Brother laser printers have always been synonymous with high cost performance, especially suitable for users who pursue high cost performance.

Brother Laser Printer Series:

Brother laser series Function Feature
HL Single-printing machine, no support copy Drum Powder Separation
DCP Multi-function, all-in-one machine, support copy and scan Drum Powder Separation
HL-L Single-printing machine, no support copy Drum Powder Separation
DCP-L Multi-function, all-in-one machine, support copy and scan Drum Powder Separation
HL-B Single-printing machine, no support copy Toner Supply on Demand
DCP-B Multi-function, all-in-one machine, support copy and scan Toner Supply on Demand

Among them, the HL-B and DCP-B series are both “on-demand toner supply” models, and those without “B” in the model number belong to the “drum powder separation” design.

1) What is drum powder separation?

Drum powder separation means that the photosensitive drum and toner cartridge in the consumables adopt a separate design. When the printer toner is used up, you only need to replace the corresponding toner cartridge without replacing the photosensitive drum.

Drum unit separation design is to minimize the cost of consumables. Longer use time and lower printing costs.

This is the traditional design of Brother laser printers. Compatible toner cartridge and drum unit are perfectly adapted, and there is basically no compatibility problem.

Examples models: DCP-7080, HL-2260.

image of a Brother toner cartridge and a drum unit

2) What is on-demand toner supply?

Toner supply on demand is to evolve the toner cartridge into a toner bin by adjusting the internal mechanical structure. As the toner is consumed, new toner in the toner bin is added to the developer unit on demand. The toner in the toner bin is always kept fresh to avoid premature exposure to air and deterioration.

The toner bin becomes compact while the printing capacity remains unchanged. Technological innovation reduces the user’s purchase cost and greatly lowers the threshold for using original consumables. In the later stage, only the toner bin needs to be replaced, and the entire toner cartridge does not need to be replaced.

If you use original consumables, the cost is indeed lower, but compatible consumables are not very meaningful, because the B series compatible toner adaptation is not perfect, which is easy to cause machine failure.

Example models: DCP-B7520dw, HL-B2050dn.

image of Brother TN-B020 toner cartridge and drum unit

In addition, when purchasing a Brother laser printer, you must also consider your own printing volume, which depends on your needs.

According to the capacity, we can divide Brother laser printer toner cartridges into: small toner cartridge, medium cartridge, and large cartridge.

  1. Machines using small toner cartridges, such as the TN1035 series, are generally positioned for home use and are not equipped with a duplexer. If you don’t need automatic duplexing, Brother HL1208/1608 can meet your needs. Although the toner capacity is small and the printing load is also relatively small, it cannot print a lot, but it is enough for home use.
  2. Medium cartridge machines, such as TN2325, are positioned for low-end commercial use. They are equipped with a duplexer to achieve automatic duplexing, such as Brother HL-2260d/7080d. This type of machine can meet the needs of small and medium-sized enterprise users and is suitable for users who do not print a lot.
  3. Large toner series, such as TN3480, are positioned for high-end commercial use. The duplexer is standard and the number of paper trays can be increased. It can print tens of thousands of sheets a month. Brother HL-L5100/L6200 is suitable for printing shops or users who need to print tens of thousands of sheets a month. This type of high-speed machine has high requirements for consumables, and poor toner quality can easily damage the machine.

To summarize:

If your print volume is small, a few hundred sheets a month and you don’t need the automatic duplex function, you can choose a Brother small toner cartridge machine, and the drum unit and toner cartridge will be cheap later.

If you need automatic duplex for a large print volume, you can choose a medium toner cartridge machine, which is not very expensive. If you need a large print volume, such as tens of thousands of sheets per month, we recommend you to choose a machine with a large toner cartridge.

When choosing a Brother medium toner cartridge machine, if you do not plan to use original consumables, try not to choose the B series. Compatible consumables for this type of machine are not yet mature. We recommend you to choose drum and toner separation, which has low later costs.