At Sat, 28 Mar 2026 14:13:28 -0500 nwe <[email protected]> wrote: > > On 3/28/26 1:54 PM, Tom Browder wrote: > > > toner cartridge. > snip > > Have you had such a problem? > > > > -Tom > > This is why I quit buying Brother brand 10 years ago. Back then my > problem was the Brother printer was wastefully discarding half of its > ink to the disposal compartment. Brother tech support informed me this > is how they manage to produce higher quality prints than any of the > competition. I replaced it with an HP and was pacified. > > Since that I bought a Brother label printer thinking they can't waste > ink on that thing, right? It insists on expending 20-50mm of extra label > tape every time I press 'print' The operator's manual describes this as > the 'tab' for easier handling of the label. >:( >
The problem with inkjets is inheirent in the techology Inkjet ink is liquid and water soluable. What this means is the ink will dry up in the nozzles and/or plumbing (tank models or really any cartridge printer where the cartridge(s) don't ride on the print head). This requires a "cleaning" cycle after the printer has been idle and may require cleaning cycles at other times as well. This "wastes" ink. How much ink is "wasted" varies between designs of nozzels and the coding of the firmware -- some printers waste more ink than others. I'm guessing Brother's inkjet firmware wastes more ink during cleaning cycles and/or are more "aggressive" with cleaning cycles. I don't know if this is good or bad or if Brother's nozzle design needs more/longer cleaning cycles. The solution/workaround: "continious" printing. Except if one really has that volume of printing a laser printer's higher [used to be] cost becomes justified. Since the price of laser printers (esp. *color* laser printers) has been coming down, inkjets are less of the cost savings. > My brother-in-law says Lexmark or Epson is the good kind. I don't > disagree, I have not yet owned either so I'm neutral on those. > > -- Robert Heller -- Cell: 413-658-7953 GV: 978-633-5364 Deepwoods Software -- Custom Software Services http://www.deepsoft.com/ -- Linux Administration Services [email protected] -- Webhosting Services
