Brother MFC-J480DW: print temporarily when a colour is empty
B&W Print Only is a limited mode for plain-paper jobs, with the colour cartridges still installed.
1 min readThis procedure applies when the MFC-J480DW itself displays B&W Print Only Replace Ink. A “Cannot Detect” error or empty black cartridge cannot be bypassed this way.
Print a black-only document
- Keep all colour cartridges installed. Do not unplug the printer or remove an empty colour; either can end this temporary mode.
- Cancel any failed colour job and press Stop/Exit.
- In the Brother printer driver, select Plain Paper, turn Slow Drying Paper off, choose Grayscale/Greyscale, and print single-sided.
- Send the job again. Replace the empty colour promptly and restore the colour settings afterwards.