Printer Frustration

[SpeedThrills]

A few years ago, we ditched our ink-thirsty ($$$) printer. We bought a laser printer, thinking that, while it's more expensive than a ink printer initially, it should last a long time. We don't print that much, and a laser is supposed to last longer.

Fast forward to now. "No Toner" message appeared. On-line solutions always point to this problem after a cartridge change. We haven't touched it. (In December, we replaced a small "sample" cartridge with a generic brand. We now know we should've bought the insanely expensive Brother brand.) It won't accept the so-called fix of going to a menu, resetting, and going on our Merry way. It doesn't say anything about the wrong cartridge, it just doesn't give the option that the on-line fix says it should.

So now what? It doesn't say for sure we need Brother toner, and if it did, toner is $300! New printer, $368! The same problem we had with the ink printer! If there is still such a a thing as a shop that fixes these things, it won't be cheap either. There's a local guy who came to our house once, but he has to make money. I forget his rate, but it's minimum 1 hour. He suggested we quiz him with all tech issues we had. That worked great, but now it's only the printer.

I guess I should call him. It's either that, or we print at the library and let our $300+ printer collect dust.

I'm just venting. This tech stuff can be a real headache.

Maybe someone has experience with this?

 

[Icetech]

A few years ago, we ditched our ink-thirsty ($$$) printer. We bought a laser printer, thinking that, while it's more expensive than a ink printer initially, it should last a long time. We don't print that much, and a laser is supposed to last longer.

Fast forward to now. "No Toner" message appeared. On-line solutions always point to this problem after a cartridge change. We haven't touched it. (In December, we replaced a small "sample" cartridge with a generic brand. We now know we should've bought the insanely expensive Brother brand.) It won't accept the so-called fix of going to a menu, resetting, and going on our Merry way. It doesn't say anything about the wrong cartridge, it just doesn't give the option that the on-line fix says it should.

So now what? It doesn't say for sure we need Brother toner, and if it did, toner is $300! New printer, $368! The same problem we had with the ink printer! If there is still such a a thing as a shop that fixes these things, it won't be cheap either. There's a local guy who came to our house once, but he has to make money. I forget his rate, but it's minimum 1 hour. He suggested we quiz him with all tech issues we had. That worked great, but now it's only the printer.

I guess I should call him. It's either that, or we print at the library and let our $300+ printer collect dust.

I'm just venting. This tech stuff can be a real headache.

Maybe someone has experience with this?

Brother doesn't need special or it's own brand toner.. i only use brother laser printers.. the printers are $139 (black and white..) and toners are $18 for 2 blacks which last about 6 months at my business....

 

[Qwiglee]

Did the new replacement toner cartridge ever work at all?

 

[jos51700]

Something is way wrong with that Toner price. Where are you looking at purchasing this?

Something doesn't add up.

 

[SpeedThrills]

Brother doesn't need special or it's own brand toner.. i only use brother laser printers.. the printers are $139 (black and white..) and toners are $18 for 2 blacks which last about 6 months at my business....

We have a HL-L3210CW. We bought it in Sept. '19. I don't know what we paid, but they're $3-400 now. We're not tech savvy. We probably bought too much printer. It doesn't even make copies.

I don't know what it needs for toner. It shouldn't need any. We don't use it much. That's part of the problem. It all of a sudden says, "No Toner". And searching leads to how to fix other issues. I did find info about Brother wanting to keep their stuff proprietary, making generic cartridges cause a problem. We tried resetting , but all of the choices don't come up on the menu. Hard to explain. Like I said, we're not techies.

Did the new replacement toner cartridge ever work at all?

Yes. My wife put it in back in December. Worked fined until it didn't; a couple weeks ago.

Something is way wrong with that Toner price. Where are you looking at purchasing this?

Something doesn't add up.

You're right. My wife priced them. I don't know how she came up with that. I see generic much cheaper, but Brother is $$$$$$$$!!!!

But it still comes down to, what's the problem, does it need toner, if so, why, and do we need Brother brand, or a generic. At this point, we'll just be throwing money at it.

 

[Icetech]

We have a HL-L3210CW. We bought it in Sept. '19. I don't know what we paid, but they're $3-400 now. We're not tech savvy. We probably bought too much printer. It doesn't even make copies.

I don't know what it needs for toner. It shouldn't need any. We don't use it much. That's part of the problem. It all of a sudden says, "No Toner". And searching leads to how to fix other issues. I did find info about Brother wanting to keep their stuff proprietary, making generic cartridges cause a problem. We tried resetting , but all of the choices don't come up on the menu. Hard to explain. Like I said, we're not techies.

Yes. My wife put it in back in December. Worked fined until it didn't; a couple weeks ago.

You're right. My wife priced them. I don't know how she came up with that. I see generic much cheaper, but Brother is $$$$$$$$!!!!

But it still comes down to, what's the problem, does it need toner, if so, why, and do we need Brother brand, or a generic. At this point, we'll just be throwing money at it.

do you have to print color? do you need all the extra copy bullshit? i use only generic toner.. no issues with my brother. it's a hl-l2400d (i don't use wireless) it's the same on i recommend to customers

 

[OneOfMany]

If it's a colour printer, if any of the cartridges have indicated to the printer they are empty, the printer will not print. Printers usually ship with starter cartridges, with less toner. There was a way to reset the toner level of each cartridge with a reset. I believe you had to have the cover open to access the hidden menu. Don't remember what you need to press in the menu anymore, but you could experiment.
Before doing so, remove each cartridge and shake side to side to level toner if there is some. If it's one of the colour toners that registered empty, it may now register as being not empty, and allow you to print black. Just make sure if there is a menu option to set as monochrome to do so.

 

[4spdragtop]

When I was out west in Sask. I bought a Slamsung wireless blk/wht all in one laser printer(fax,copy, print) $100 on sale at Staples. That's 13 yrs ago. Still works great, been the odd hiccup, VERY frustrating as the drivers were outdated at times. Printing wireless at times were the issue, when hardwired it worked perfectly.
Heres what Staples has for Slamsung

https://www.staples.ca/collections/samsung-laser-printers-466

 

[4spdragtop]

Sorry looks like link abv is for cartridges, Staples doesn't sell Slamsung anymore, but here are some others
https://www.staples.ca/search?query...es[shopify_products][sortBy]=shopify_products

 

[jos51700]

This is from Brother, TN227 is the cartridge family but yeah, if the color is out, it may not print. If you change settings that might be able to be bypassed. A quick search should answer that.

This is for the ultra mega huge toner cartridge. The smaller cartridges will be cheaper if you don't use it often

Brother TN227BK | High-Yield Black Toner Cartridge - Brother

And I didn't realize that my printer was also a copier until like three months ago. Lifted up trying to figure out where the cartridge went, and it flipped open to reveal a scanner!

Did you take the old cartridge out and shake it? Sometimes you can get a surprising amount of life out of them if they have the toner powder in them.

 

[RustyRatRod]

I have an HP Deskjet 1010. It's a VERY basic wired printer. I've loved it. But, it's at the end of its life span. It works still, but you have to hold the paper in the feeder so it doesn't feed like 12 sheets at once, because the feed rollers are worn. I wish I could find a new one JUST like it, because it was perfect for so long, but of course they don't make them anymore.

 

[SpeedThrills]

do you have to print color? do you need all the extra copy bullshit? i use only generic toner.. no issues with my brother. it's a hl-l2400d (i don't use wireless) it's the same on i recommend to customers

Black and white would be fine. Maybe we can get it to work that way.

If it's a colour printer, if any of the cartridges have indicated to the printer they are empty, the printer will not print. Printers usually ship with starter cartridges, with less toner. There was a way to reset the toner level of each cartridge with a reset. I believe you had to have the cover open to access the hidden menu. Don't remember what you need to press in the menu anymore, but you could experiment.
Before doing so, remove each cartridge and shake side to side to level toner if there is some. If it's one of the colour toners that registered empty, it may now register as being not empty, and allow you to print black. Just make sure if there is a menu option to set as monochrome to do so.

We've shaken them, no luck.
Gonna look for a monochrome option.
We believe they are all starter cartridges except the one my wife replaced in December. Though it doesn't get used much, one could be empty. But the only way to know is to throw money at it. And it still may say, "No Toner". There should be a better way.
Prior to my rant, we googled, and found that menu. Followed the steps, it only goes so far, then there's no more options. It's like whatever is wrong is erasing the options.
However, my wife said she did find something that says the cartridges are full.

Sorry looks like link abv is for cartridges, Staples doesn't sell Slamsung anymore, but here are some others
https://www.staples.ca/search?query=printer&indices[shopify_products][configure][filters]=tags:"en_CA"&indices[shopify_products][configure][ruleContexts][0]=logged-out&indices[shopify_products][page]=1&indices[shopify_products][refinementList][named_tags.brand][0]=Canon&indices[shopify_products][refinementList][named_tags.category_filter][0]=Laser Printers&indices[shopify_products][sortBy]=shopify_products

This is from Brother, TN227 is the cartridge family but yeah, if the color is out, it may not print. If you change settings that might be able to be bypassed. A quick search should answer that.

This is for the ultra mega huge toner cartridge. The smaller cartridges will be cheaper if you don't use it often

Brother TN227BK | High-Yield Black Toner Cartridge - Brother

View attachment 1716551572

And I didn't realize that my printer was also a copier until like three months ago. Lifted up trying to figure out where the cartridge went, and it flipped open to reveal a scanner!

Did you take the old cartridge out and shake it? Sometimes you can get a surprising amount of life out of them if they have the toner powder in them.

I have an HP Deskjet 1010. It's a VERY basic wired printer. I've loved it. But, it's at the end of its life span. It works still, but you have to hold the paper in the feeder so it doesn't feed like 12 sheets at once, because the feed rollers are worn. I wish I could find a new one JUST like it, because it was perfect for so long, but of course they don't make them anymore.

I appreciate the info, guys, I really do. But we'd really like to find out why the "No Toner" error message keeps flashing, with no info as to where to go. We don't want to throw out what should be a perfectly good printer.

Nobody wants to be that old fuddy duddy who "won't keep up with the times", and accept, in this case, electronic crap. But I am him! Even my younger friends and family agree. They are learning why I want old! They don't have any experience with things that could be fixed, so they don't have a frame of reference as to why I hate electronics. They're used to just throwing stuff out. If it had points and a carburetor, I could fix it!!!

 

[toolmanmike]

A few years ago, we ditched our ink-thirsty ($$$) printer. We bought a laser printer, thinking that, while it's more expensive than a ink printer initially, it should last a long time. We don't print that much, and a laser is supposed to last longer.

Fast forward to now. "No Toner" message appeared. On-line solutions always point to this problem after a cartridge change. We haven't touched it. (In December, we replaced a small "sample" cartridge with a generic brand. We now know we should've bought the insanely expensive Brother brand.) It won't accept the so-called fix of going to a menu, resetting, and going on our Merry way. It doesn't say anything about the wrong cartridge, it just doesn't give the option that the on-line fix says it should.

So now what? It doesn't say for sure we need Brother toner, and if it did, toner is $300! New printer, $368! The same problem we had with the ink printer! If there is still such a a thing as a shop that fixes these things, it won't be cheap either. There's a local guy who came to our house once, but he has to make money. I forget his rate, but it's minimum 1 hour. He suggested we quiz him with all tech issues we had. That worked great, but now it's only the printer.

I guess I should call him. It's either that, or we print at the library and let our $300+ printer collect dust.

I'm just venting. This tech stuff can be a real headache.

Maybe someone has experience with this?

Frustrating isn't it. Manufacturers are proprietary now days. Like the water filter in my new GE frig. The only one that works is the expensive GE filter that has the chip in the label. I even tried peeling the label off and applying it to a new filter. Nope, It must have a timer of sorts in it.

 

[jos51700]

Nobody wants to be that old fuddy duddy who "won't keep up with the times", and accept, in this case, electronic crap. But I am him! Even my younger friends and family agree. They are learning why I want old! They don't have any experience with things that could be fixed, so they don't have a frame of reference as to why I hate electronics. They're used to just throwing stuff out. If it had points and a carburetor, I could fix it!!!

Oh I get it!! I smashed my last printer with a hammer (that glass in the scanner top went all over the bedroom lol). They don't get much better than Brother.

I'd try a name-brand Brother toner cartridge. I would think it would tell you which one specifically is empty, if you can't get it to print B+W only.

And, there's always the hammer.

 

[OneOfMany]

That's unfortunate, but even worse that you might have to throw money at it to possibly no avail.
Normally Brothers are pretty good quality workhorses, and unlike the HP today don't need to phone home or fight you over third party cartridges.

 

[4spdragtop]

I just googled Samslung, and HP bought the printer division out in 2017 dammit. I'll bet that was due to HP losing a % of printer revenue.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Oh I get it!! I smashed my last printer with a hammer (that glass in the scanner top went all over the bedroom lol). They don't get much better than Brother.

I'd try a name-brand Brother toner cartridge. I would think it would tell you which one specifically is empty, if you can't get it to print B+W only.

And, there's always the hammer.

I emptied a full cylinder of six .44 magnum shells into one I threw out in the back yard years ago. That actually made me feel good. In the end, I won.

 

[jos51700]

I emptied a full cylinder of six .44 magnum shells into one I threw out in the back yard years ago. That actually made me feel good. In the end, I won.

 

[RustyRatRod]

There's therapy in that kinda thing.

 

[SpeedThrills]

I always tell people that I fix my own computers. I smash them with a Ford tool (hammer). It never fixes them, but I always feel better. (I have a full set of Ford Tools. Tack hammer through sledge.)

 

[OneOfMany]

I emptied a full cylinder of six .44 magnum shells into one I threw out in the back yard years ago. That actually made me feel good. In the end, I won.

I haven't had that level of problem with any printer... but did smash the crap out of a fax machine.

Oh yeah, my bro and I trashed a small safe at our business when our partner was away on holidays and we needed to get our network password. (and lunch money).

 

[RustyRatRod]

I haven't had that level of problem with any printer... but did smash the crap out of a fax machine.

Oh yeah, my bro and I trashed a small safe at our business when our partner was away on holidays and we needed to get our network password. (and lunch money).

View attachment 1716551817

Well, in somewhat of my defense, it wasn't "just" a printer. It was an all in one. Printer, copier, scanner, fax and all. It mightta even had some **** channels in it, I don't know. But I vowed never again to get any type of all in one and I'm not doin it again.