Brief history of Brother cartridges and the refill kit fight back
2012 - the HL-3040CN "unplug and pour" refill. Finally, a Brother colour laser printer the world could get on board with.
- 1999 - Brother release the HL-1030 Series mono laser printer. Plug right there on outside of cartridge. Not so much a toner refill kit as an incitement to pop that plug and start "cheating".
- 2004 - Brother wave the white "reset flag" with the HL-2030 mono printer. Unplug and pour still works, but you have to reset a mechanical wheel/flag/thingy in the cartridge as well. Is it to discourage the would-be refiller? If you don't know to flip back the thingamabob, you'll be sitting there like a lemon watching your cartridge print nothing. Presumably cursing the Charlatans who sold you the refill bottle.
- 2004 to 2013 - to our amazement, the song remains the same. Refill plugs and reset thingummies are there, but Brother do not use lock-out chips or any really nasty tactics to make refilling that difficult.
- 2013 - the HL-2240 dominates our Top 5 refill-friendly laser printers list for over a year. Unplug and pour together with resetting the whatsamajig is child's play.
A toner refill kit gives you everything you need
Looking to refill your HL-2240?
A toner refill kit should give you everything you need to get the job done. Right: first time.
Have you got a number 2 Phillips Head screwdriver to hand right now? Some silicon glue? Or some 50mm tape?
Depending on which printer you're refilling, some, all or none of the above might be needed.
Our Brother refill kits won't leave you scrambling around in drawers for random bric-a-brac when you're desperate to get printing again.
You'll get everything you need to get the job done. Right: first time.
Based on how we did it ourselves
Do you want to re-invent the wheel? No. Save that for the management "team building" workshop, right?
We work with Brother laser printers as they're released and refill them ourselves first. Our refill kit enables you to do it how we did it.
We're not imagining how it could be done or recycling second hand tips from someone else's forum.
Guides you round pitfalls and disappointment
In reality, a successful refill of your Brother cartridge normally involves at least one "make or break" step. Examples we've seen over the last decade include:
- Add a reset wheel to the starter cartridge
- Reset the existing wheel
- Deal with residual toner issue
- Recognise the right signal to begin the refill
Maybe not all of these apply to your printer. But at least one of them applies to refilling all Brother laser printers released in the last few years.
Really, they're no big deal. But someone has to get out in front of them and sort them out. Otherwise, you'll have put more toner powder in your cartridge, but your refill will still hit a reef.
Brother's tag line is "At your side". Were they at your side when they added reset wheels to their cartridges? Did that help you exercise consumer choice or your right to re-use your own resources?
Unless you're a big shareholder in Brother, will your voice be heard? Of course not! So vote with your feet. Stroll over to the rebel camp and breathe that sweet air of freedom. U Refill Toner: a thorn in their side