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Updated 09\/04\/2024<\/em><\/p>\n Does this sound familiar? You press print and walk over to your Brother printer only to see an error message on the LCD screen; Unable to clean: Brother Machine error 46\u00a0<\/strong>or just ‘Error 46<\/strong>‘.<\/p>\n You won\u2019t believe how common this is, in fact, Error code 46 affects the majority, if not all Brother inkjet printers and there is a fix that you can try yourself to get your trusty printer working again before it takes a swan dive through the window.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/blog.tonergiant.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Brother-Printer-Error-46.jpg” alt=”Brother Machine Error 46″ title_text=”Printer says No” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”fade_in” sticky=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” animation_style=”fade” animation_duration=”500ms” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” animation_direction=”center” 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link_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”ul_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” ul_text_shadow_vertical_length=”ul_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ul_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” ul_text_shadow_blur_strength=”ul_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ul_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”ol_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” ol_text_shadow_vertical_length=”ol_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ol_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” ol_text_shadow_blur_strength=”ol_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ol_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”quote_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” quote_text_shadow_vertical_length=”quote_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ quote_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” quote_text_shadow_blur_strength=”quote_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ quote_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_2_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_2_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_2_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_2_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_2_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_2_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_2_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_2_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_2_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_3_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_3_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_3_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_3_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_3_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_3_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_3_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_3_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_3_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_4_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_4_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_4_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_4_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_4_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_4_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_4_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_4_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_4_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_5_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_5_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_5_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_5_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_5_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_5_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_5_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_5_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_5_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_6_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_6_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_6_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_6_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_6_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_6_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_6_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_6_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_6_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” vertical_offset_tablet=”0″ horizontal_offset_tablet=”0″ z_index_tablet=”0″]<\/p>\n We’re going to teach you what you need to know to fix your Brother printer by changing the settings and without having to replace anything.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll learn from this post:<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the Brother support website, Error 46 on a Brother printer is displayed when something called the \u2018ink absorber pad\u2019 is full and needs to be replaced (don\u2019t worry, you won\u2019t need to replace anything when trying our fix).<\/p>\n This is an essential part of the printer and there\u2019s a very good reason for having a correctly functioning ink absorber pad, but it\u2019s a lot simpler than you might think.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, the error code is often triggered when the ink absorber isn\u2019t full, which is why there is a simple way to clear out the error and get your printer up and running again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The ink absorber, also common in Canon printers, is simply a small sponge pad, and its purpose is to collect excess or spilt ink that builds up during printing. The pad also collects any excess ink that might be spilt when a cleaning process is run (a printer often cleans itself before or after a print cycle and this uses a large amount of ink<\/a>).<\/p>\n If your ink absorber is full, you will first see excess ink on your prints. The absorber can be replaced, but will need to be done by a brother printer technician and will likely cost more than the printer is worth. Ouch!<\/p>\n The ink absorber pad can be found in the bottom of the printer and without it, it\u2019s likely that your printer would eventually leak ink and stain your desk or carpet in no time without one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/blog.tonergiant.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Ink-absorber-pad-1.jpg” alt=”Ink Absorber Pad” title_text=”Ink Absorber Pad” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”bottom” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” animation_style=”slide” animation_duration=”500ms” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” animation_direction=”bottom” show_bottom_space=”on” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” align_tablet=”center” \/][et_pb_text background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.13.1″ text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n Once an ink absorber has been used many times it can become saturated with ink, but because there is no easy way for software to determine how saturated the sponge is, instead it roughly calculates based on the number of cleans and print cycles that the printer has performed and often as a precaution, over estimates and gives the error message before the sponge is full.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the printer effectively counts the number of print and clean cycles, this is done by something called the purge counter. The purge counter can be reset using the menu system on your printer via the LCD panel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
What causes Brother Machine Error 46?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
What is an ink absorber pad \/ why does my printer need it?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Why does my printer think the ink absorber is full if it isn\u2019t?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
What is a purge counter & how do I reset it?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
How to reset and clear the Brother Machine Error 46 on your printer<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n