[franga2000]

Every time there's talk of printers on HN someone inevitably praises Brother, so there must be something to it. I'm getting really sick of HP's unnecessary and horrible software so once my MFP inevitably dies due to some minor but entirely unfixable issue, I'll definitely be looking into Brother's stuff.

[ThenAsNow]

Here's a contrary voice for an underappreciated option, despite the villain in this story.

I wanted a networked color laser MFP that could be used from within Linux without proprietary binary drivers, i.e., needed to natively support PostScript and have PPDs available. I did not want to give HP any business given what it has turned into.

Canon has color "imageClass" devices that fit this bill. I wasn't able to find a Brother unit where the PPD was self-contained, but maybe I missed something. The Brother PPDs I was able to get from their site had additional filter scripts or binaries to which they called out. The scanning function works great on the Canon via the "AirScan" SANE backend (I use it in WSD mode). Third-party toner cartridges are available. I needed support on an occasion and found competent, pleasant, non-outsourced Canon staff via their phone support line. Pretty happy with mine.

Now that WSD and AirScan are popularly supported on business-class MFPs and don't require manufacturer-specific SANE backends, there are probably other choices worth looking at as well. Kyocera is another brand that seems to support first-class PostScript printing.

[jessriedel]

I bought two HP printers, hated them for the standard reasons, then read HN comments praising Brother printers, bought two of those, and have since been very happy.

This experience led me to permanently distrust Wirecutter recommendations, as they (currently and for many years) have listed HP as their #1 recommendation for both lasers and inkjets.

[paco3346]

I'm all aboard the Brother laser train as well. It truly is just as "it just works" as everyone says it is.

[katbyte]

Got a small b+w brother printer for a couple 100 last year and it’s been great. Wired in with lan, everything can print to it. Solid “just works” experience.