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Printer won't print text

Anonymous
2019-10-20T22:13:00+00:00

Hi

I have a computer running Windows 10 Home and Microsoft Office 365 Pro Plus.  I have a Brother MFC-J485DW wireless LAN printer.

Issue:  I cannot print any text in Word, Outlook, etc.  Only graphics will print.   PDF documents print correctly, so I know the printer is working.  It will also scan and copy.  Issue does not appear to be the printer.

I uninstalled my printer software and reinstalled it. 

I updated my printer drivers.

I ran repair for Microsoft Office.

Not sure what else I can do....

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2019-12-07T14:35:23+00:00

To those who attempted to help with my problem, Thank You.

Problem solved by replacing printer with new model. Strange that only certian items did not print, but Windows updates has broken things prior to this and, i think, is responsible again.

Good news is, its fixed, and newer tech is never a bad thing (not usually).

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15 additional answers

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  1. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2019-10-20T23:47:36+00:00

    Does the issue affect all documents?  If you use the Microsoft Print to PDF printer, does the pdf contain the text?

    Are you sure that the black ink cartridge is functioning correctly?  It is quite likely that when you print graphics or a pdf, any black text is created by using the colored ink cartridges rather than the black cartridge.

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  2. Stefan Blom 342.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2019-11-20T11:46:30+00:00

    The default color in Word is "Automatic," which usually means black, assuming that the text background is bright. If you set the color explicitly to "Black," does that make a difference when printing?

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  3. Stefan Blom 342.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2019-11-19T22:06:26+00:00

    I have a similar problem, however there is more.  

    • a scanned image of an earlier created doc (using acrobat pro 9) will produce a blank document

    Are you saying that the scan fails, that is, it produces a blank PDF file? Or does the scan complete successfully but printing it generates a blank printout?

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-10-21T00:29:22+00:00

    Hi ElizaPeters1,

    I'm Charles, an Independent advisor trying to help.

    Try to open the document by running it as administrator, and then test the impression. If that document is saved by converting it to PDF and you try to print it like that, is it printed well?

    Try the following

    Windows key + I >> Settings >> Update & security >> Troubleshooting >> Printer (Click on the option) >> Execute troubleshooting.

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/401540...

    I hope the steps work for you too

    Attentive to any comments

    Have a happy day

    Best Regards,

    Charles.

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