Brother MFC-J480DW: why colour ink drops on black-only jobs

Maintenance uses every colour, and paper and duplex settings can affect which inks form black.

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The MFC-J480DW cleans all its ink nozzles during maintenance. That uses small amounts of each colour even if your documents contain only black text.

Check the print settings

For black-only document printing, choose Grayscale/Greyscale and Plain Paper in the Brother driver.
Photo paper, other media settings, Slow Drying Paper and duplex printing can use colour inks to produce black or greys.
Do not choose an inaccurate paper type just to save ink. Select the settings that match the paper you are actually using.

Technical references