[Ma-linux] Brother Printer Issues

[Jay Hart]

Last month bought a Brother MFC-5490CN from Microcenter.  Supposedly this
printer has full Linux support.

Got it hooked up using ethernet vice USB.  Installed software for Windows use
to please the wife, and tested printer.

After two test prints of various items I knew something was not right with the
printer.  After several more diag tests I came to the conclusion that it would
not print black.  I determined this by creating an excel sheet with black in
one cell, cyan in another, blue in a third, and yellow in the fourth.  Every
color printed correctly except black, which was not printed at all.

I troubleshot the printer to the point that it was either the black print
cartridge or the printer.  I did not have a spare black cartridge to try.

So, I called Brother for help clarifying this issue.  I told them I had
determined the printer was not printing black, and was looking for them to
help me determine if the cartridge was bad or the printer.  My troubleshooting
with them consisted entirely of:

1. Provide model and serial number of the printer
2. Unplug the printer from the wall
3. remove the black cartridge
4. Provide model # of the black ink cartridge

After these four steps (3 minutes total phone time), the guy on the phone told
me the printer needed replacing.  Needless to say, I was slightly "baffled" by
his "awesome" skills of diagnosing problems.

So, instead of returning the printer, I decided to have it repaired by a local
repair dealer, Net Systems Inc, located in South Arlington.

When I got there and stated my problem, the owner pointed out 5 other Brother
printers with the same problem, all different models from mine.  Basically
they all have the exact same problem, which is fixed by installing new printer
heads.

So, I'm thinking that one should be wary of buying Brother printers at this
point.

Jay Hart