New Printer Updates Help Needed

[Clive744]

Hi
Can someone out there help me.

I will shortly be buying a new printer, namely a Brother MFC-J5740DW.
It will be hardwired to my desktop pc with an ethernet cable and I may also use it as a fax by hardwire connection to my phone line.

I’m running Windows 11 64bit and Microsoft Office Professional 2021.
I will continue to use genuine Brother ink until the guarantee expires but after that I want to use compatible ink.

I used to own a HP OfficeJet Pro 8730 printer which someone set up for me, but I want to try and set this new printer up myself.
With regard to the HP printer if the latest software or drivers were installed by way of updates HP would lock the printer up so only their genuine “In Orbit” priced ink could be used in it and I don’t think there was a way of reversing it once done.
I never did updates, just used it.

Now this is where I need some help, the last thing I want to do when setting this new printer up is make it so I can only use Brother’s genuine ink for evermore.
I’m assuming the printer will come with a setup disk but I need to know what to install and what not to, so I’m trying to get some info up front.

How do I go about setting it up?

My thanks to anyone who can help me along the way.

Clive

[Bruce]

Perhaps you are using the wrong terminology, so let’s start at the basics.

If you want to connect the printer straight to your PC, you’ll be using the USB port.
If for some reason you do intend on using the ethernet cable, you’ll need a cross-over Cat5 or 6 cable, and will need to play with IP addresses in your Network and Sharing Centre options.

If you have other people in the house who you want to share the printer with, you’ll want to connect the Brother to your home network modem/router - either wirelessly or straight to the modem.

Once connected to your network, you install the software onto whichever PC wants to print.

As to cartridge refills.
I used to be a big Brother user, still got a mono laser Brother HL model.
With my inkjet models I always brought the self fill cartridges and brought good quality ink and filled them myself, no issues.
It may depend on model, but I never had an issue using that method on my machines.
Brother never lock me down like that, I just made sure the empty cartridges had the appropriate chip and had those little plastic ‘nipples’ you pull out to allow them to be refilled.
I actually can’t remember if they even had a chip at all!

The included picture is very similar to the cartridges I used to get, the image shows Canon ones but they looked the same for Brother.
I actually used to make sure the printer I was getting had these blank refillable toners available, if not, I would find a Brother that did.

From memory, the set of four empty refills were about $40, and each 200ml ink bottle was about $20 - in other words, way cheaper to do yourself than buying any off-the-shelf version.

[ATTACH type=“full” width=“241px” size=“500x500”]15285[/ATTACH]

[Bruce]

Perhaps you are using the wrong terminology, so let’s start at the basics.

If you want to connect the printer straight to your PC, you’ll be using the USB port.
If for some reason you do intend on using the ethernet cable, you’ll need a cross-over Cat5 or 6 cable, and will need to play with IP addresses in your Network and Sharing Centre options.

If you have other people in the house who you want to share the printer with, you’ll want to connect the Brother to your home network modem/router - either wirelessly or straight to the modem.

Once connected to your network, you install the software onto whichever PC wants to print.

As to cartridge refills.
I used to be a big Brother user, still got a mono laser Brother HL model.
With my inkjet models I always brought the self fill cartridges and brought good quality ink and filled them myself, no issues.
It may depend on model, but I never had an issue using that method on my machines.
Brother never lock me down like that, I just made sure the empty cartridges had the appropriate chip and had those little plastic ‘nipples’ you pull out to allow them to be refilled.
I actually can’t remember if they even had a chip at all!

The included picture is very similar to the cartridges I used to get, the image shows Canon ones but they looked the same for Brother.
I actually used to make sure the printer I was getting had these blank refillable toners available, if not, I would find a Brother that did.

From memory, the set of four empty refills were about $40, and each 200ml ink bottle was about $20 - in other words, way cheaper to do yourself than buying any off-the-shelf version.

[ATTACH type=“full” width=“241px” size=“500x500”]15285[/ATTACH]

[PeterOz]

When you buy a generic toner you are buying something that is made to go across different models.
No supplier of generic toners can carry the full range of toners that are needed.
Different manufacturers have different fuser temperatures for the ink.
The same manufacturer will even have different fuser temperatures on different models.

A laser printer puts the image onto the drum it then passes through a Fuser unit which dries the ink.
If the ink does not dry quick enough you then have the image repeat on the drum.

[PeterOz]

When you buy a generic toner you are buying something that is made to go across different models.
No supplier of generic toners can carry the full range of toners that are needed.
Different manufacturers have different fuser temperatures for the ink.
The same manufacturer will even have different fuser temperatures on different models.

A laser printer puts the image onto the drum it then passes through a Fuser unit which dries the ink.
If the ink does not dry quick enough you then have the image repeat on the drum.

[Clive744]

Hello again Bruce

Thank you for your reply, as usual I’ve got it completely wrong, I guess that’s why I come on this forum so someone can give me a crash course on things.

My mistake the HP was hardwired to my modem not the PC as I previously said.
My wife has a laptop in another room downstairs and the connection was wireless but constantly kept dropping out, so in the end I hardwired it to the modem yes, I ran a cable under the floor to downstairs, so both the HP and laptop were hardwired to the modem.

Ok, are you telling me I will need to install the software for the new printer on both the desktop pc and on the laptop?

You mentioned I will need to play about with the IP addresses on my Network and Sharing Centre is this something I will still need to do, sorry if it all sounds elementary to you?

I’ve been doing a bit of investigation and got a couple of good results regarding compatible inkjet cartridges before I buy the printer, in fact I got even better results by doing an internet search using the cartridge number rather than searching by the printer name.

The cartridges for it are LC422 and the higher yield LC422 XL, as for being chipped I haven’t bought the printer yet so I don’t know.
Having said that I was under the impression they were all chipped these days and thought it was how the printer could indicate how much ink is left in the cartridges, of course I may be completely wrong again.

As for refilling them if I go down that avenue it will be a job for my wife, my hands aren’t steady enough for that job LOL.

This may be another daft question, but isn’t there some kind of membrane on the cartridges which pierce as they are pushed into the printhead, would they not start to leak after being repeatedly taken out for refilling?

[Clive744]

Hello again Bruce

Thank you for your reply, as usual I’ve got it completely wrong, I guess that’s why I come on this forum so someone can give me a crash course on things.

My mistake the HP was hardwired to my modem not the PC as I previously said.
My wife has a laptop in another room downstairs and the connection was wireless but constantly kept dropping out, so in the end I hardwired it to the modem yes, I ran a cable under the floor to downstairs, so both the HP and laptop were hardwired to the modem.

Ok, are you telling me I will need to install the software for the new printer on both the desktop pc and on the laptop?

You mentioned I will need to play about with the IP addresses on my Network and Sharing Centre is this something I will still need to do, sorry if it all sounds elementary to you?

I’ve been doing a bit of investigation and got a couple of good results regarding compatible inkjet cartridges before I buy the printer, in fact I got even better results by doing an internet search using the cartridge number rather than searching by the printer name.

The cartridges for it are LC422 and the higher yield LC422 XL, as for being chipped I haven’t bought the printer yet so I don’t know.
Having said that I was under the impression they were all chipped these days and thought it was how the printer could indicate how much ink is left in the cartridges, of course I may be completely wrong again.

As for refilling them if I go down that avenue it will be a job for my wife, my hands aren’t steady enough for that job LOL.

This may be another daft question, but isn’t there some kind of membrane on the cartridges which pierce as they are pushed into the printhead, would they not start to leak after being repeatedly taken out for refilling?

[Clive744]

Peter

Thank you for your reply, Wow that sounds complicated, thank heaven its an inkjet printer I need.

[Clive744]

Peter

Thank you for your reply, Wow that sounds complicated, thank heaven its an inkjet printer I need.

[PeterOz]

I will post about ik jet when I find it again

[PeterOz]

I will post about ik jet when I find it again

[Bruce]

Yes, whatever PC/laptop you want to use the printer will need the Brother software installed.
No, you would have only needed to play with IP addresses if you were going to ethernet cable connect the printer straight into your PC, and you aren’t so, Phew!
Lastly, the membrane you speak of is for while they are in transit, or on the shelf waiting to be used, so they don’t leak or dry up.
There is another ‘hole’ beyond that membrane where the ink travels from the cartridge to the printer.

All I can say is in my experience with using refills with Brothers, I never had an issue - yank it out, refill it, push it back in. All very civilised.
My one cautionary note - wear gloves! No matter how hard I tried, I usually got ink on me somewhere. (y)

[Bruce]

Yes, whatever PC/laptop you want to use the printer will need the Brother software installed.
No, you would have only needed to play with IP addresses if you were going to ethernet cable connect the printer straight into your PC, and you aren’t so, Phew!
Lastly, the membrane you speak of is for while they are in transit, or on the shelf waiting to be used, so they don’t leak or dry up.
There is another ‘hole’ beyond that membrane where the ink travels from the cartridge to the printer.

All I can say is in my experience with using refills with Brothers, I never had an issue - yank it out, refill it, push it back in. All very civilised.
My one cautionary note - wear gloves! No matter how hard I tried, I usually got ink on me somewhere. (y)

[PeterOz]

All the different printer manufactures make the ink to fit through the print head of the equipment they make.
I don’t know the actual size but as an example Let’s say The print head on a HP is 1 micron.
Hp ink is made to fit through a 1 micron print head.
Canon make a print head that is 1.3 Micron and the ink is made to fit through a 1.3 Micron head.
Mr generic ink supplier is not going to have an ink that is 4 different(or 6) colours at 1 Micron and at 1.3 Micron.
He is going to sell an ink at about 1.2 micron that hopefully will push through a 1 Micron head and not fall out of a 1.3 Micron head.
That is one reason that you end up with either a clogged head - won’t fit through or you end up with marks over the print as the ink falls through.
And all the print heads on a HP and canon will not be 1 or 3 Micron They change the print heads to suit the machine model and what it does.
Hence you cannot take the ink from just an example an HP 2130 and use it in a HP 7720 printer.
Then add in all the other printer manufactures x how many printers they make = a lot.

For things to work at the optimum level. Especially for photos.
You should have a printer with the manufactures ink AND the manufactures photo paper.
Because the paper is also calendared to work with the ink.

[PeterOz]

All the different printer manufactures make the ink to fit through the print head of the equipment they make.
I don’t know the actual size but as an example Let’s say The print head on a HP is 1 micron.
Hp ink is made to fit through a 1 micron print head.
Canon make a print head that is 1.3 Micron and the ink is made to fit through a 1.3 Micron head.
Mr generic ink supplier is not going to have an ink that is 4 different(or 6) colours at 1 Micron and at 1.3 Micron.
He is going to sell an ink at about 1.2 micron that hopefully will push through a 1 Micron head and not fall out of a 1.3 Micron head.
That is one reason that you end up with either a clogged head - won’t fit through or you end up with marks over the print as the ink falls through.
And all the print heads on a HP and canon will not be 1 or 3 Micron They change the print heads to suit the machine model and what it does.
Hence you cannot take the ink from just an example an HP 2130 and use it in a HP 7720 printer.
Then add in all the other printer manufactures x how many printers they make = a lot.

For things to work at the optimum level. Especially for photos.
You should have a printer with the manufactures ink AND the manufactures photo paper.
Because the paper is also calendared to work with the ink.