Brother HL-2140 Laser Printer Tips 1
Tips consolidated from these posts.
Below are tips to get the most printing out of an inexpensive Brother laser printer, beyond what the default setup would provide. Users are reporting 500-1000 extra pages out of toner cartridges with these tips. I haven’t used the printer yet.
Low Toner Light – Still lots of toner
Use a small (0.5 × 0.5 in.) piece of black electrical tape to cover the sensor hole on the non-gear side of the cartridge. The hole is in the middle of the toner (the one on the right side). By covering the hole the printer is fooled into thinking the hopper is full of toner. 500-1000 more pages should print. Scotch tape with black permanent marker can be used instead. The black color seems to be the key to fooling the sensor.
For those trying to locate the holes to tape over, the holes are the clear plastic “plugs” on each end of the cartridge. You only need to tape over the one that is easy to reach.
You may need to push the switch which is located inside in upper left side of printer (it is a small white switch) and then release it to reset a sensor. This switch may not exist on all Brother printers.
Hard Low Toner Light – Need just a few more pages
When this happens, remove the cartridge and gently shake/rotated it. Then reinsert into the printer. This should get you printing again for at least a few pages, perhaps 50. If you do not hear the toner moving inside like very small sand, only then it is time to get a new toner cartridge.
Laser Printer Toner – Replacements
Laser printer toner is messy if it leaks. Try to always have a plastic bag or newspaper when you replace it. Any spills should be vacuumed ASAP. A replacement cartridge, as provided, should be good for 2500+ pages. The starter cartridge is rated at 700 pgs. 700 pages should last a few years for an average home user. You may find that recycling the toner cartridge provides savings. This is commonly done in businesses. Non-branded toner is fine too, just be certain it is compatible with this specific model of printer. Toner does not dry out like ink-jet ink does. Until the printer starts “dusting” the rest of the page with excess toner, I wouldn’t bother ordering a replacement cartridge unless you always need high quality prints.
Laser Printer Drum – 5-10 yrs of use – just clean it
After a few years, the drum may need to be replaced. This is estimated after 10,000 pages, so it shouldn’t happen for 7+ years. There is a yellow light showing this error. Try cleaning the drum first, before replacing it. The Brother instruction manual provides the steps.
Other Laser Printers
These tips may work for other Brother laser printers based on the original web posts. Use at your own risk.
Linux Setup
From the last OpenPrinting entry for this printer. Most users seem to be using Ubuntu-based distros, but CentOS tips are on that link too.
- Plug in the printer to the computer. Ignore all the prompts, hit cancel, etc.
- Download the LPR and CUPS deb files from this link. Or search for them on the site if that first link is broken.
- sudo mkdir /usr/share/cups/model
- sudo dpkg -i —force-all —force-architecture [the two debs you downloaded] THE FORCE SWITCHES ARE VITAL FOR 64 BIT MACHINES!
- The printer shows up as “HL2140”.
As long as I was putting this together, I figured sharing it was a good idea. I have not installed this printer yet – need to wait until Xmas, but it will be connected to Linux and WinXP systems. If it is after Xmas and you have a question about this printer, leave a comment below.
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Forgot to update after Xmas – I didn’t need to download any drivers or do anything special for Lubuntu to find the printer. Connected the USB port, powered it on and from that point on, it worked. It was under 3 minutes from pulling out of the box to printing a test page.