Kyocera Printer Not Printing Color? Fix Missing or Faded Colors

If your Kyocera printer is printing in black and white, missing one or more colors, or producing very light and faded colors, the problem is usually related to print settings, toner, driver configuration, or the printer’s imaging system.
A Kyocera printer not printing color can also happen after replacing toner, changing print settings, installing a new driver, or connecting the printer to another computer.
The good news is that most color printing problems can be fixed without replacing the entire printer.

1. Make Sure Your Kyocera Printer Supports Color

Before troubleshooting, confirm that your Kyocera model is actually a color printer.

Some Kyocera models are designed for monochrome printing only. A monochrome printer cannot produce cyan, magenta, or yellow output regardless of the software settings.

Check your model name and printer specifications. If it is a color model, continue with the steps below.

2. Check the Color Toner Levels

Low or empty toner is one of the most common reasons for missing colors.

Depending on your Kyocera model, check the printer’s control panel or printer status software for toner levels.

Look for:

• Cyan toner
• Magenta toner
• Yellow toner
• Black toner

If one color is empty, documents may appear incomplete or have incorrect colors.

Replace an empty cartridge with the correct toner for your Kyocera model.

3. Make Sure All Color Toners Are Installed Correctly

If you recently replaced toner, one cartridge may not be seated correctly.

Turn the printer off if required by your model and carefully check the toner cartridges. Make sure each cartridge is installed in the correct position and fully seated.

A cartridge that is not properly installed may prevent that color from printing.

For related toner troubleshooting, see Kyocera Printer Toner Not Recognized? Easy Fix Guide.

4. Check Whether the Toner Is Being Recognized

A Kyocera printer may refuse to use a color cartridge if it cannot properly recognize it.

Look for toner-related warnings on the printer display or in the Kyocera printer status software.

If a newly installed cartridge is not detected:

1. Remove the affected toner cartridge.
2. Check for protective packaging that was not removed.
3. Reinstall the cartridge carefully.
4. Restart the printer.
5. Check the toner status again.

If the printer still does not recognize it, the cartridge or printer detection system may require further troubleshooting.

5. Turn Off Grayscale or Black-and-White Printing

Your printer may be working correctly while Windows or another application is forcing black-and-white output.

Open Printer Properties, Printing Preferences, or the equivalent settings on your computer.

Look for options such as:

• Grayscale
• Black & White
• Monochrome
• Print in black
• Color mode

Select Color and apply the changes.

Then print a new test document.

This is one of the easiest fixes when your Kyocera printer suddenly starts printing only in black.

6. Check the Kyocera Driver Color Settings

The printer driver controls many important print options.

Open your Kyocera printer preferences and look for the color or image quality section.

Make sure the driver is configured for color printing.

If the printer was recently installed, moved to another computer, or updated, the wrong driver may have been installed.

A generic printer driver can sometimes provide fewer options than the correct Kyocera driver.

For broader troubleshooting, see Kyocera Printer Not Printing? 15 Proven Fixes That Actually Work (2026).

7. Check the Application’s Print Settings

Sometimes the printer driver is configured correctly, but the application is overriding it.

For example, a PDF reader, Microsoft Word, browser, or image editor may have its own print settings.

Before printing, open the application’s print window and check:

• Color or grayscale
• Printer selection
• Page settings
• Paper type
• Quality settings

Select your Kyocera color printer and make sure color printing is enabled.

Then print another page.

8. Print an Internal Kyocera Test or Status Page

Printing a test page directly from the printer is an excellent way to determine whether the issue is hardware or software related.

If your Kyocera model provides a color test page, status page, or configuration page, print it from the printer’s control panel.

If the internal page prints correctly

The printer’s color system is probably working, and the issue may be related to:

• Windows settings
• Mac settings
• Printer driver
• Application settings
• Print job configuration

If the internal page also lacks color

The problem is more likely related to:

• Toner
• Toner recognition
• Imaging components
• Printer hardware
• Maintenance requirements

9. Check Toner-Saving or Economy Settings

Some print-quality settings can reduce toner usage and make colors appear lighter.

Open your Kyocera printing preferences and review options such as:

• EcoPrint
• Toner Save
• Draft mode
• Economy mode
• Low-quality printing

Temporarily disable these options and print another test page.

If colors become stronger, the previous quality setting was affecting the output.

10. Check the Paper Type and Print Quality

Incorrect paper settings can affect how toner is transferred to the page.

If you are using special paper, make sure the printer settings match the actual media.

For example, check whether the printer is set for:

• Plain paper
• Thick paper
• Labels
• Glossy media
• Recycled paper

For normal documents, select the appropriate standard paper setting and test again.

11. Test a Different Color Document

Before assuming that the printer has a hardware problem, print a simple document containing obvious cyan, magenta, yellow, red, green, and blue elements.

This helps identify whether:

• All colors are missing
• Only one color is missing
• Colors are extremely light
• Colors are inaccurate
• The application is causing the problem

If one specific color is consistently absent, focus your troubleshooting on that toner and its corresponding imaging system.

12. One Color Is Missing From Every Print

If your Kyocera printer prints other colors correctly but consistently loses one color, check that color’s toner first.

For example, if everything that should contain yellow appears without yellow, inspect the yellow toner cartridge and related printer status.

A single missing color can cause other colors to look incorrect as well because color printing combines multiple toner colors.

13. Kyocera Prints Black Only

If your color Kyocera printer suddenly prints everything in black, check the printer preferences first.

Make sure:

• Color printing is enabled.
• Grayscale is disabled.
• The correct Kyocera driver is installed.
• The application is not forcing monochrome printing.
• Color toner cartridges are recognized.
• The printer is not in a restricted monochrome mode.

If black printing works but color does not, toner recognition and color settings should be checked before assuming the printer has failed.

If black itself is missing, see Kyocera Printer Not Printing Black? Easy Fixes That Work (2026).

14. Colors Are Printing but Look Faded

Faded color is different from completely missing color.

If the colors are visible but much lighter than expected, check:

• Toner levels
• EcoPrint settings
• Print quality
• Paper settings
• Toner cartridge condition
• Printer maintenance status

If both black and color output are faded, the issue may involve broader print-quality or imaging components.

See Kyocera Printer Printing Faded or Light? Fix Poor Print Quality for additional troubleshooting.

15. Restart the Printer and Computer

A simple restart can clear temporary communication and print-processing problems.

Turn off the printer normally, wait briefly, and restart it.

Then restart your computer if necessary and send a new color print job.

This is especially useful after:

• Installing toner
• Installing a driver
• Changing network settings
• Updating Windows or macOS
• Cancelling a large print job

Kyocera Color Printing Still Not Working?

If you have completed the basic checks and color still does not print, determine whether the problem occurs on every computer and every document.

If color fails from multiple computers and the printer’s internal test page also fails, the problem is less likely to be caused by Windows, macOS, or a single application.

At that point, inspect the printer’s toner, imaging components, maintenance status, and any displayed error messages.

If the problem started immediately after replacing toner, pay particular attention to toner installation and cartridge recognition.

What If Color Stopped Working After Replacing Toner?

Start by checking the newly installed cartridge.

Make sure the toner is compatible with your exact Kyocera model and that all packaging or protective materials were removed.

Reinstall the cartridge and check whether the printer recognizes it.

If the printer reports a toner error, solve that problem first rather than repeatedly sending color print jobs.

What If Kyocera Prints Color From One Computer but Not Another?

This usually points toward a computer-side configuration problem.

Compare the printer settings on both computers.

Check the:

• Selected printer
• Kyocera driver
• Color mode
• Application settings
• Paper settings
• Print quality settings

If one computer prints color correctly, the printer hardware is less likely to be the cause.

Quick Kyocera Color Printing Checklist

Before contacting technical support, run through this checklist:

• Confirm the printer is a color model.
• Check cyan, magenta, yellow, and black toner.
• Make sure all toner cartridges are installed correctly.
• Check for toner recognition errors.
• Select Color instead of Grayscale.
• Check the application’s print settings.
• Verify the correct Kyocera driver.
• Print an internal test or status page.
• Disable EcoPrint or toner-saving mode temporarily.
• Check the paper type.
• Test another color document.
• Restart the printer and computer.
• Check the maintenance or imaging status.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Kyocera printer printing black but not color?

The printer may be set to grayscale, one or more color toners may be empty or unrecognized, or the driver may be configured for monochrome printing. Check color settings and toner status first.

Why is only one color missing from my Kyocera printer?

A missing color is often related to the corresponding toner cartridge, toner recognition, or that color’s imaging system. Check the affected toner and print an internal test page.

Why does my Kyocera printer print faded colors?

Low toner, EcoPrint settings, incorrect paper settings, or print-quality and imaging issues can cause faded color. Check toner levels and temporarily disable toner-saving settings.

Why is my Kyocera printer printing in grayscale?

Grayscale or black-and-white mode may be enabled in the printer driver or the application you are printing from. Change the setting to Color and try again.

Why did color stop working after replacing toner?

The new toner may not be seated correctly, may not be recognized, or may not be compatible with the printer model. Recheck installation and toner status.

How can I tell if the problem is hardware or software?

Print a color test or status page directly from the printer. If the internal page prints color correctly, investigate the computer, driver, or application. If the internal page also lacks color, inspect toner and printer hardware.

Related Kyocera Printer Guides

• Kyocera Printer Not Printing? 15 Proven Fixes That Actually Work (2026)
• Kyocera Printer Toner Not Recognized? Easy Fix Guide
• Kyocera Printer Not Printing Black? Easy Fixes That Work (2026)
• Kyocera Printer Printing Faded or Light? Fix Poor Print Quality
• Kyocera Printer Printing Blank Pages? 11 Fixes That Actually Work

Final Thoughts

When a Kyocera printer is not printing color, start with the simplest causes: color settings, toner levels, cartridge installation, and driver configuration. Then use an internal test page to determine whether the issue is coming from the printer itself or from the computer.

If the printer prints color correctly on its internal test page, focus on software and driver settings. If color is missing from the internal page as well, investigate toner recognition, imaging components, and maintenance status.

Following these steps can resolve many Kyocera color printing problems without unnecessary hardware replacement.