Brother DCP-J172W User manual

Basic User’s Guide
DCP-J172W
Version 0
ARL/NZ

If you need to contact Customer Service
Please complete the following information for future
reference:
Model Number: DCP-J172W
Serial Number: 1
Date of Purchase:
Place of Purchase:
1The serial number is on the back of the unit. Retain
this User's Guide with your sales receipt as a
permanent record of your purchase, in the event of
theft, fire or warranty service.
Register your product on-line at
http://www.brother.com/registration/
© 2013 Brother Industries, Ltd. All rights reserved.

i
User's Guides and where do I find them?
1Visit us at http://solutions.brother.com/.
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 drivers and software for the
operating system and connection type you are
using.
Printed / In the box
Basic User’s Guide Learn the basic Copy and Scan operations, and how
to replace consumables. See troubleshooting tips.
Printed / In the box
Advanced User’s Guide Learn more advanced operations: Copy, printing
reports and performing routine maintenance.
PDF file / CD-ROM
Software and Network
User’s Guide
This Guide provides instructions for Scanning,
Printing and other operations that can be performed
by connecting your Brother machine to a computer.
You can also find useful information about using the
Brother ControlCenter utility, using your machine in
a network environment, and frequently used terms.
HTML file/CD-ROM
Web Connect Guide This Guide provides useful information about
accessing Internet services from the Brother
machine, as well as downloading images, printing
data and uploading files directly to Internet services.
PDF file / Brother
Solutions Center 1
AirPrint Guide This Guide provides information for using AirPrint to
print from OS X v10.7.x, 10.8.x and your iPhone,
iPod touch, iPad, or other iOS device to your Brother
machine without installing a printer driver.
PDF file / Brother
Solutions Center 1
Google Cloud Print
Guide
This Guide provides details on how to use Google
Cloud Print™ services for printing over the Internet.
PDF file / Brother
Solutions Center 1
Mobile Print/Scan Guide
for Brother iPrint&Scan
This Guide provides useful information about
printing from your mobile device and scanning from
your Brother machine to your mobile device when
connected to a Wi-Fi network.
PDF file / Brother
Solutions Center 1

ii
Table of Contents
(Basic User’s Guide)
1 General information 1
Using the documentation .......................................................................................1
Symbols and conventions used in the documentation ....................................1
Accessing Brother Utilities (Windows®8) .............................................................2
Accessing the Advanced User’s Guide and Software and
Network User’s Guide......................................................................................... 2
Viewing User’s Guides ....................................................................................2
How to access Guides for Advanced Features......................................................4
Accessing Brother Support (Windows®)................................................................ 5
Accessing Brother Support (Macintosh) ................................................................5
Control panel overview ..........................................................................................6
1.8"(44.9 mm) Touchscreen LCD ....................................................................8
Basic Operations .............................................................................................8
Shortcut Settings ...................................................................................................9
Adding Shortcuts .............................................................................................9
Changing Shortcuts .......................................................................................10
Deleting Shortcuts .........................................................................................11
Using Shortcuts .............................................................................................11
Volume Settings................................................................................................... 11
Beep Volume .................................................................................................11
Touchscreen LCD ................................................................................................12
Setting the backlight brightness.....................................................................12
2 Loading paper 13
Loading paper and other print media...................................................................13
Loading envelopes ........................................................................................15
Unprintable area ............................................................................................ 17
Paper settings......................................................................................................18
Paper Type ....................................................................................................18
Paper Size .....................................................................................................18
Acceptable paper and other print media..............................................................19
Recommended print media ...........................................................................19
Handling and using print media .....................................................................19
Choosing the right print media.......................................................................21
3 Loading documents 22
How to load documents ....................................................................................... 22
Using the scanner glass ................................................................................22
Unscannable area .........................................................................................23

iii
4 Making copies 24
How to copy ......................................................................................................... 24
Stop copying .................................................................................................. 24
Copy options........................................................................................................24
Paper Type ....................................................................................................25
Paper Size .....................................................................................................25
5 How to print from a computer 26
Printing a document............................................................................................. 26
6 How to scan to a computer 27
Before scanning................................................................................................... 27
Scanning a document as a PDF file using ControlCenter4 (Windows®) ............. 28
How to change the machine’s SCAN mode settings for PDF scanning ..............31
How to scan a document as a PDF file using the Touchscreen .................... 33
A Routine maintenance 34
Replacing the ink cartridges ................................................................................ 34
Cleaning and checking the machine....................................................................37
Cleaning the scanner glass ........................................................................... 37
Cleaning the print head .................................................................................37
Checking the print quality .............................................................................. 38
Checking the print alignment ......................................................................... 39
Setting the date and time..................................................................................... 40
B Troubleshooting 41
Identifying your problem ......................................................................................41
Error and maintenance messages.......................................................................42
Error animations ............................................................................................ 48
Printer jam or paper jam ................................................................................48
If you are having difficulty with your machine ...................................................... 55
Machine Information ............................................................................................ 61
Checking the serial number........................................................................... 61
Checking the firmware version ...................................................................... 61
Reset functions.............................................................................................. 61
How to reset the machine.............................................................................. 61
C Settings and features tables 62
Using the Settings tables ..................................................................................... 62
Settings tables ..................................................................................................... 63
Features tables ....................................................................................................68
Entering Text ....................................................................................................... 74
Inserting spaces ........................................................................................... 74
Making corrections ........................................................................................74
Repeating letters ...........................................................................................74

iv
D Specifications 75
General ................................................................................................................75
Print media...........................................................................................................77
Copy .................................................................................................................... 78
Scanner ...............................................................................................................79
Printer ..................................................................................................................80
Interfaces .............................................................................................................81
Network................................................................................................................82
Computer requirements .......................................................................................83
Consumable items ...............................................................................................84
E Index 85

v
Table of Contents
(Advanced User’s Guide)
The Advanced User’s Guide explains the following features and operations.
You can view the Advanced User’s Guide on the CD-ROM.
1 General setup
Memory Storage
Sleep Mode
Auto Power Off
Touchscreen LCD
2Printingreports
Reports
3 Making copies
Copy options
A Routine maintenance
Cleaning and checking the machine
Packing and shipping the machine
B Glossary
CIndex

vi

1
1
1
Using the
documentation 1
Thank you for buying a Brother machine!
Reading the documentation will help you
make the most of your machine.
Symbols and conventions
used in the documentation 1
The following symbols and conventions are
used throughout the documentation.
General information 1
Bold Bold typeface identifies the
buttons on your computer
screen.
Italics Italicized typeface
emphasizes an important
point or refers you to a related
topic.
Courier
New
Text in the Courier New font
identifies messages on the
Touchscreen of the machine.
WARNING
WARNING indicates a potentially
hazardous situation which, if not avoided,
could result in death or serious injuries.
CAUTION
CAUTION indicates a potentially hazardous
situation which, if not avoided, may result in
minor or moderate injuries.
IMPORTANT
IMPORTANT indicates a potentially
hazardous situation which, if not avoided,
may result in damage to property or loss of
product functionality.
NOTE
Notes tell you how to respond to a situation
that may arise or give tips about how the
operation works with other features.
Electrical Hazard icons alert you to
possible electrical shocks.

Chapter 1
2
Accessing Brother
Utilities (Windows®8) 1
If you are using a tablet or PC running
Windows®8, you can make your selections
either by tapping the screen or by clicking
with your mouse.
After the printer driver is installed,
(Brother Utilities) appears on both the
Start screen and the desktop.
aTap or click Brother Utilities from
either the Start screen or the desktop.
bSelect your machine.
cChoose the function you want to use.
Accessing the
Advanced User’s
Guide and Software
and Network User’s
Guide 1
This Basic User’s Guide does not contain all
the information about the machine, such as
how to use the advanced Copy, Printer,
Scanner, and Network features. When you
are ready to learn detailed information about
these operations, you can read the
Advanced User’s Guide and Software and
Network User’s Guide in HTML format that
are on the CD-ROM.
Viewing User’s Guides 1
(Windows®)1
(Windows
®
XP/Windows Vista
®
/Windows
®
7/
Windows Server
®
2003/Windows Server
®
2008/Windows Server
®
2008 R2)
(Start), All Programs, select Brother,
DCP-XXXX (where XXXX is your model
name) from the programs list, and then
choose User’s Guides.
(Windows®8/Windows Server®2012)
Click (Brother Utilities), and then click
the drop-down list and select your model
name (if not already selected). Click Support
in the left navigation bar, and then click
User’s Guides.
If you have not installed the software, you can
find the documentation on the CD-ROM by
following these instructions:

General information
3
1
aTurn on your PC. Insert the Brother
CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
NOTE
If the Brother screen does not appear, go
to Computer or My Computer. (For
Windows®8 and Windows Server®2012 :
Click (File Explorer) on the
taskbar, and then go to Computer.)
Double-click the CD-ROM icon, and then
double-click start.exe.
bIf the model name screen appears, click
your model name.
cIf the language screen appears, click
your language. The CD-ROM
Top Menu will appear.
dClick User’s Guides.
eClick PDF/HTML documents. If the
country screen appears, choose your
country. After the list of User’s Guides
appears, choose the guide you want to
read.
(Macintosh) 1
aTurn on your Macintosh. Insert the
Brother CD-ROM into your CD-ROM
drive. The following window will appear.
bDouble-click the User’s Guides icon.
cSelect your model and language if
needed.
dClick User’s Guides. If the country
screen appears, choose your country.
eAfter the list of User’s Guides appears,
choose the Guide you want to read.
How to find Scanning instructions 1
There are several ways you can scan
documents. You can find the instructions as
follows:
Software and Network User’s Guide
Scan
ControlCenter

Chapter 1
4
How to find Network setup
instructions 1
Your machine can be connected to a wireless
network.
Basic setup instructions
(See Quick Setup Guide.)
The wireless access point or router
supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup™ or
AOSS™
(See Quick Setup Guide.)
More information about network setup
(See Software and Network User’s
Guide.)
How to access Guides
for Advanced Features 1
You can view and download these Guides
from the Brother Solutions Center at:
http://solutions.brother.com/.
Click Manuals on your model’s page to
download the documentation.
Web Connect Guide 1
This Guide provides useful information about
accessing Internet services from the Brother
machine, as well as downloading images,
printing data and uploading files directly to
Internet services.
AirPrint Guide 1
This Guide provides information for using
AirPrint to print from OS X v10.7.x, 10.8.x and
your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or other iOS
device to your Brother machine without
installing a printer driver.
Google Cloud Print Guide 1
This Guide provides details on how to use
Google Cloud Print™ services for printing
over the Internet.
Mobile Print/Scan Guide for Brother
iPrint&Scan 1
This Guide provides useful information about
printing from your mobile device and
scanning from your Brother machine to your
mobile device when connected to a Wi-Fi
network.

General information
5
1
Accessing Brother
Support (Windows®)1
You can find all the contacts you will need,
such as web support (Brother Solutions
Center) on the CD-ROM.
Click Brother Support on the Top Menu.
The following screen will appear:
To access our website
(http://www.brother.com/), click
Brother Home Page.
For the latest news and product support
information
(http://solutions.brother.com/), click
Brother Solutions Center.
To visit our website for original Brother
Supplies
(http://www.brother.com/original/),
click Supplies Information.
To access the Brother CreativeCenter
(http://www.brother.com/creativecenter/)
for FREE photo projects and printable
downloads, click
Brother CreativeCenter.
To return to the top menu, click Back or if
you have finished, click Exit.
Accessing Brother
Support (Macintosh) 1
You can find all the contacts you will need,
such as web support (Brother Solutions
Center) on the CD-ROM.
Double-click the Brother Support icon.
The following screen will appear:
To access the Brother Web Connect
page, click Brother Web Connect.
To register your machine from the Brother
Product Registration Page
(http://www.brother.com/registration/),
click On-Line Registration.
For the latest news and product support
information
(http://solutions.brother.com/), click
Brother Solutions Center.
To visit our website for original Brother
Supplies
(http://www.brother.com/original/), click
Supplies Information.

Chapter 1
6
Control panel overview 1
This is a Touchscreen LCD with an electrostatic Touchpanel that only shows the LEDs that
can be used.
1 1.8"(44.9 mm) Touchscreen LCD (Liquid
Crystal Display)
This is a Touchscreen LCD. You can access
the menus and options by pressing them as
they are displayed on this screen.
You can adjust the control panel angle to read
the Touchscreen more easily.
Hold the edge of the control panel to avoid
accidentally pressing any of the Touchscreen
options.
1

General information
7
1
2 Touchpanel:
The LEDs on the Touchpanel only light up
when they are available for use.
Back
Press to go back to the previous menu
level.

Press to return to the Home screen.
Cancel
Press to cancel an operation when lit.
sor t
Press to display the previous or next page.
The Up and Down Arrows do not light up
when there is only one page.
Shortcut
Press to set up and use Shortcut settings.
These LEDs are always lit, even when you
have not yet added your Shortcut settings.
Press to display instructions about how to
set up a Shortcut.
Warning icon
The warning icon lights up when there
is an error or maintenance message. Press
to view the instruction on the
Touchscreen. For information about error
messages, see Error and maintenance
messages on page 42.
3
The WiFi light is on when WLAN Enable is set
to On.
4
3
2

Chapter 1
8
4 Power On/Off
Press to turn on the machine.
Press and hold down to turn off the
machine. The Touchscreen LCD will show
Shutting Down and will stay on for a few
seconds before turning off.
If you turn off the machine using , it will still
periodically clean the print head to maintain
print quality. To prolong the life of the print
head, provide better ink efficiency and maintain
print quality, you should keep your machine
connected to the power at all times.
1.8"(44.9 mm) Touchscreen
LCD 1
The Touchscreen LCD shows the machine’s
status when the machine is idle.
1 Ink
Lets you see the available ink volume and also
lets you access the Ink menu.
2 Copy
Lets you access the Copy mode.
3 Scan
Lets you access the Scan mode.
4 Settings
Lets you access the full Settings menu.
5 Web
Lets you connect the Brother machine to an
Internet service when you press .
For more information, see Web Connect
Guide.
6 Wireless Status
A four-level indicator on the Ready mode
screen shows the current wireless signal
strength if you are using a wireless connection.
If you see at the top of the screen, you
can easily configure the wireless settings by
pressing it. For more information, see Quick
Setup Guide.
The warning icon appears when there is
an error or maintenance message. For
information about error messages, see Error
and maintenance messages on page 42.
Basic Operations 1
Press your finger on the Touchscreen LCD to
operate it. To display and access all the
settings and features tables and the available
options, press sor ton the Touchpanel to
scroll through them.
NOTE
DO NOT touch the Touchscreen
immediately after plugging in the power
cord or turning on the machine. Doing this
may cause an error.
The following steps show how to change a
setting in the machine. In this example the
Paper Type setting is changed from
Plain Paper to Inkjet Paper.
aPress (Settings).
5
23
4
1 6
0Max

General information
9
1
bPress sor ton the Touchpanel to
display General Setup.
cPress General Setup.
dPress sor tto display Paper Type.
ePress Paper Type.
fPress sor tto display
Inkjet Paper.
gPress Inkjet Paper.
NOTE
Press if you want to go back to the
previous level.
hPress .
Shortcut Settings 1
You can add the copy settings you use most
frequently by setting them as your Shortcuts.
Later you can recall and apply these settings
quickly and easily. You can add a maximum
of three Shortcuts.
The following settings can be included in a
Copy Shortcut:
Copy
Quality
Paper Type
Paper Size
Enlarge/Reduce
Density
Stack/Sort
Page Layout
Advanced Settings
Adding Shortcuts 1
aPress (Settings).
bPress sor ton the Touchpanel to
display Shortcut Settings.
Press Shortcut Settings.
cPress , or where you have not
added a Shortcut.
NOTE
-Blank- will appear as the name of
available Shortcuts.
dRead the information on the
Touchscreen, and then press Next.
ePress Copy for the mode of your new
Shortcut.

Chapter 1
10
fPress sor tto display the available
settings for the mode you chose in
step e, and then press the setting you
want to change.
gPress sor tto display the available
options for the setting, and then press
the new option you want to set.
Repeat steps fand guntil you have
chosen all the settings for this Shortcut.
hWhen you have finished choosing
settings, press OK.
iEnter a name for the Shortcut using the
keyboard on the Touchscreen. (For help
entering letters, see Entering Text
on page 74.)
Press OK.
jPress sor tto review and confirm the
displayed list of settings you have
chosen.
Do one of the following:
Press Yes to save your Shortcut. Go
to step k.
Press No to return to step f.
kRead the information on the
Touchscreen, and then confirm it by
pressing OK.
lPress .
NOTE
-Blank- appears when accessing
through Settings.
Changing Shortcuts 1
You can change the settings in a Shortcut.
aPress (Settings).
bPress sor ton the Touchpanel to
display Shortcut Settings.
Press Shortcut Settings.
cPress the Shortcut , or that
you want to change.
dPress Change.
eRead the information on the
Touchscreen, and then press Yes to
confirm.
fPress sor tto display the current
settings for this Shortcut, and then press
the setting you want to change.
gPress sor tto display the available
options for the setting, and then press
the new option you want to set.
Repeat steps fand gto change other
settings as needed.
hWhen you have finished changing
settings, press OK.
iTo edit the name, hold down to
delete the current name, and then enter
a new name using the keyboard on the
Touchscreen. (For help entering letters,
see Entering Text on page 74.)
Press OK.
jPress sor tto review and confirm the
displayed list of settings for this
Shortcut, and then press Yes to save
your changes.
kRead the information on the
Touchscreen, and then confirm it by
pressing OK.

General information
11
1
lPress .
NOTE
-Blank- appears when accessing
through Settings.
Deleting Shortcuts 1
You can delete a Shortcut.
aPress (Settings).
bPress sor ton the Touchpanel to
display Shortcut Settings.
Press Shortcut Settings.
cPress the Shortcut ( , or ) that
you want to delete.
dPress Delete to delete the Shortcut
that you chose in step c.
Press Yes to confirm.
ePress .
NOTE
-Blank- appears when accessing
through Settings.
Using Shortcuts 1
The Shortcuts are always
displayed on the Touchpanel. To use a
Shortcut, simply press it on the Touchpanel.
Volume Settings 1
Beep Volume 1
When Beep is on, the machine will make a
sound when you press the Touchscreen or
Touchpanel, or if you make a mistake.
You can choose from a range of sound
volume levels.
aPress (Settings).
bPress sor tto display
General Setup.
cPress General Setup.
dPress sor tto display Beep.
ePress Beep.
fPress sor tto display Low, Med, High
or Off, and then press the option you
want.
gPress .

Chapter 1
12
Touchscreen LCD 1
Setting the backlight
brightness 1
If you are having difficulty reading the
Touchscreen LCD, try changing the
brightness setting.
aPress (Settings).
bPress sor tto display
General Setup.
cPress General Setup.
dPress sor tto display
LCD Settings.
ePress LCD Settings.
fPress Backlight.
gPress sor tto display Light, Med or
Dark, and then press the option you
want.
hPress .