Word of mouth travels a long way, trust us. How many times have you listened to a friend or relative on a restaurant suggestion? Recommendations are very different from paid endorsement or an advertisement. Advertisements feel hollow and more like a cash grab than a genuine representation of a product. A recommendation from a trusted person really hits home, as they have no reason to lie to you or have any sort of monetary compensation.
We get the question a lot from customers, what's the best printer? The word 'best' is clearly objective as all printers have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to printing. When push comes to shove, we always like to recommend a Brother printer as an overall solid choice for someone with moderate printing needs. But what makes Brother a better contender than other brands?
No Malicious Firmware Updates
Over the years, Brother has garnered itself a solid reputation for reliability and no-frills performance. Printer ink and toner prices have continued to go up since they are the primary source of revenue for printer manufacturers. Cheap ink cartridges sold as aftermarket products on Amazon and such have flooded the internet and taken a toll on the industry since their inception. However, remanufactured and compatible cartridges that are reliable, quality-made, and function identically to the name brand cartridges are usually some of the consumers' first choice when it comes to replacing their original printer cartridges.
Some printer manufacturers deem compatible cartridges such a threat to their revenue that they push mandatory firmware updates, causing the third party ink cartridges to stop working with their printers. Many printer manufacturers secretly roll out these firmware patches along with other fixed features to disguise their real intent. When updated, the remanufactured cartridge that you purchased would no longer be usable, and you would need to buy an original ink cartridge from the manufacturer to get your printer working again.
While Brother still rolls out firmware updates, they are much more transparent with their purpose. Much of the updates that come out are solely for improving the printer's functionality and not dedicated to bricking your remanufactured Brother ink cartridges. There are also options to turn off the automatic firmware updates if you do not wish to participate. Other printer manufacturers will not let you opt-out of automatic updates and will instantly brick your remanufactured cartridges.
Overall Affordability
Brother printers like to do things a little bit differently, especially in regards to their laser printers. All laser printers require a drum, which is a consumable component that uses electricity to adhere the toner to the page. Drum units must be replaced after a certain amount of usage, or else they cease to function. Most toner cartridges already have a drum unit built inside of them, so you do not need to worry about changing the drum at any time. Brother laser printers have diverged from this ease of access to provide you with affordability instead.
Brother laser printers sell their toner cartridge and the drum as two separate products. Now you might be thinking that keeping the products separate makes no sense, but this also allows them to keep the cost down. Since the toner cartridge does not have a drum built into every unit, the overall affordability of Brother products can be substantially lower than other name-brand competitors.
A Brother drum unit can last for around four toner cartridge replacements and then must be swapped out for a new one, as opposed to the single usage of a drum unit within other brands.
Quality Printing
In addition to being an affordable overall product, Brother printer ink deliver in the quality department as well. Unlike other brands with niche support for older printer models, Brother ink cartridges are often synonymous with a high-quality build that will likely last you a long time.
The list of accolades and certifications that Brother has received over the years is immense. Brother products are usually the winners of Buyers Lab's "Pick of the Year" awards in categories such as Best MFC Printer, Reliability, and Highly Recommended. Not only do the accolades speak for themselves, but Brother printers also have an avid and loyal fan base that will continue to buy their printers year after year.
Consumer Friendly Settings
Brother printers often have the best intentions for their customers programmed in their default settings. Other printer brands often implement default settings that trick you into purchasing more of their consumable ink cartridges. This trickery often happens in the form of "Low Ink" warnings or other mandatory notifications. Some printer brands will notify you that you're in critical need of changing your ink when in reality, the cartridge still has 33% ink remaining in the internal reservoir. Brother printers often allow you to use your cartridge until the very last drop of ink.
It's important to note that some printer brands will stop you from printing altogether if you're missing a cartridge. This is commonly found in color printers that have separate Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow ink cartridges. Brother printer ink doesn't have this problem, and a missing cartridge will not stop your printing. On the contrary, Brother actually has a setting called B&W mode, which is automatically enabled when your printer runs out of a specific color. B&W mode will print the rest of the job in only black and white to ensure your print job is completed.
Conclusion
If you're an average consumer with moderate printing needs for your home, we highly recommend getting a Brother printer. The overall quality of their build, coupled with the fact that it's easy to use, and has the consumers' best interests in mind, makes it one of the best printers on the market. Saving is made easy because Brother printers implement ink conservation settings as their default.
To save even more money, consider pairing your printer with compatible Brother toner cartridges. When purchased from a reputable company, compatible cartridges offer equivalent performance as the original brand but are significantly cheaper. Here at 1ink.com, we offer a vast selection of compatible cartridges and replacement printer drum for your Brother laser printers. With hundreds of options available on our website, you're sure to find the right ink or toner cartridges for your printer.