Printer Printing Black Pages? Why It Happens and How to Fix It (Laser and Inkjet)

Quick answer: a laser printer that prints completely black pages usually isn't charging the drum, so toner sticks to the whole page. Check these in order: reseat the toner cartridge and drum (a cartridge that isn't fully locked in is a common cause), clean the corona wire by sliding the tab on the drum unit back and forth (Brother and similar models), then try a different toner cartridge or drum. Brother lists a dirty corona wire and a damaged drum as the two causes of all-black pages. On HP and Canon models where the drum is built into the toner cartridge, swapping the cartridge is the test. If black pages continue with known-good supplies, the fault is in the charge contacts or the high-voltage board, which is a repair job. On an inkjet, black pages almost always come from the document, a copy made with the lid open, or a print setting, not from the hardware.

Updated October 11, 2026 · By William Elward, founder of Castle Ink (helping people with printers and ink since 2005)

A page that comes out solid black is alarming, and it wastes toner fast. The good news is that it's one of the more predictable laser printer faults. It almost always comes down to one stage of the printing process failing, and you can test for that stage with a few minutes and no tools.

Why Does a Laser Printer Print Solid Black Pages?

A laser printer works by putting an even electrical charge on a light-sensitive drum. The laser then "draws" your page by discharging the areas where text and images should go, and toner sticks only to those areas. If the drum never gets its initial charge, the whole drum attracts toner, and every page comes out black.

So a black page means one of these is failing to charge the drum:

• The corona wire or charge roller is dirty, damaged or out of position. This is the part that applies the charge.
• The drum itself is damaged or worn and can't hold a charge.
• The electrical contacts between the printer and the cartridge or drum aren't touching, often because the cartridge isn't seated.
• The high-voltage power supply that feeds the charge has failed.

Our printer parts glossary explains each of these parts if you'd like the background.

First: Is It a Black Page, a Gray Page or a Blank Page?

• Solid black (or nearly solid) pages: the drum isn't being charged. Read on.
• Gray background haze behind normal text: Brother's troubleshooting lists heat and humidity, a dirty drum, and a worn drum. Damp paper and poor-quality toner do it too. Our guide to laser printer streaks and lines covers background problems.
• Blank pages: the opposite fault. Often sealing tape left on a new toner cartridge, an empty cartridge, or a document with blank pages in it. See why is my printer printing blank pages.
• Black streaks or bands rather than a full black page: usually a scratched drum or a dirty part, also covered in our streaks guide.

Step 1: Rule Out the Document

Thirty seconds, and it saves you from chasing a hardware fault that isn't there:

• Print the printer's own configuration or demo page from its control panel (no computer involved). If that page prints normally, the printer is fine and the problem is the file or driver.
• PDFs and web pages in dark mode print as black pages on many printers. Turn off dark mode, or in the print dialog uncheck "Print backgrounds" or "Background graphics."
• Copying with the lid open or with a dark object on the glass produces black areas. Close the lid. If copies are black but printing from a computer is fine, the scanner lamp may have failed; see scanner not working but printer still prints.

If the printer's own test page also comes out black, it's hardware. Keep going.

Step 2: Reseat the Toner Cartridge and Drum

A cartridge that isn't fully locked in is one of the most common reasons for all-black pages. UC San Diego's printer troubleshooting guide lists an improperly installed toner cartridge as the cause of all-black pages and says to reinstall it, and replace it if the problem continues.

1. Turn the printer off and let it cool for a few minutes.
2. Open the front cover and remove the toner cartridge (and drum unit, if it's separate).
3. Check the metal contacts on the ends of the cartridge and drum, and the matching contacts inside the printer. Wipe off any toner dust with a dry, lint-free cloth.
4. Reinstall the cartridge firmly until it clicks. On Brother machines, make sure the toner is locked into the drum (the green lever drops) before the assembly goes back in.
5. Close the cover, turn the printer on, and print a test page.

Step 3: Clean the Corona Wire (Brother and Similar)

Most Brother lasers, and some other brands, use a thin corona wire inside the drum unit to charge the drum. Brother's own troubleshooting for "completely black" pages says to clean it.

1. Remove the drum and toner assembly.
2. Find the small blue or green tab on top of the drum unit.
3. Gently slide it all the way left and right several times.
4. Return the tab to its home position (marked with a ▲). If you leave it out of position, you'll get a vertical stripe down every page.
5. Reinstall and print a test page.

On HP, and on Canon models that use HP-style cartridges, the charge roller is inside the toner cartridge itself, so there's no corona wire to clean. For those printers, go straight to Step 4.

Step 4: Swap the Toner Cartridge or Drum

If reseating and cleaning didn't help, the part that holds or applies the charge is probably damaged. Brother's second listed cause for all-black pages is a damaged drum, and the fix is a new drum unit.

• Separate drum (Brother, many Xerox and some Canon): try a different drum unit. If you have the old drum from before your last replacement, try it. If black pages stop, the drum was the fault. Our guide to the Brother drum unit vs. toner cartridge explains which part does what.
• Drum built into the cartridge (most HP and many Canon imageCLASS): install a different toner cartridge. A cartridge with a damaged charge roller or drum is the usual culprit, and it's the cheapest fix.

If the black pages started right after installing a new cartridge, swap the old one back in to test. A defective cartridge, whether OEM or compatible, should be replaced by the seller. Castle Ink backs every cartridge with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Step 5: When It's the Printer, Not the Supplies

If you get black pages with a known-good toner cartridge and drum, the fault is inside the printer:

• High-voltage power supply (HVPS): the board that generates the charge. A failed HVPS is a classic cause of all-black pages that don't respond to any supply change.
• Charge contacts: the springs and pins that carry the charge to the drum can bend, corrode or get coated in toner.
• Main board or laser unit faults are rarer.

On a printer still under warranty, contact the manufacturer. Out of warranty, the repair often costs more than a budget laser printer. If it's time to replace, our printer buying guide has current picks.

Can an Inkjet Printer Print Black Pages?

Rarely from a hardware fault. Inkjets only spray ink where the file tells them to, so a solid black page is almost always:

• A dark-mode web page, PDF or email being printed as it looks on screen.
• A photo or image with a black background printed borderless.
• A copy made with the scanner lid open, or with a failing scanner lamp.
• A driver or app set to an unusual mode (for example "negative" or "invert" in photo software).

An inkjet can leave black smears and blotches if ink has leaked inside or the print head is touching the paper. That's a different problem; see why is my printer ink smudging and how to clean a printer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Brother printer printing completely black pages?

Brother lists two causes: a corona wire that needs cleaning, and a damaged drum unit. Clean the corona wire with the tab on the drum first. If that doesn't help, replace the drum.

Why is my HP LaserJet printing black pages?

On most HP LaserJets, the drum and charge roller are inside the toner cartridge, so the first test is a different cartridge. Check that it's fully seated and the contacts are clean. If a known-good cartridge also prints black, the printer's high-voltage board or charge contacts are the likely fault.

Can a new toner cartridge cause black pages?

Yes, if it isn't seated properly or it has a defective drum or charge roller. Reseat it first; if the problem continues, put the old cartridge back to confirm, then ask the seller to replace the new one.

Is it safe to keep printing when pages come out black?

Stop. Every black page dumps a full page's worth of toner, which wears the cartridge fast and fills the waste toner area. Fix the cause first.

Why does my printer print a black page only when copying?

The scanner is the issue, not the printer. Close the lid properly. If copies are still black, the scanner lamp has likely failed.

What's the difference between a black page and a gray background?

A black page means the drum isn't being charged at all. A gray background means it's being charged weakly or unevenly, usually from a worn or dirty drum, humidity, or damp paper.

Keep Printing

If the fix turns out to be a new drum or toner, Castle Ink stocks compatible Brother drum units, HP and Xerox drum units, and toner for most laser printers, including Brother and HP. Find the exact part for your model on our Find Ink by Printer page, or work through more fixes at the printer troubleshooting center.

Sources

• Brother: Improve the print quality (completely black pages, gray background)
• UC San Diego Blink: Laser printer troubleshooting and repair
• HP Support Community: Prints completely black sheets