5 comments

1. 

   David Tutwiler on June 7, 2010 at 7:00 am

   This cartridge will disable your printer once it (the cartridge) tells your printer it’s empty. The cartridge has a window that is closed (blocked) by toner. This window runs through the cartridge from one side to the other. When the toner is full, the window is blocked, when the toner is seemingly empty, a laser is able to shine through the cartridge one side to the other thus signaling to the printer to shut down for cartridge replacement. I have found that when you obstruct this window with a simple piece of masking tape, you will have at least 33-50% more toner left. I’ll leave any manufacturer motive speculation up to you.

2. 

   Pen Name on June 7, 2010 at 9:22 am

   I thought these toner cartridges were awful and overpriced. our office was going through these things like Little Debbie Swiss Roll Snack Cakes. That was until I started actually researching toner cartridges. At the current price of this cartridge, the yield is $.01 a page. Compared to the Ricoh business class printers with their toner cartridge yield of $.014, this is cheaper, and the printer is much less expensive.

   These cartridges are also cheaper than the regular Brother TN550 (3,500 YLD) Standard Yield Toner Cartridge which currently have a yield of $.015 per page.

3. 

   W. Parker on June 7, 2010 at 9:50 am

   I was disappointed to find out that the toner cartridge stops working before the toner has run out. However, by obstructive the toner window on the cartridge with masking tape, the remaining print capacity of the cartridge is dramatically extended. I will leave it up to you as to whether you want to implement that solution or not.

   I had another issue with toner build up on my drum unit from one of my toner cartridges. The problem was fixed by changing out the toner cartridge.
   

4. 

   Jay Hatlestad on June 7, 2010 at 11:24 am

   Biggest bang for your buck on the market. I have tried refills before but with awful results. Now I will only purchase original manufacturer, new cartridges. The only ‘catch’ is that on all the Brother printers I have owned, which is several, they all prematurely signal ‘low toner’ at somewhere around the halfway point. So, when the printer finally stops printing, I remove the cartridge and rock it back and forth a few times, re-insert it into the printer and it works great for a few more thousand sheets. I use this initial ‘low toner’ signal as the point to re-order another cartridge and, unless you print over a ream of paper per day, this should be plenty of lead-time. If not for this slightly annoying feature I would have rated this 5 stars.

5. 

   Harvey Glick on June 7, 2010 at 1:36 pm

   I do alot of tax returns that have lots of graphics. When I used an HP printer, I went through about 5 toners in a sesaon. I’ve only gone through one TN580 this year. Plus the Brother HL-5240 is much faster than anything I have used in the past. VERY pleased.

5 comments

1. 

   David Tutwiler on June 7, 2010 at 8:27 am

   This cartridge will disable your printer once it (the cartridge) tells your printer it’s empty. The cartridge has a window that is closed (blocked) by toner. This window runs through the cartridge from one side to the other. When the toner is full, the window is blocked, when the toner is seemingly empty, a laser is able to shine through the cartridge one side to the other thus signaling to the printer to shut down for cartridge replacement. I have found that when you obstruct this window with a simple piece of masking tape, you will have at least 33-50% more toner left. I’ll leave any manufacturer motive speculation up to you.

2. 

   Pen Name on June 7, 2010 at 10:59 am

   I thought these toner cartridges were awful and overpriced. our office was going through these things like Little Debbie Swiss Roll Snack Cakes. That was until I started actually researching toner cartridges. At the current price of this cartridge, the yield is $.01 a page. Compared to the Ricoh business class printers with their toner cartridge yield of $.014, this is cheaper, and the printer is much less expensive.

   These cartridges are also cheaper than the regular Brother TN550 (3,500 YLD) Standard Yield Toner Cartridge which currently have a yield of $.015 per page.

3. 

   W. Parker on June 7, 2010 at 11:18 am

   I was disappointed to find out that the toner cartridge stops working before the toner has run out. However, by obstructive the toner window on the cartridge with masking tape, the remaining print capacity of the cartridge is dramatically extended. I will leave it up to you as to whether you want to implement that solution or not.

   I had another issue with toner build up on my drum unit from one of my toner cartridges. The problem was fixed by changing out the toner cartridge.
   

4. 

   Jay Hatlestad on June 7, 2010 at 1:44 pm

   Biggest bang for your buck on the market. I have tried refills before but with awful results. Now I will only purchase original manufacturer, new cartridges. The only ‘catch’ is that on all the Brother printers I have owned, which is several, they all prematurely signal ‘low toner’ at somewhere around the halfway point. So, when the printer finally stops printing, I remove the cartridge and rock it back and forth a few times, re-insert it into the printer and it works great for a few more thousand sheets. I use this initial ‘low toner’ signal as the point to re-order another cartridge and, unless you print over a ream of paper per day, this should be plenty of lead-time. If not for this slightly annoying feature I would have rated this 5 stars.

5. 

   Harvey Glick on June 7, 2010 at 4:23 pm

   I do alot of tax returns that have lots of graphics. When I used an HP printer, I went through about 5 toners in a sesaon. I’ve only gone through one TN580 this year. Plus the Brother HL-5240 is much faster than anything I have used in the past. VERY pleased.