The Printer Questions Megathread

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Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

I work for Brother, in the Macintosh support department no less. If you have any questions about the Brother models (HL or MFC) feel free to ask.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2009 01:03

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 16:19

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Heads up for all you HL-2170W lovers.
Pick up the HL-2270DW, it's the upgrade. It's not only wireless, it's duplex. It's not only duplex and wireless, it also has a nice feature called:
"Oh god what do I do my toner says its empty but I still need to print I don't care about the quality!!" ..feature. Basically you can tell the printer to still print with the little toner left in the cartridge until it's completely bone dry. You'll get crap for quality, but it works!

# ¿ Jan 18, 2011 16:37

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

MrBond posted:

If brother had apple airprint compatibility *and* duplex I might just break down and get it though.

Airprint? Is that the new printing from ipad/iphone thing? Or printing with a usb to an airport/time capsule whatever?

# ¿ Jan 19, 2011 23:10

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Fruits of the sea posted:

If you absolutely need color inkjet, that's probably the best possible choice. All-in-one, duplex printing, and 2200 pages in a B&W cartridge (according to hp anyway).

Relatedly, I'm looking for an economical black and white laser that has duplex and copying. Wireless would a nice plus as well.
I've been looking at the MFC-7440 and MFC-7840, are they as good as the Brother 2200-series?

MFC7840W is a drat good printer, but if you've got time, wait a few months and see what new models come out which are better then this one and replace it, kinda like the HL2270W replaced the HL2170W, though I cannot mention any particular numbers yet. They'll be available come March.

Toothy posted:

Can anyone recommend me a (Brother?) laser printer with a built-in scanner? I don't need a copier/fax or any other features. Does this exist cheaply, or will I need to buy some all-in-one monstrosity for $500?

See above. If you want laser, the DCP585CW may not be good since it's inkjet, it does have a scanner however. Depends on how much you want to spend as an initial investment. Laser printers have a higher initial investment but a lower cost per page, inkjets are opposit this.

Vitae fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Jan 25, 2011

# ¿ Jan 25, 2011 23:55

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Maneki Neko posted:

The MFC-9840CDW looks pretty close to what I'm looking for, anyone have any experiences with this particular model?

Yes. I wouldn't recommend the MFC9840CDW since some new models have been released which basically trumps this one.
Check out the MFC-9970CDW
http://www.brother-usa.com/MFC/Mode...FC9970CDW_Click

Same features, more recent, upgraded, etc.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2011 23:49

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Xenomorph posted:

Ok, so HL-2270DW is the new HL-2170W?

My 2170W is awesome, and my dad wants one now. They're gone everywhere, of course.

I will send him the HL-2270DW link then if it works the same as the HL-2170W. He just wants good, wireless printer like mine.

Pretty much, though you can compare the two models and features with this link: http://www.brother-usa.com/Printer/CompareList.aspx?ModelList=hl2170W,HL2270DW

Just to get an idea of the upgrades

# ¿ Mar 4, 2011 03:03

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Fangs404 posted:

Decided to update the firmware on my 2270DW today from 1.02 to 1.10. When I run the update program, I get a message saying "cannot find a machine to update." The printer is installed and works perfectly. It's networked through a switch (not connected directly to the computer via USB).

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, what did you do to fix it?

Yes.
Connect it directly, otherwise firmware updates wont work.
What os?

# ¿ Mar 22, 2011 15:55

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Fangs404 posted:

drat, ok. I was able to update my 2170W over the network, so I hoped my 2270DW would be the same. I'll do that tonight.

Windows 7 Pro x64

Sometimes it works fine, but if it doesn't I always recommend connecting it directly, also because you don't want to mess with firmware updates, if it gets interrupted you've bricked your machine.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2011 18:21

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

N'thing don't buy an inkjet. If you print rarely, get laser. It's a higher initial investment, granted, but longer overal savings per page.
Think about it this way, if you get an inkjet and spend say.. 200-300$ you'll get a good machine granted, but if you only print, say, 1 document a month, you're wasting money. Ink carts for most inkjets are pricey (20-30$ black 15-20$ color) and their yields range from 200-500 depending on the model.
For laser machines using toner, an average toner cost roughly 50-70$ depending, but yield anywhere between 1500-5000 pages also depending on model.
ALSO with inkjets, if you do NOT print the machine WILL use ink for you in the "cleaning" process. If an inkjet machine sits without ink flowing through it the ink WILL dry up and clog your print head, killing the machine. The machine keeps itself from failing horribly by doing periodic cleaning cycles, moving less then a ML through the machine into the ink absorber.
IF you print however, the machine will bypass these cleaning cycles.

For me, I've got a Brother MFC-685CW (old machine, though still kicking strong) and I try to print at least 1 page a week, and it doesn't clean itself, and I rarely have to replace cartridges unless I do a larrrge print job.

Edit:
I almost forgot to mention, Brother has released a new inkjet machine which has VERY high yield cartridges available relativly cheap. Check out the Brother MFCJ-6710DW It's an inkjet, but the cartridges are REALLY high yield. ALSO it prints in duplex, prints and scans ledger (11x17), AND has a manual feed (straight feed paper path) slot for thick paper/envelopes/lables.

Edit again:
More towards your price range, similar features as the MFCJ-6710DW is the Brother MFCJ-6510DW. It's shorter because it only has 1 paper tray, but otherwise is nearly identical.

Vitae fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Mar 23, 2011

# ¿ Mar 23, 2011 23:10

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Lovelyn posted:

Hey guys, I was hoping to get some advice about a printer, and most of the ones I saw in this thread are a bit pricey for me.

I'm a poor grad student and only need to be able to print in monochrome. My parents gave me their old HP Deskjet D4260, and I only print reports/papers with no images and yet it seems like I still run out of ink very quickly. What do you all think of the Brother Printer HL-2220 Monochrome Printer? It's $65 and I get free shipping with amazon prime...is it worth it, or should I just stick it out with the HP?

It's the same exact build as the HL2270DW, the major differences is the fact that it is not duplex (automatic) or wireless. It's only usb.
If you're on a budget, it's recommended.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2011 16:37

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Scorponok posted:

I need a printer for use at the trade shows we go to 2-3 times a year. Requirements:

* Able to print a couple hundred pages a day for 4-5 days in a row without dying or requiring huge quantities of expensive ink / toner

* Network port, so we can plug it in to a router and use it as a network printer (wireless won't cut it, must be a physical network port)

* Automatic duplex, so it can print double-sided without needing to turn the paper over or whatever

* Ideally small, since we'll be moving it around and a smaller printer would make that more convenient

* Black and white only - color won't be used at all.

* Price $100-200 or so I guess, not sure

I think lasers are generally preferable over inkjets, but I could be convinced otherwise. I could just pick some random well-rated printer out from newegg, but I was wondering if anyone had any tips / recommendations here first?

Thanks all.

HL2270DW
http://www.brother-usa.com/Printer/ModelDetail.aspx?ProductID=HL2270DW

It's wireless sure, but it also has a physical network port.

Comes with a low-yield starter toner so you do want to buy an additional toner, probably the TN460 which is high yield.

# ¿ May 23, 2011 15:44

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

FISHMANPET posted:

Nobody will try to convince you otherwise, except maybe an printer company rep at a Best Buy (when I sold printers at Best Buy I wouldn't be afraid to sell the laser printer).

I would only suggest an inkjet for those who want to print photo quality type documents, because lasers, even color lasers, are not good for printing photographs.
I would not recommend inkjets to those who print just standard documents.

# ¿ May 23, 2011 16:53

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Space Gopher posted:

It's a cheap HP all-in-one. Ink costs will be ridiculous, and if you put it to any kind of heavy use it will break fairly quickly. If you don't use it for any significant length of time (more than a few weeks), then there's a good chance some nozzles in the print head will clog, and you'll have to replace the clogged cartridge.

Cheap inkjets are sold at rock-bottom prices because the manufacturers know they can make up the difference on ink sales; the cost per page quickly becomes ridiculous. If you're printing photos, it's often cheaper to have them printed at a drugstore photo lab, even before you factor the cost of the printer into the equation. People assume that it's always cheaper to do things at home, and printer companies make enormous profits off that assumption.

If you're printing in any kind of volume, you need either a laser printer or a high-end inkjet that can take bulk ink. For school, a B&W laser is almost certainly the best choice, because she'll likely be printing off an awful lot of text-heavy documents, where the cost-per-page and speed advantages of a laser printer quickly show themselves. If she's going to be printing a really large amount, she may want to look for something with a duplexer (dual-sided printing capability), just to cut the paper volume in half. If color is an absolute requirement, color lasers are coming down quite a bit in price, although they still cost quite a bit more than a B&W laser to buy and run, and color accuracy won't be any better than a cheap inkjet.

I've got a few models I can suggest.
http://www.brother-usa.com/MFC/ModelDetail.aspx?ProductID=MFCJ6510dw
and, if you want automatic duplex (two-sided) scanning
http://www.brother-usa.com/MFC/ModelDetail.aspx?ProductID=MFCJ6910dw

Both inkjets, but they can use very high volume ink, these are the ink cartridges availabe for these two models:
http://www.brothermall.com/Accessories/AccessoryList.aspx?Model=MFCJ6910dw&ACASCID=30

Notice the yield versus the price, compair that with other inkjet machines.

# ¿ Jun 1, 2011 05:04

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

melon cat posted:

Whelp. My Brother 2170W is pretty much on its last legs. It seems "temperamental" about when it does and doesn't want to print. It had a good run, though- I owned it for over 3 years and never had to refill the toner a single time. We're also looking for a 3-in-1.

I'm looking at the Brother MFC-7840W. Listed on Newegg for $309. Any thoughts on this printer?

The MFC-7840W while an excellent machine, is the "old and busted".
This MFC-7860DW is the "new hotness".

It's basically the upgraded model, more features, better wireless card, and it prints duplex (both sides of the page) automatically.

Edit: Personally I think the MFC-7840W wins in the looks department, but the MFC-7860DW has more features, but is butt ugly.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2011 16:45

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

A friend of a friends cousins uncles ex-wifes babysitters dog-trainer told me that Brother has a new support feature.

Live Chat.

So, hardly any hold time if at all, and they're prompt in helping you with your issue. Go to Brother.com -> Support -> Contact Customer Service -> select your machine catagory and model number, and click LIVE CHAT.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2011 17:32

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Rhesus Pieces posted:

So I just bought a Brother MFC-7860DW based on the glowing reviews in this thread. It prints fine wirelessly, but I can't get it to scan to the PC. Has anyone else run into this problem?

What operating system, are you getting an error message, have you tried from Control Center on the computer or are you pressing the Scan button on the machine? Details!

# ¿ Aug 3, 2011 18:17

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Yup, definitely not a connection issue, it's an issue with the software. You can try a TWAIN reset, from this website (under Step 1 click twain reset).
If that doesn't work try uninstalling and reinstalling the software, make sure there are no firewalls/antivirus/antimalware programs running.
If THAT doesn't work, well, sorry, use something else other then the crappy control center.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2011 23:04

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Sperg Victorious posted:

Does anyone have any experience with refurbished printer toner? Can I expect the same life cycle, quality, ect as I would get with an OEM?

It all depends on who/where you get it from. I've delt with people on a daily basis who complain about their toner not lasting, leaking, spotty, streaky, and every problem you can imagine, and about 90% of the time it's "generic" or "refurb" toner.

Best advice I can give, you get what you pay for.

# ¿ Aug 4, 2011 16:58

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Cross_ posted:

I have spent about a week googling for an ideal printer but the review sites out there are horrible. One says "Great print quality, expensive toner" next one will review the product and say "Poor print quality, lowest cost per page".

So here's what I am looking for:
- color laser
- duplexing
- great color quality (vector art / power point printing)
- very low cost per page and decent amount of toner included in starter kit
- don't care about b/w quality
- don't care about print speed
- don't care about connectivity- USB or ethernet are fine
- don't care about appearance / size / weight
- price: less than $500

My favorite so far is the Samsung CLP-770ND but at $600 from thenerds.com it's still about $100 too much.

Brother HL-4150CDN
http://www.brother-usa.com/Printer/modeldetail.aspx?ProductID=HL4150CDN

# ¿ Sep 13, 2011 06:31

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

BizzyLimpkits posted:

I'm basically looking for the same thing but with a scanner included.

Is this a good option?

Brother MFC-9120CN

The 9120 is ok, though it uses LED instead of Laser, I would recommend the MFC9460CDN, yeah, it's a bit more expensive, but overall it's better built and has better print quality and handling then the 9120, the 9460 is also much faster.

Not that there's anything wrong with the 9120CN, in fact I've used this machine at my desk for a little over a year and it does well, prints nicely, overall a great machine, just letting you know of the "new hotness" so to speak.

http://www.brother-usa.com/MFC/ModelDetail.aspx?ProductID=MFC9460CDN

You can get a great comparison of features between the MFC-9460CDN and the MFC-9120CN via this page:

http://www.brother-usa.com/MFC/CompareList.aspx?ModelList=MFC9460CDN,MFC9120CN&tab=full

# ¿ Sep 13, 2011 17:56

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Themes posted:

I've been looking at buying a laser printer for my mother for a while now, she suddenly decided that she wants to be able to scan as well so I've been looking at some multifunctions.

Currently eying up Brother MFC-7360N or DCP7065DN, the 7360N is only $10-20 more expensive with a rebate right now, does anyone have any experience with either of these or can they recommend something else.

I'd actually recommend the DCP-7065DN over the 7360N unless you're dead set on having a fax machine.
If you absolutely need a fax then you'll want the MFC-7360N, otherwise the DCP-7065DN has the automatic duplex print feature, which is a setup above the 7360N.
You can view a full feature comparison list here:
http://www.brother-usa.com/MFC/CompareList.aspx?ModelList=MFC7360N,DCP7065DN#.To8QSt5T95A

# ¿ Oct 7, 2011 15:47

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Tedronai66 posted:

I still haven't bought a printer since my last post here, but I'm thinking heavily on this one. Thoughts?

If you don't want faxing then yeah that'd be a perfect black and white laser printer. If you'd prefer to buy it direct from the manufacture it's on sale right now for $129.99 with free shipping from http://www.brothermall.com/ here: http://www.brothermall.com/MFC/ProdDetail.aspx?Model=DCP7065DN

Protip: This machine has a "toner continue" mode. This means you can continue printing even with a "toner life end/replace toner" message until the print quality is poor. Don't replace the toner until you notice poor print quality, saves money.

Another protip: Update the firmware as soon as you receive it.

# ¿ Nov 8, 2011 17:56

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

taqueso posted:

Well, I ended up ordering this Brother MFC-J6910dw. (Managed to snag it with $100 instant savings, looks like that is gone now.) It is an all-in-one w/ fax, which is fine, but going into this I expected I could get a higher quality printer if they didn't have to stuff in a scanner, etc. But everything else in this price range with wide format gets horrible reviews or has massively expensive ink.

Hopefully this one doesn't suck.

It's not a bad printer as long as you know how to use it. I've used the MFC-J6710DW before, it's basically the same machine except it doesn't have the duel-scanner in the document feeder.
By default the printer doesn't use a whole lot of ink to print, so it looks faint/faded. Use inkjet paper, set the printing preferences to Inkjet in the media type, you'll see massively better print quality.
For scanning, make sure to configure the scan options before you use them, the default scan options kinda suck.
Also, download the ControlCenter4 update tool, it patches a few issues with ControlCenter.

# ¿ Nov 8, 2011 20:08

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

taqueso posted:

Thanks for the info. Everything is up and running, seems like a pretty slick machine for the price. Wifi turned out to be a handy feature, and net setup was really easy with the touchscreen. Paper trays were a little flimsy feeling. All-in-all, there is a lot of cool stuff packed into this guy, much more than I would have expected was possible for $220.

I'm not planning on using any of the Control Center stuff, I just installed the "advanced user" drivers. Anything I'm going to miss? We aren't going to use the fax, and we have a ScanSnap so we would only use this Brother to scan tabloid sized docs which are pretty rare for us.

Not really missing too much with the ControlCenter. The "Scan" button on the machine won't work without it (except scanning to FTP or Email Server), but then again if you're scanning with another application then it won't matter much.

I always recommend doing firmware updates of course. So, do a firmware update.

Paper trays are flimsy, they didn't learn from the flimsyness of the trays from the 6890CDW or 6490CW which were the previous models. Either way, cheap to replace if out of warranty (20$) and if in warranty just call Brother at 1-877-276-8437 (or go to their Live Chat on https://www.brother.com) to inquire about a replacement.

# ¿ Nov 9, 2011 02:37

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Zarkov Cortez posted:

Are there any issues with support for the MFC-9120? I was looking to get a colour laser printer and found them on sale for $205 CAD.

No issues. You have unlimited free chat/phone/email support regardless of warranty. This machine has a 1 year exchange warranty. It has a funky manual feed slot, fyi.

# ¿ Nov 25, 2011 05:36

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

pienipple posted:

My mom's HL-4070CDW has been blopping the yellow and blue toner on the pages since we put new cartridges in it. Opened it up today and all three color carts (TN-115s) are leaking like mad. I called up Brother and they're sending me new cartridges with 3 day delivery, I was on the phone less than 15 minutes.

Brother customer service owns.

That's because it's a known issue with faulty leaky cartridges.
If you call back and ask if someone can come to your location to clean and vacume the excess toner they will, if they offer to email you the steps refuse and say you want someone to do it, and they will oblige and schedule a technician to come clean it up for you for free.

I used to love when I got that call, an easy 5 minute call.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2012 21:11

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

ChiralCondensate posted:

I ordered a Brother DCP-7065DN (Amazon has them on sale for $130) and spent some time googling+reading the various manuals Brother has online, but it's not clear: can one scan over the network using the TWAIN or WIA driver? I.e. I want to be able to use Adobe Acrobat or some other program to scan instead of the included software, and not have to be plugged in via USB.

Yup, it will scan over the network via TWAIN or WIA.

# ¿ Jun 3, 2012 03:45

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

FISHMANPET posted:

I've got the 2270DW and I love it. Duplexing is a lifesaver.

That being said, what the hell is the difference between the rest of these?
http://www.brother-usa.com/Printer/CompareList.aspx?ModelList=HL2230,HL2240,HL2240D,HL2270DW&tab=full

I get the 2270DW had duplexing and wireless, the 2240D has duplexing and no wireless, and the 2240 is the no duplexer brother of the 2240D. So what the hell is the 2230? Why isn't it 2270, 2270D, and 2270DW?

HL2270DW = Duplex, Wireless/Network interface, slightly faster print speed, more memory.
HL2240D = Duplex, USB Only.
HL2240 = USB Only.
HL2230 = Same as HL2240 but different color panel on top. I believe it's sold in a different region then the 2240

# ¿ Jun 15, 2012 18:42

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 16:19

Vitae: Apr 12, 2004; MECH VITAE is already stupid.

FISHMANPET posted:

I looked at the 2200 series brochure (linked on the 2230, 2240d, and 2270DW) and those three (as well as a higher level) are the same family, and the 2240 is the weird step stepchild of the family I guess.

It happens a lot, I no longer have the resource of information from Brother, but when I had, they would always have the "odd one out" of the series.

For the MFC-7460DN, not sure about a universal driver, are you referring to the built-in OS driver?

# ¿ Jun 15, 2012 20:09

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > The Printer Questions Megathread