Seems like a crazy deal for the HL-L2445DW
The 2445DW is the better brother of the Brother HL-L2400DW (only 30ppm, no ethernet) which is sold for $159 at Officeworks
They both use the TN2530 toner which can be bought from eBay for not much
Does anyone have any experience with this on Macs? Works fine?
I've got the similar HL-L2305. Once it was on the wifi MacOS could start printing to it without any setup.
Yes - it’s fine. Needed an app to set it up on the wifi and then after that the Mac could see it as a printer option.
@cletus75: You don't even need an app. Just press the up down buttons a million times if you have super long wifi password and the little LCD screen. To be honest it's kinda painful but it's just once off.
Very good printer. I paid $118 at Amazon in January
agree, paid $99 from Officeworks in Nov. Very happy with it.
That wasn't the duplex version was it
Yes, Brother seems like the only honest printer company left. No DRM, no silly 5 minute inkjet nozzle cleaning when you need to print in a hurry.
Easily works with 3rd party toners, prints well and quickly. Just does what it says on the box - prints.
And prints without drama.
No DRM…
As long as you avoid firmware updates. They do check for non-genuine toners, but the third party manufacturers are not bad at catching up and making their chips compatible. Having said that, the worst I've seen is nag screens displaying Dire Warnings of print quality issues if you don't use the Brother toners.
It does, it will nag replace toner and replace drum when time is up but it soldiers on with printing.
Me too, only printing crayon sketches for kids 😂
All the previous deals mention that no generic toner is available yet. Are they now around and cheap enough/good enough to make it worthwhile?
It was for a different model
Nope it was this model, unless things have changed I've still not seen a cheap generic toner and no one has provided a link to one.
https://www.inkstation.com.au/brother-tn2530xl-compatible-hi…
This is cheap imo - but this might be too expensive for you
https://cartridgesdirect.com.au/compatible-brother-tn2530xl-…
This is even cheaper, but might still be too expensive for you
@BLAIL: Thanks for the links. Yeah $80 for generic is too expensive the cost over half the price of the printer. The $66 is not even listed as compatible with this machine.
Also to add the genuine 1200 page toner is $80.
The Brother HL-L2350DW toners cost around $25 so in comparison expensive.
How much is the ink toner?
As long as you get 3rd party toner and not brother brand toner it is very reasonable.
For example
https://www.inkstation.com.au/brother-tn2530xl-compatible-hi…
Is the 3rd party prints decent quality?
The ones I use are not noticeably different from the Genuine brother ones.
Beware software updates which often kaibosh the 3rd party toners.
Don't forget code VIP20
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Inkjet and Inktank printers use ink. Laser printers use toner. There is no such thing as "ink toner". But regardless, always good to keep on top of the TCO! That's where they get you ;-)
I am looking for a lazer printer with large cheap toner. Any recommendations?
This one if you are happy with greysacale.
Not if you are after large volume printing. This printer is for home use.
Arent’ 5200 etc much cheaper for toner?
Care to share best printer / toner prices for comparison?
Been wanting to buy 5100 or 5200 for ages as their toners are very cheap but i think they are old models and not many people sell them anymore. I’d be ecstatic if someone came up with a deal on these models. By far they are the best bang for buck if you print a lot from my research.
What is the best option for a printer that includes a scanner?
Go to officework website search brother printer and sort by price look for multi function. Get the model number and start hunting/waiting for cheaper price.
Great. Thank you.
Generally they will be big in size… sometimes i feel i want to downgrade to just print.. scanning you can use google drive sacn feature , not bad. Unless you can hundred pages each month
@CyberMurning: I definitely don't scan that much, it's just that convenience for the few times you do need it. I'll give google drive scan a try and probably just go with a printer then. Thank you.
@Wheels08: exatcly same what i think, convenience… at one stage i rather pay a bit more to have smaller scan print but that device doesnt exist yet
@Wheels08: i think phones are much better at scanning, best app i used was adobe scan, i could easily scan 100 page books docs in high res in no time
I've got two Brother printers. The old version of this one and an MFC scanner one. The scanner is huge in comparison. I don't think I ever scanned anything with the printer, these days I use the google drive scan2pdf option.
have you considered a separate flatbed scanner? i bought got a cheap canon lide 400 from cashconverters for $60 a while back. better resolution than in the multifunction printers
This stupid printer bends my envelopes…
I paid $145 for this one from Amazon a few months back and am very happy with it. Unlike the ink cartridge one I had before, it's just ready to go - it prints before I can walk over to it. It is fairly chunky compared to an inkjet and the kids have already missed the scanner and colour printing of the old MFD, but 99% of what we print is fine in mono.
I would highly recommend the bigger Brother HL-L5100DN (~$250 from Officeworks). It's more expensive, but will pay for itself within like the first or second toner change.
The smaller Brother printers use the TN2530, which is a 3,000 page toner, the larger printers use the TN3440, which is an 8,000 page toner. The funny thing is that the TN3440 is cheaper (in terms of generics) because it's a pretty standard toner that's used by a lot of businesses / offices, whereas the TN2530 is not.
You can get a TN3440 for around $30 on eBay, whereas a TN2530 is more like $50.
I was going to share this same sentiment but would suggest the HL-5210DW if you wanted the wireless function.
Both those accept the TN3605XXL Super High Yield Toner (11,000 pages)
They also use the DR3605 drum (OE $260.93) which does 45,000 pages instead of the DR2530 (OE $148.69) 12,000page that comes in the HL-L2445DW.
This is especially the case if you go aftermarket toners and drums.
Edit: This only makes sense if you're going to printing heaps though, such as using it in an office. If you're just printing assignments for school etc you might not see the savings
the HL-L5100DN is advertised as "online only" and is out of stock. officeworks suggests the alternative HL-L5210DN which is $329
Larger toner cartridges are good if you have the turnover, but if you print rarely, be aware that toner does have a limited shelf life. Unopened foil containers with toner are fine for several years. Once installed, the toner degrades. From my experience with genuine HP toner and Samsung toner (and there's no reason to think Brother toner would be any different), you'll start seeing print quality issues within a year and after 2-3 years the print quality will not be acceptable. You'll also start getting more paper jams as the toner becomes lumpy and sticky. The actual lifespan will depend a lot on the ambient heat and humidity.
I had a look at my deals to see my printer is over 4 years old. The starter toner lasted way longer than expected, but this one has gone through a couple periods of extreme humidity. Thanks for the heads up about the paper jams
Love Brother laser printers
Since using brother, never go back to those inkjets like HP or Canon
Thinking of buying the DCP-L2640DW for $231 since it has a scanning bed. Although I'm not sure if the firmware accepts third party toners.
I got a MFC-L2740DW over 8 years ago and it is still going strong
always use third party toners and never have an issue (around $20 only)
Looking at this too
DCP-L2640DW is $196 at goodguyscommercial
what do people think of the MFC-L5755DW? I need the ability to scan directly to google drive and my current inkjet is doing my head in. This one looks like it has the high capacity cartridges too.
I don't find the $70 + compatible toner cheap enough justifing the purchase of this printer.
There were, there are, and there will be Brothers printers of these specs with the compatible toners 3 times cheaper on ebay.
These are the toners that create the expenses, not the printer itself.
No Deal.
Thinking of switching to laser but not sure its worth it for colour printing (documents, school work etc)? Looking at a brother laser colour MFC which is $499 but then i had a look at the toners and a full set is $316 for non-genuine or $590 for genuine.
Does it make more sense to just get a Mono for any black and white printing and keep the cartridge printer for colour?
having the same dilemma now
This one seems to be good. Its on sale with the 'Frenzy sale' for $471 but its actually $371 on the Good Guys Commercial - https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/brother-colour-dcp-laser-prin….
For all 4 of the Generic toners in the High Yield XL format is $316 - https://www.inkstation.com.au/4-pack-brother-tn258xl-compati…
They claim Black is good for 3,000 prints and the colours are good for 2,300 each. Thats heaps of prints which i doubt i'd do even in a couple of years.
I probably pay $200+ for refill of my Inkjet cartridges anyway.
Definitely thinking of pulling the trigger!
What something similar at a similar price? Google Pantum.
Want a scanner too for not much more? Google Pantum.
That is not an endorsement, just information if you are looking for alternatives.
(Disclosure: I have found Brother support totally useless at resolving a problem with another of that company's products I bought. They just refuse to acknowledge it doesn't do what they claim it does.)
What about cheap toner refills?
Yes.
Got this 6 months back … I use it regularly for work but its main use is printing pics for the kids to colour in … saviour for a rainy day. Just works too unlike the horror HP I used to have.
I have this one. Solid Brother printer. Wireless printing is pretty spotty as you might expect, but no issues when connected by usb.
This is not appropriate for high volume printing, its for light household use. The toner gets expensive otherwise. Good for its intended use though.
What's OzB's favourite colour printer?
Officeworks if you don't do a lot of colour printing
Need to use it a few times a month, currently going to office works which is a pain.
Thanks OP - bit the bullet and bought one too
oops missed to use with 100-30 expired sunday :(
what about ecotank Epson printers? seems cheap but heard issues with head drying.
They both use the TN2530 toner which can be bought from eBay for not much
$80 for 3rd party toner?
I think you may have looked up TN2350 by mistake. (~$12 for 1 or $18.50 for a 2-pack)
Tempting… But I print like 5 pages every 3 months, I think I'll just keep using my nearby library and/or officeworks for my purposes
Laser toner doesn't run out like inkjet, I've had mine for 6 years and I only replaced the included cartridge recently for $13 with 2.5x the amount of toner in the new one.
It costs me less than 1c per page and never really runs out.
Toner will go off over time. Not as quickly as milk or cheese, but it won't be good enough for even full page grayscale coverage after a few years. Having said that, toner is still better than inkjet in any form.
Please share the compatible third party toners here for reference
Check your email. Just received a voucher for $20 off $100 spend
I've had this printer since 2018 and it's never shown a problem. It's been 100% perfect. Super efficient with its ink as well. 3rd party toners are very cheap.
I've had this printer since 2018
This model/series was released in late 2023. Yours would likely be something from the HL-L23xx series.
3rd party toners are very cheap.
Cheap toner not available for the new models.
Which model would you recommend ?
Unfortunately, all the printers (listed on the Amazon page) for this cartridge are now discontinued. I have one (1010, the most basic one, usb connection) from decades ago, still going strong.
HP printers last ages, so I would recommend buying a used/refurbished one, if you can find one.
Alternatively, buy one of the Brother MFC printers (costs more, but more functionality; buy when on sale) compatible with this toner (TN2450):
https://www.catch.com.au/product/3xtn2450-toner-with-chip-fo…
No stock nearby , $12 delivery killed the deal
Any good laser printers that can do colour and compatible with 3rd party toners and drums?
Using it daily for work and need a bit of colour. Using an Epson ink based printer but it's starting to play up now, doesn't pickup the paper sometimes.
The Brother HL-L3230CDW is duplex & wireless, and takes third-party toners. We have one at home.
To avoid postage, you can get the Brother HL-L2400DW at same price rom officeworks if you are fine without the ethernet.
This is the OG of printers. It just prints. Every. Single. Time. If you just need to print something every few weeks or so and sick of having to deal with dry toners, not enough magenta level for your black-and-white print and so on.. just get this, connect it to ethernet and walk away.
I've been VERY happy with my Brother HL-L2395DW. Similar to this but with a scanner as well.I think I paid $250 for mine, during COVID.
Generic replacement toner cartridges are cheap and easy to find online. I will never go back to a Laser printer again.
I will never go back to a Laser printer again.
Do you mean inkjet?
You mean Inkjet?
Hi OP Retravision doing the same deal in case stock is an issue for some.
https://www.retravision.com.au/brother-compact-a4-mono-laser…
I have a brother and the only bad thing is that its wifi cant connect to my pc, only iphone's iprint and usb to pc works
Cheap!