you require high-volume printing, look out for print speeds shorter than 10-15 seconds per print when you choose your portable printer.

The longer the print time, the slower your workflow will be.

Wireless or Mobile Connectivity

There are several ways to connect to a printer. Some printers offer direct connections to your computer, laptop or mobile device using a USB port, while also supporting Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Most printers will also support both Android and iOS devices. Remember to consider the devices you would be using with your portable printer, and double-check the compatibility before making a purchase.

Price of Portable Printers

How much do portable printers cost? Well, it varies. Most portable printers are priced between S$130-S$300. Do remember though that this price only covers the printer and the initial round of ink, and excludes the costs of consumables such as paper (or other media) and ink, as well as their power consumption.

Be sure to include the longer-term costs of these consumables in your budgetary considerations.

How to Print Photos From Your Phone

There are various ways to print photos directly from your smartphone.

Apple Airprint

For iPhone users, Apple Airprint is the easiest, most fuss-free way to print from your device to any wireless printer that is on the same wireless network. You do not even need to download and install additional software (drivers). 

Here is a step-by-step guide:

1. Make sure your phone and your printer are on the same Wi-Fi network
2. Open the Photos or Gallery app
3. Select the photo you wish to print and tap the Share icon 
4. Scroll down the options and select ‘Print’
5. Tap on Select Printer
6. Select your printer from the list
7. Change the paper size, if necessary, specify the number of copies), and send your print job off!

Major printer makers—such as Brother, Canon, and HP—cover iOS devices and are compatible with AirPrint.

For Android users, you can utilise a range of wireless apps for direct printing from most printer vendors. There are also printing apps, such as Mopria Print, that you can download and use.

Brother iPrint&Scan

Whether you are team iOS or team Android, Brother’s iPrint&Scan app allows you to print or scan effortlessly from your smartphone, tablet, or notebook – without the hassle of wires.

The app also comes with a range of advanced features such as document editing, faxing, and machine status updates. 

iPrint&Scan is also compatible with AirPrint, Mopria, and Windows Mobile Print.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to choose a photo printer, and are acquainted with the key essentials that make a good portable photo printer, what will your choice be?

A pocket photo printer for fun and spontaneous moments or a practical desktop inkjet printer that can meet your other printing needs as well as churn out good quality photos before you can even say “Cheese”?

Let us know which you prefer!

Frustrated With The Never Ending Printer Problems? Here Are Some Solutions

Are you struggling with your home or office printers? Wonder why your wifi printer does not work properly? Frustrated with printing errors from your duplex printer?

These problems can be a huge headache to those who simply want their printing work done. 

Help is here! In this article, we have put together a list of the most common printer problems and their solutions.

1. Slow Printing with Wifi Printers
2. Home / Office Printer Not Printing
3. Duplex Printer Printing Error
4. Extra Printed Blank Sheet of Paper
5. Paper Jams
6. Unclear Printed Texts
7. Poor Quality Inkjet Printed Photos
8. Poor Black and White Print Quality
9. Thick Ink on Inkjet Prints
10. Unreliable Error Messages

Take a deep breath, calm yourself down, and try these solutions before you call your printer repair man!

1. Slow Printing with Wifi Printers

In today’s fast-paced world, a slow printer can be exasperating when you have a sizable number of pages to print.

The common reasons for slow printing are due to large photo sizes and large presentation files. You can either lower the quality of the output or simply send a part of the document at a time to speed things up.

If you are printing wirelessly, do check that the distance between your printer and your router isn’t too far—poor wireless connection could be a possible cause for slow printing. A simple solution would be to place your wireless printer as close to the router as possible, since wifi speed slows down with distance.

Do also check your print settings. Higher quality prints do take more time to print. If an average print quality (eg. for a text document) is good enough, consider switching your printouts to draft mode or the lowest quality setting your printer has to speed up your printing process.

2. Home / Office Printer not Printing

Are you staring at a printer that is just not printing? Well, you are not going crazy, there’s probably a reason for it. Before you start kicking your printer, consider checking if the paper tray is empty—yes, we’ve all made that silly mistake!

OK, there is paper in your tray. So what could have gone wrong?

Consider checking the connection of your printer. There may be multiple printers in the office and you may not have connected to the right printer.

There is a chance that you have accidentally sent the print job to another printer—be sure to double check just in case you are printing confidential documents!

If your printer is still not working, then your print driver may be corrupted. You need to upload the latest version for your model and reinstall it on your computer. Should that still fail, it is best to call your local printer technician.

3. Duplex Printer Printing Error

Having a duplex printer should save you the hassle of flipping each printout manually. But what’s the point of having this functionality if your printer prints the back page upside down?

Fret not, there’s an easy solution to this. All you have to do is select Print on Both Sides, and opt to Flip on Long Edge. Your print jobs should be in the correct orientation now.

But what if you encounter disorderly pages, where the last page is at the top of the document?

There is a way around this incorrect manual sorting—simply print your pages in reverse. This can be found in the Advanced Settings box. You should only select this if your documents are to be put in order once the printing is complete.

4. Extra Printed Blank Sheet of Paper

“Why is there an extra sheet of blank paper after my prints?”  

No, your printer isn’t intentionally wasting paper. Rather, this extra sheet of paper probably came about due to your print settings. This is typically used in offices with multiple users and high print volumes, to separate print jobs from different users and avoid documents from being mixed-up.

If your printer is only for your personal home use, you can change the settings using your printer preferences. You should be able to deselect the option for separator pages from there.

5. Paper Jams

Paper jams are one of the most common issues people have with their home or office printers. This can happen due to static electricity (which causes pieces of paper to stick to each other) or when your printer tray is overloaded with too much paper.

A quick tip is to square off the stack of paper before placing it into the tray, ensuring that the pages line up and are flushed with the tray guides. Remember not to overfill the tray!

Jams may also occur when the print media used is not compatible with the printer. There are certain types of print media that are way thicker or bigger than the normal A4 Paper which is commonly used in most printers. Be sure to check that your printer is able to handle such media types and change your PC settings to match the print media.

6. Unclear Printed Texts

This problem may be caused by multiple reasons. Thus, you should go down this list to consider which option is the most likely possibility.

First, consider if you are using the draft mode or low print quality setting. Such settings may cause your printed texts to become unclear. By switching to a higher quality print, you will get clearer texts. However, be prepared to forgo your print speed—some printers are not able to simultaneously handle fast and high quality prints.

If you are using a laser printer, there is a high chance that the toner has settled, resulting in blurry texts. All you have to do is to remove the cartridge(s) and shake it gently from side to side to release any residual toner clinging onto the side of the cartridge. This works 90% of the time, but remember that the toner will eventually run out and needs to be replaced.

Finally, if you are using an inkjet printer, check if your unclear prints are due to a dirty nozzle or misaligned print head. Thankfully, you don’t have to deal with this manually (though you can if you wish).

Simply launch your printer’s maintenance menu and select “Clean Ink Cartridges”, “Clean Heads”, “Deep Cleaning” or a similar function. Cleaning the printhead will help improve the quality of the printout. As it uses a fair amount of ink you should only do it if you notice that the print quality is particularly bad.

7. Poor Quality Inkjet Printed Photos

Poor quality inkjet prints would commonly be due to a misaligned print head, dirty nozzles or empty ink cartridges. You can troubleshoot this by following the steps described in the previous point above.

The type of print media used may also affect the quality of your prints—especially if you intend to print photographs or posters in high definition colour. Make sure that you use the right photo paper. Often, third party photo papers are unable to reproduce your prints with the same resolution as the original photo papers from your brand.

Don’t forget to check that you have chosen the right paper type in your print settings and that it is set for photo printing.

It is also possible that your printer is low on one colour, causing discolourations. To achieve vibrant print reproductions of photos in the right hues, you need to ensure that inks in all the different colours are available—having one colour less can make a huge difference to your print quality.

8. Poor Black and White Print Quality

Do you turn off the colour when printing black and white documents? This is probably the cause of poor prints, especially for black and white images.

The colours give your documents smoother gradations and richer tones compared to solely using black. Thus, if you are printing a high quality black and white document, consider turning on the colour option for the best results.

9. Thick Ink on Inkjet Prints

Do your prints have a thick band of ink clustered around certain sections? This happens when your printer is unable to print at a certain resolution, usually on an uncoated paper. When it encounters this issue, it will try to adjust for the higher resolution by using more ink, causing the thick patch of ink (also known as banding) to appear.

To solve this problem, simply opt for a lower print resolution on your printer.

10. Unreliable Error Messages

Wonder why error messages like “low toner” or “ink error” appear when you’ve just replaced your toner or printer cartridge? Unless your new cartridges are faulty or broken, resetting your computer and printer usually fixes this problem. Do follow the instructions of your printer model to reset it properly.

Conclusion

Printer problems like slow printing, poor quality printouts, and paper jams can pose a huge inconvenience, especially when you need to get your work done. Hopefully, these solutions to the most common printer problems can help you to quickly get back on track. Should all of them fail—and we certainly hope that they wouldn’t—you should probably contact your local printer operator for immediate help!

Wish To Print Anything From Anywhere? Look No Further

Do you find yourself frequently printing on the go? Need new ideas on how to easily print to your home printer from anywhere?

Cloud printing might be just the solution for your home or small business.  

In this article, you will learn the fundamentals of printing any document or image from the cloud:

1. What is cloud printing?
2. Why do you need cloud printing?
3. Types of cloud printing services available
4. How to get started on printing from the cloud 

What is Cloud Printing?

Cloud printing is a technology that allows you to print from anywhere over the web.

While traditional printing is done via cables, wireless, bluetooth or WIFI connections between your devices and your printer, cloud printing enables you to print from any web-connected device by sending print jobs through an internet connection.

It is also safe and secure with the Cloud Secure Print feature that is built-in within Brother Apps. Documents can be uploaded to a web browser or sent via email, and retrieved for printing after a password is entered at the destination machine.

To do so, you need to ensure that your printer is capable of connecting directly to the Internet. This allows it to receive printing instructions that you send to the web.

The result is fast, seamless, and reliable printing, without the need to tangle with cables.

Why Do You Need Cloud Printing?

Printing from the cloud brings forth various advantages. Here are some of the most popular ones.

Always On The Go:

If your business requires you to be on the move, cloud printing could be a real time-saver! Imagine rushing for a business meeting, and having all your documents ready printed – even before you step into the office. That would be a real boon to your productivity.

Shared Office Facilities:

In shared workspaces, employees are able to use any device to print, without having to worry about compatibility issues or drivers.

Eco-friendly:

Who would say no to an efficient printing process that helps reduce waste and carbon emissions at the same time? Cloud printing gives you more control over what you print, so you only print what you need  –  when you need it.

Convenience and Simplicity:

With cloud printing, life (and getting prints) would be a breeze. You no longer have to mess around with the installation of software and drivers, or battle with cables. You can quickly discover printers that you can access and print from  – anywhere around the world.

Affordable:

Cloud printing is an affordable way to manage your print needs as you need not invest in in-house server storage and other software or maintenance costs. You would only need to pay for the services you use, and can take advantage of free or low cost cloud storage solutions.

Types of Cloud Printing Services and How to Get Started

Brother WebConnect  

With Brother WebConnect, you can print documents directly from an online storage site, allowing you to share and collaborate anywhere in the world in an instant.

The services that are supported include:

• Box
• Dropbox
• Evernote
• OneDrive
• OneNote

Depending on your printer model, you may be able to connect directly to any of the above services without a computer. You can also add a PIN to restrict user access.

Here are the steps to getting started on Brother WebConnect:

1. Create an account with the desired service (go to step 2 if you already have an account).
2. Apply for Web Connect access via a one-time process to obtain a temporary ID using a computer.
3. Enter the temporary ID on the Brother device to enable access. Specify the account name as you would like it to be displayed on the machine, and a PIN code if desired.
4. The Brother device now has access to the registered service.

AirPrint

Apple’s AirPrint feature is built into a variety of printers, such as the ones listed here. AirPrint features include easy discovery, automatic media selection, and enterprise-class finishing options.

To print with AirPrint from your iOS device, here are the steps to follow:

1. Open the app that you want to print from.
2. To find the print option, tap the app’s share icon or more icon.
3. Find the print option. If you can’t find the print option, check the app’s User Guide or Help section. 
4. Tap Select Printer and choose an AirPrint-enabled printer.
5. Choose the number of copies or other options, like which pages you want to print.
6. Tap Print in the top right-hand corner.

The Brother MFC-L8900CDW Colour Laser Printer lets you print and scan more with greater speed and assurance. You can wirelessly print from any device with Brother iPrint&Scan, Apple’s AirPrint, or Mopria. You can also preview your copies and faxes, and save to Cloud.

Conclusion

Mobile cloud printing is an important feature not just for personal and business productivity, but also for future-proofing your business.

Used effectively, it can be a powerful tool to keep your business and staff safe by enabling remote work, while also enhancing cost efficiency in your printing jobs.