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A safety razor and a Brother B&W printer?

by lmpdev 3y ago

BenjiWiebe 3y ago
I seem to remember hearing that Brother has also decided to start with the DRM. Or maybe that was color only, seeing as you specified B&W??
- genewitch 3y ago
  there allegedly is some electronics in the ink assembly that may interfere with using non-brother branded refills, but it is possible to swap the electronics from an old toner cart into the off-brand and it will work fine. I didn't have to do it with mine. Be aware that at least some brother lasers you have to replace another part every 10,000 sheets, which is the duration of two to five toner replacements. I am unsure if it's the heater or the laser or what.
  - baq 3y ago
    Mine says it’s the drum. Whatever that is. Haven’t replaced it in 10 years, haven’t reached the limit yet ;)
mauvehaus 3y ago
Our B&W Brother laser insists that the toner cartridge is empty despite still printing pages beautifully. I was able to reset the printer once, but the second time seems to be the cartridge itself. I'm a little disappointed, to say the least. On the other hand, after putting it on the Wi-Fi, everything was able to print without the addition of any crapware drivers. Win some lose some?
- paledot 3y ago
  Likewise with our Canon laser, but at least it prints. It's been running on an "empty" cartridge for a year now. I don't mind an (inaccurate) effort to indicate the level of the consumables, so long as the system doesn't lock up once the controller decides it's out of toner.
  - mauvehaus 3y ago
    Clarification: the Brother refuses to print. Your Canon would be an upgrade.
nerdponx 3y ago
I actually thought about both of these as I was making this post. Safety razors aren't a direct substitute for a modern standard shaving razor, even if it's arguably better. Brother printers don't have DRM (yay!) but the toner cartridges are definitely being sold at a huge markup. That's OK because the price is fine with me, but they're still using the same "cheap product, expensive consumables" pricing model as everyone else. How could they not?

A safety razor and a Brother B&W printer?

by lmpdev 3y ago

A safety razor and a Brother B&W printer?

I seem to remember hearing that Brother has also decided to start with the DRM. Or maybe that was color only, seeing as you specified B&W??

genewitch 3y ago
there allegedly is some electronics in the ink assembly that may interfere with using non-brother branded refills, but it is possible to swap the electronics from an old toner cart into the off-brand and it will work fine. I didn't have to do it with mine. Be aware that at least some brother lasers you have to replace another part every 10,000 sheets, which is the duration of two to five toner replacements. I am unsure if it's the heater or the laser or what.
- baq 3y ago
  Mine says it’s the drum. Whatever that is. Haven’t replaced it in 10 years, haven’t reached the limit yet ;)

mauvehaus 3y ago

Our B&W Brother laser insists that the toner cartridge is empty despite still printing pages beautifully. I was able to reset the printer once, but the second time seems to be the cartridge itself. I'm a little disappointed, to say the least. On the other hand, after putting it on the Wi-Fi, everything was able to print without the addition of any crapware drivers. Win some lose some?

paledot 3y ago
Likewise with our Canon laser, but at least it prints. It's been running on an "empty" cartridge for a year now. I don't mind an (inaccurate) effort to indicate the level of the consumables, so long as the system doesn't lock up once the controller decides it's out of toner.
- mauvehaus 3y ago
  Clarification: the Brother refuses to print. Your Canon would be an upgrade.

nerdponx 3y ago

I actually thought about both of these as I was making this post. Safety razors aren't a direct substitute for a modern standard shaving razor, even if it's arguably better. Brother printers don't have DRM (yay!) but the toner cartridges are definitely being sold at a huge markup. That's OK because the price is fine with me, but they're still using the same "cheap product, expensive consumables" pricing model as everyone else. How could they not?