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by coda_ 1198 days ago
I also like my brother, but it will attempt to detect and reject non-authentic ink. I don't update mine anymore because the last time I did, it rejected my cartridges.
3 comments

I have a brother HL-2360DW circa 2017, with a new brother large-size authentic toner cartridge. I never hooked it to the internet, never updated the firmware. And it started saying low toner even though I've put (far?) less than 250 sheets through it.

There was a way to turn off the low toner warnings, I did it, and seem to be ok, but it makes me wonder.

EDIT: wow, it sells for $449 on amazon. I paid $115 in 2017.

The Amazon price is high because you’re buying a discontinued product from a niche seller.
Or in other words, the price is high because there is consumer demand for printers that work, without advertising, without drm, without screwing you around to squeeze you for cash.

Surely DRM here, and allowing closed firmware, and such, are anti-Capitalist? Don't they prevent the market from optimising?

Unlikely. I see this frequently, where niche vendors charge a lot for discontinued products.
Perhaps demand for discontinued products is not uncommon.

It can have other reasons than the old products being bad (e.g. I recently bought two copies of a discontinued mosue at higher-than-MSRP prices because switching to a different model costs me in time to get used to it) but I wouldn't discount it as a major factor. A lot of products really have gotten shittier replacements.

> A lot of products really have gotten shittier replacements.

A perpetual pattern in humanity is this refrain coming from old people. :-) You can find examples of it from centuries ago.

That's hilarious. I have exactly the same printer. It's recently survived moving between countries not particularly carefully packed, twice. Working like a champ. I've had months where it's printed thousands of pages (radio drama rehearsal scripts for multiple cast members). Absolutely fantastic printer. Unsurprised to see its become a beloved classic.
OT: Quick question - does this model (HL-2360...) have a physical on/off switch? I run two Brother HL-2130 series which I turn on and off with a relais to save energy for standby.
It does not have a switch like I think you like - a switch near the power cord that cuts all power to the printer.

It does have a power button (near the wifi button) but I expect that is a soft switch of some sort.

That said, I plug peripherals like this into a power strip with individual switches for each outlet.

OT: Thank you so much for the reply. One more question: Does the Printer remember its Power state - like if the relais cuts it off and then it turns on again once it regains power? That would be super awesome to know and something I could not research on the net :-(. I'm happy with my HL-2130 (dirt cheap repleacement for drum (15€) and toner (10€)) for now, but some day in the future ...
If I turn on power to the printer from the power strip, it immediately powers up and will print. I think it has some sort of power-saver mode after it is done printing, but when I'm done I usually cut power to the printer at the power strip anyway.
I have an old 3170cdw that I got 2nd hand. At least all the consumables and parts that eventually need replacing are easy to get and seem readily available.
What about your sister, thought?
Yes; a lame pun, but my first thought reading that was 'Well yeah, I like my brother too, but what does that have to with — oh right'.

The printer manufacturer is 'Brother', your brother is just 'brother', except if he's also part of a fraternal order.

So, you could have liked your brother Brother Brother's brother Brother, brother?

But what about the buffalo?

Br'er Buffalo is probably involved in some mischief with br'er Rabbit and br'er Fox.