Question Printing problem with Brother HL-5470dw laser B&W printer

[Muse]

Edit 7/25/2022: Cut to the chase... in post 25 here (and discussed considerably in later posts here) it's revealed a solution to the problem, being a setting in the printer driver configuration, accessible when printing, however once set on a particular computer, it persists ("Improve toner fixing". It makes the heating element preheat a few seconds longer, around 2-3 seconds, at least for the initial print):

Question - Printing problem with Brother HL-5470dw laser B&W printer

Edit 7/25/2022: Cut to the chase... in post 25 here (and discussed considerably in later posts here) it's revealed a solution to the problem, being a setting in the printer driver configuration, accessible when printing, however once set on a particular computer, it persists ("Improve toner...

forums.anandtech.com

End Edit 7/25/2022
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The printer is not a real cheapie, not high end, I paid $143.50 for it. I figured good enough where I would get good service from it. Basic B&W printing, no copy/scan stuff. I don't use it a ton, got it in November 2015. The supplied toner cartridge is the same as the standard OEM 8000 page Brother TN750, except that they don't fill it all the way. When the supplied cartridge runs down people often buy toner and fill the old cartridge (a new Brother TN750 cartridge runs $80 or more, I think).

There are Youtube videos and various places to buy toner. I bought one of the more expensive toner kits, figuring it was a better option than going cheap. Had good reviews at Amazon, InkOwl Toner Refill Kit for Brother TN-720, TN-750, TN-780 (2-Pack). Some special parts were necessary too, and I bought them separately from Inkowl.

For over a year I left the InkOwl packages unopened. I got by ignoring the messages about low toner and eventually putting a piece of tape over the low-toner sensor (documented by several owners) but eventually the printer refused to print, so I got out the kit and did the replacement with help from videos. Unfortunately, a plastic bracket holding in a roller broke. I could have bought a new cartridge but instead glued the broken bracket using two part epoxy glue. Seemed to be a good job, the roller's held in place seemingly just fine.

The printer prints. The problem is that a program I use prints almost to the edges of the paper, within 1/4" or so and the portion within 1/2 inch of the left edge of the paper is usually smeared and nearly illegible. If I make a 2nd print, it's better or even alright and a 3rd is likely fine, or almost... good enough.

Another thing I'm noticing is that the print, if the paper after printing experiences much use, is rubbing off and can even become practically illegible.

What can be going on here?

 

[Paperdoc]

Both of the symptoms you report mean that the toner particles are not being stuck to the paper. In a laser printer, the toner particles are minute specs of coloured powder (black only in your case) with a thin surface coating of an adhesive. After the image if formed on the special electrostatic drum that picks up the toner powder, it is transferred to the paper surface also by electric charges. At that point it is still loose powder placed correctly. The last stage is the paper goes past a heater that heats the toner, melting the adhesive on the particles so they stick to the paper as they cool down again. That's why the printed sheet comes out warm - in fact, if you check carefully, warm on only one side.

Loose toner on the copy means that the last fusing process has failed completely in certain areas (your smeared edge issue) or is not being done well enough (your issue with toner rubbing off in many places.This could happen for any of several possible reasons. The heating element may not be hot enough - it is controlled by a temperature sensor and controller system in the printer. The spacing between paper and heater may be too large so that the heat is not getting all the way to the paper. The toner may not mave been made with enough adhesive on its particles. Or, the toner's adhesive may not be quite the right kind for your printer, and is not melting even though the heating process is OK. I suppose ther might also be a problem with the paper, but those problems usually result in completely missing image areas or jammed paper flow, rather than poor fusing.

Suggestions? Well, one way to check for poor toner would be to replace it - maybe by installing a new toner cartrige from a different toner maker, even if not the Brother brand stuff. That would probably tell you if the printer fuser system is working properly with "known-good" (well, different) toner. Also, check the diagnostics of the printer - does it have any error messages? By the way, because of this fuser process, every laser printer MUST warm up the fuser section when first turend on, and normally they will refuse to print until that's complete. Are you waiting for that process when you first turn on?

 

[Muse]

By the way, because of this fuser process, every laser printer MUST warm up the fuser section when first turned on, and normally they will refuse to print until that's complete. Are you waiting for that process when you first turn on?

I don't turn off the printer. It seems to turn off itself. After I print, the display goes to "READY" and remains there until I either print some more or it times out and the printer evidently shuts off (the display goes blank) and the printer looks as though (AFAIK) it's not even plugged in (which of course it it is plugged in). I send a document to the printer (via wifi, there are no data cables going to the printer) and after a few seconds (5-10, I'm guessing) the display lights up and a few more seconds (less than 5, I'm guessing) and the motor(s) fire up and a few seconds later my print or prints come out. It's a duplexing printer, so it does that double take. I think it does that even if it prints on just one side.

Yeah, maybe it's the toner, but the reviews were good at Amazon and it's supposed to support my printer as you can see in the link.

I could get another cartridge. There are many to choose from, not just the relatively expensive 8000 sheet OEM from Brother. I almost did that before I fixed the broken bracket of my current cartridge.

Your saying that the fuser section has to warm up makes sense as a possibility here because subsequent prints (the 2nd or 3rd) are always better. But I'd expect the printer to know when it's not warm enough and just wait until it is, right? I don't know how I could force it to warm up more?

 

[corkyg]

Sounds like the fuser roller isn't hot enough.

 

[Muse]

Sounds like the fuser roller isn't hot enough.

Is there anything I can do to address that? Replace that roller maybe?

This is the awesomely great video I used when I refilled my starter cartridge.

It's 5:59. At 1:47 it has you can remove the "developer roller" for cleaning. Other videos leave out that step. I removed it a 2nd time for some reason and in doing so I broke the plastic insertion bracket on the left. I glued it back together using epoxy glue and think I did an OK job.

Is the fusion roller in the cartridge or is it part of the printer itself?

 

[Muse]

Found a very impressive almost 20 minute video showing servicing of the fuser on Brother printer. If I have to do that, I think it a not bad instruction:

 

[corkyg]

Not sure about Brother, but on my HP. the fuser is part of the printer, not the toner cart.

 

[Muse]

Not sure about Brother, but on my HP. the fuser is part of the printer, not the toner cart.

Yup, the video I linked would indicate that. And apparently, it's accessed from the back, as shown in the video (that video is really good, BTW, the guy is exceptionally eloquent, conversational, and on point).

BTW, I stopped using my HP4M+. Still have it, but the lack of duplex is the reason I no longer use it.

I still have toner cartridges for that HP printer, even unopened, wonder if I can use the toner in it. Those cartridges are old and I know they are said to have shelf lives, so maybe even the unopened packaged cartridge (I believe I have one at least) isn't something I should think about using.

 

[Paperdoc]

Never mind the age thing, although that might be important. But using HP toner designed for an old 4M model on a newer Brother printer is a real gamble. We have no idea whether the adhesive systems are the same, so it's not possible to know whether it should work or not.

Your last post adds new info. I gather that the piece you broke and re-attached was part of the fuser assembly, not the toner cartridge. The video you linked to shows good details of that assembly. Apparently the way it operates is to use a (orange?) larger roller to push the paper with loose toner against the surface of a hot (black) roller. Now, that means that the clearance between the two rollers is important, and there does not appear to be any spring loading mechanism. So the clearance (and hence the pressure between rollers) is fixed by how the rollers are mounted. What may have happened is that, when the roller support broke off and was re-attached, the repair process did not quite get it tight enough. Background bit: when a roller is pushed against another and supported only by the ends, the roller itself is like a slightly flexible shaft, so the pressure between the rollers causes the middle of it to bend away from the mating roller, whereas it cannot do that at the ends that are rigidly fixed in place. So if the position of one end of the roller is too "loose", the pressure between the two roolers will certainly be too low at the "loose" end, but also somewhat low all the way across, especially at least half of the way across. So I expect that, IF the reapired end of the roller mount is too "loose", that is the end where toner fusing at the edge will be most deficient, and there may be some poor fusing on the half (at least) of the entire page closer to that end. Is that what you are seeing?

IF that is what has happened, unless you can find a way to "tighten" the clearance at the end where the poor fusing is happening, you might have to buy a replacement fuser assembly. But before you do that, here are two other ideas, from the fact that it sort of works as it warms up.
1. Maybe you can force it to warm itself fully after a long period of non-use. Try turning it off for a few seconds before using it, then turn on and let it re-boot and complete its initialization process.
2. Unplug and open the back where the fuser assembly is located. Check carefully the three electrical connections it has to sockets on the frame. In each case, try to disconnect and then re-connect a couple of times. This MAY clean slightly dirty contacts and ensure good connections. Close up and power on. This is just in case there is a poor contact either to the heating unit or to the fuser temperature control sensor.

 

[Muse]

Not sure, but I think what I repaired is part of the cartridge itself, the TN720 supplied with the new Brother HL-5470DW printer. That cartridge can be converted to a TN750 by adding a part or two and filling with the appropriate amount of toner, which I believe I did. It went well, except that the 2nd time I took out the toner roller (which I think is part of the cartridge itself, that's what I'm not certain of) the plastic bracket the left side of the roller fits into snapped from too much force. I glued it back together.

I took some pictures of what I did. I'm embedding them (edited) into this post, the broadest view first, then a medium view, then the most closeup view. Unless the assembly you see there comes apart and a new cartridge is just part of it, what's pictured is the cartridge itself. I hope that's clear. Still, my repair may be the root of the problem.

There's another joker in the deck. It's said that firmware updates can fix printing problems and I was on the phone with Brother support yesterday because I have been unable to update the firmware. Their firmware update tool requires at one point that you enter a password. They have default passwords, two of them for some reason: "access" and "initpass" ... neither are accepted for me. I searched my data and tried the passwords I have for my Brother account and their forums (IIRC), and neither worked. Well, the support guy I talked to yesterday said I will have to physically take the printer to a service center and he said the nearest is actually in my town, so that's good. I will try a few more passwords and if they don't work I will call the place and arrange to take the printer to them.

Looking, I see that the epoxy I used in the repair is not JB Weld, but a clear industrial epoxy I have.

So, is that toner roller actually part of the cartridge? Below are pictures of my repair on the supplied cartridge:

 

[Muse]

Never mind the age thing, although that might be important. But using HP toner designed for an old 4M model on a newer Brother printer is a real gamble. We have no idea whether the adhesive systems are the same, so it's not possible to know whether it should work or not.

Your last post adds new info. I gather that the piece you broke and re-attached was part of the fuser assembly, not the toner cartridge. The video you linked to shows good details of that assembly. Apparently the way it operates is to use a (orange?) larger roller to push the paper with loose toner against the surface of a hot (black) roller. Now, that means that the clearance between the two rollers is important, and there does not appear to be any spring loading mechanism. So the clearance (and hence the pressure between rollers) is fixed by how the rollers are mounted. What may have happened is that, when the roller support broke off and was re-attached, the repair process did not quite get it tight enough. Background bit: when a roller is pushed against another and supported only by the ends, the roller itself is like a slightly flexible shaft, so the pressure between the rollers causes the middle of it to bend away from the mating roller, whereas it cannot do that at the ends that are rigidly fixed in place. So if the position of one end of the roller is too "loose", the pressure between the two roolers will certainly be too low at the "loose" end, but also somewhat low all the way across, especially at least half of the way across. So I expect that, IF the reapired end of the roller mount is too "loose", that is the end where toner fusing at the edge will be most deficient, and there may be some poor fusing on the half (at least) of the entire page closer to that end. Is that what you are seeing?

IF that is what has happened, unless you can find a way to "tighten" the clearance at the end where the poor fusing is happening, you might have to buy a replacement fuser assembly. But before you do that, here are two other ideas, from the fact that it sort of works as it warms up.
1. Maybe you can force it to warm itself fully after a long period of non-use. Try turning it off for a few seconds before using it, then turn on and let it re-boot and complete its initialization process.
2. Unplug and open the back where the fuser assembly is located. Check carefully the three electrical connections it has to sockets on the frame. In each case, try to disconnect and then re-connect a couple of times. This MAY clean slightly dirty contacts and ensure good connections. Close up and power on. This is just in case there is a poor contact either to the heating unit or to the fuser temperature control sensor.

I like your ideas, especially concerning roller to roller contact if there's insufficient force holding the rollers together at one end.

The question, if this is the problem, is if it's part of the cartridge itself. If so, getting a different cartridge may resolve the problem. Of course, getting the most recent firmware installed is a priority here and I'm told that they had one in January and have a new one this month.

I also like your ideas (which had occurred to me) concerning getting the printer to warm up more than it does. I figure I could remove power from it and restore. I think that forces it to turn on and probably heat up the fuser assembly. If I then send a print job it likely heats again and maybe the resulting prints will be OK. I printed yesterday and the prints looked OK but (later) toner started rubbing off, which is, of course, a big problem.

 

[Muse]

This video makes it plain that the repair I did was to the cartridge itself, not the fuser assembly. The cartridge has a toner roller and a plastic bracket holding it in place on the left side. That's what I fixed.

 

[Paperdoc]

OK, so now I'm confused. You seem to be saying that you never worked with the fuser assembly at all. You only had a small problem with the toner cartridge, and that's what you repaired. A problem with that roller could not cause the symptoms you cite. The worst problem you might cause that way is too little or too much toner being released to the xerographic drum, and hence landing on the paper to be fused there. While I can imagine that too much toner might result in incomplete fusion and loose toner coming off the page, that would still leave large areas that are black from too much toner. It would not result in areas with NO toner, and certainly not a problem that cures itself as the system warms up.

In other words, the problems you have could not have been caused by your work on the toner cartridge. They still appear to me to be a flaw in the fuser assembly. But that is not near the toner cartridge - toner front, fuser rear. Did you open the rear panels? Did you remove anything back there? If you did nothing in the fuser assembly area, then your work on the toner cartridge did not cause the problem. And yet, you say that it started right after your toner cart work. Is that right, or was there a problem before you replaced / refilled the toner cart?

Even if you did not cause the problem, my idea #2 from my post above may have merit. That is, disconnect and re-connect several times each, GENTLY!, the three connectors for the fuser to "scrub" the contacts clean in case there is minor corrosion or dirt causing a bad contact. Using the video whose link you posted earlier, you could partially remove the fuser assembly enough to reach the three connectors for this, then re-assemble. Be sure to be careful - there are tight fits and delicate components. If you can do that, it's free and MIGHT help your problem. If not, you may be better to contact your local repair shop and find out what it costs to replace the fuser and IF they agreee that is the real source of your problem.

 

[Muse]

I never opened the back panel. The only things I have done involve removing the toner cartridge. First, I put a piece of tape over the sensor, which allowed me to continue printing without error messages about low toner. Maybe a year. Then messages started coming again but AFAIK the printer worked fine regardless. I just had to ignore a ton of low toner messages. Seems like every time I rebooted a machine with the Brother as its default printer I got an obtrusive low toner message which I would ignore.

Finally, the printer just flat out refused to print and then I took out my toner replacement kit from Inkowl, found some good videos and replaced the toner, cracking that bracket on the cartridge in the process.

When did I start getting problems with the first print or two coming out not OK? I don't remember! But I think that preceded noticing that with a bit of rough handling, pages that looked perfect had toner coming off.

I submit reviews for an organization I work for and they get handled a fair amount and I have been discovering for a month or more that the reviews are getting hard to read. I've taken to placing clear plastic tape over them to prevent readability attrition!

I think the first thing to address is to get the firmware updated. I doubt it will help, but who knows? Obviously, firmware updates are generally a good idea when available. Hopefully I'll get that addressed this week.

 

[Muse]

If you can do that, it's free and MIGHT help your problem. If not, you may be better to contact your local repair shop and find out what it costs to replace the fuser and IF they agreee that is the real source of your problem.

I'm going to try every permutation of passwords I can think of in an attempt to update the firmware myself. If that fails, I'm going to bring the machine to the local shop and ask them to do it. I don't know if they will charge me, they may have a deal with Brother. It would seem that not being able to update firmware is a Brother problem!

Anyway, if I bring it to that shop I can explain my printing issue and hopefully get an honest straight answer. One can hope! If they say I should replace the fuser, I will think first about doing it myself, maybe with the help of that video linked earlier in the thread (that guy was good at those things!), maybe with other videos' help. Or maybe I'll have it done professionally.

I doubt I've printed more than 4000 or so pages. I'll check out my page count tomorrow, hopefully. I think my usage is way below the duty cycle and have to wonder at failure at this point.

 

[Paperdoc]

Interesting - I'll watch for updates.

 

[Muse]

Machine reports:

Page Count is 4328

Fuser Life: 96%

Laser Life: 96%

Drum Life: 85%

Software version: 1.23
Sub version: 1.04

 

[Muse]

Just had a chat at Brother website:
-----------
Brother chat -- 05/15/2019
--------------------------------------------------------------
Hello, my name is Alice. How can I help you today?

I attempted to update the firmware on my Brother HL-5470DW printer a few days ago and I was asked to enter a password. All attempts failed. However, I log into my account today and it says my firmware was updated on 5/13/19. It does not show the version. My printer says it has version 1.23 main and 1.04 sub. What's the latest version?
12:06

this is the latest version that you have
12:07

I have been having printing problems. An application I use to print has very tight margins, about 3/16 inch on the left side. The first print or to I send to the asleep printer usually comes out somewhat garbled on the left edge. Subsequent prints look OK. However, after some handling toner tends to rub off and the page gets difficult to read. IOW, the toner's not getting properly fused to the paper. I'm using Hammermill Copy Plus paper.
12:10

when was the last time you changed the toner ?
12:11

Around 2-3 months ago.
12:11

have you tried cleaning the toner ?
12:11

Printer reports drum life at 85%
12:11

Cleaning the toner? What? The wire?
12:12

no the toner
12:12

How do I clean the toner?
12:12

remove the toner from printer
12:12

Remove cartridge?
12:12

clean it with a plain cloth or tissue
12:12

yup
12:12

in laser printer cartridge is called toner
12:12

So, wipe the exterior? What exactly do I want to clean?
12:13

just remove any excess ink if there is on it]
12:13

Is there any way to make the fuser run hotter to get a better bond? It was suggested to me by a printer expert to remove the 3 fuser electrical contacts, clean and reconnect as a possible solution.
12:14

i do not think so there is a way to do that
12:15

this can be done by someone who deals in repairing of printer
12:15

OK, I'll try cleaning the cartridge, but I'm not optimistic this will resolve the problem... initial prints coming out garbled at left edge and later, toner rubbing off.
12:17

then maybe you need to replace the printer there might be a hardware issue
12:17

Why did the firmware update tool say I was refused access to the utility when I tried to put in either of the suggested passwords (access or initpass)? I tried other passwords, it refused every time. Then I find out that firmware was updated. Is version 1.23 from May 2019? When was version 1.23 released?
12:19

The page count is 4328. The printer should not need to be replaced at this early date! Machine info reports 96% life on both the fuser and the laser.
12:20

Maybe I can try a different cartridge.
12:21

for all this information please contact Brother customer support as i can only provide support to software related issues

 

[Muse]

Rubbing a print I made 2 days ago with a cotton swab I see that the print at the left edge rubs off much more readily than print near the middle or right side. Interestingly, the left side is opposite of the side on which I repaired the cracked bracket. So, that would suggest that my repair is not involved in the problems here wherein print at the extreme left edge is usually garbled for the first print or two and print is rubbing off from moderate "wear."

 

[Paperdoc]

I agree. My own thought without realizing that opposite-side aspect is that the loose toner cannot be casued by a minor flaw in the toner catridge - it has to originate in the fuser operations. And I see at the end of your Tech Support call the person said she has little expertise in hardware, and really can can help only with a software issues. MAYBE another call to them can dig up a different person who DOES know hardware. If not, you might have to call your local repair shop.

 

[Muse]

I agree. My own thought without realizing that opposite-side aspect is that the loose toner cannot be casued by a minor flaw in the toner catridge - it has to originate in the fuser operations. And I see at the end of your Tech Support call the person said she has little expertise in hardware, and really can can help only with a software issues. MAYBE another call to them can dig up a different person who DOES know hardware. If not, you might have to call your local repair shop.

Yes, I think this justifies another call in hopes of connecting with a person who knows the hardware issues.

I did some experimenting yesterday, something I didn't do before, being test prints and rubbing them with a cotton swab. The left edge is weaker. Didn't rub off too badly. Now, I may be able to live with the problem if I do something to kind of pre-warm the machine. I don't print daily. I probably print maybe twice a week on average. I almost always print from a computer that is right next to the printer. Unplugging and replugging makes it turn on and go to ready after 10-15 seconds. Printing then would, I think, likely make a better first print. Maybe even just touching one of the buttons... + or -, or another. It does make the display turn on, maybe does the warming aspect too. Also, in one of my programs, the one with which I do the reviews, I have complete control of where I put the text. I cut out my reviews with a scissors and apply with tape. So, I can place the reviews away from the left edge for some improvement. And, as I said, if the rubbing-off problem persists, I can place clear tape over the review to prevent that.

Another factor is that it's spring now and the problem seems to have been maybe worse in the winter. My house doesn't have central heating and the printer was around 5-10 degrees F colder during the winter, which may mean that the fuser had more work to do if the printer's electronics didn't compensate for the lower temperatures.

I occasionally do "big" print jobs where I print out a manual, but those get less rough treatment (duplexed and stapled) and the machine gets thoroughly warm when printing a lot of pages, so I haven't noticed the problem in that usage.

 

[Muse]

Interesting - I'll watch for updates.

Called today.

My notes:

OK, I call Brother support (# in my phone table,1-877-276-8437). Get woman and she wants me to send her image of page one of the 3 page report you get when you hit Ok Ok Ok with <2 seconds between. It's Printer Settings. I had to reinstall the Canon Lide 60 scanner driver for some reason. So, I sent after doing that (responding to their email) and called back and got a guy.

He agrees to let me scan and send a report showing the problem, which is always most evident on the first print after the printer hasn't printed in quite a while (i.e. cold).

He has me go to Windows 10 Start, Windows Settings and open Control Panel and go to Devices and Printers and there's 3 Brother, two of them for my printer:

Brother Series HL-5470dw Series

Brother Series HL-5470dw Series Printer

We couldn't find the setting he wanted to adjust in the 2nd (which I thought was the one I was using because a CSR had me choose that the other day when I was trying to update firmware). Although firmware update apparently failed, their online system indicated that it had succeeded! Version 1.23 is in effect, which I was told is the most recent (I'm not at all sure). Anyway the guy says to go back to Control Panel and try to make the adustment using Brother Series HL-5470dw Series, and it was there. I made the adjustment, which is:

Printing Preferences

Advanced

Other Print Options

Improve Print Output

Improvement Settings (the radio button was set to Off, other options are Reduce Paper Curl and Improve Toner Fixing)

Select Improve Toner Fixing

Select OK, Select Apply

Click OK to exit
- -
He says call back if I still have issues and we will try some other things.
- - - -
When I set Brother Series HL-5470dw Series as my default printer using Control Panel, I got a message before confirming that "Windows would stop managing my default printer" if I did so. That's alarming, but I clicked OK anyway, figuring I had to. Going into Settings, Printers, Windows has a checkbox for letting Windows manage the printer I have used most recently. I'm assuming that's the 2nd one, the Brother Series HL-5470dw Series Printer, which doesn't have that Improve Toner Fixing option. Weirdness. Well, if I still have issues I think I should run this by the support person(s).

Anyway, so far so good, prints coming out OK. Will see if that continues after letting the printer sit a while. Also will see if toner is still rubbing off after some usage.

 

[Muse]

I truly am astounded. 7 hours later I ran a report that would have come out junk in the first page and it came out perfect. All by virtue of changing that one software setting!?! OMG. Hopefully the toner won't rub off like it has been, but I am very hopeful it won't. I figured that the smudginess at the left edge would not be affected by that setting change, but it evidently was... completely!

 

[VirtualLarry]

I truly am astounded. 7 hours later I ran a report that would have come out junk in the first page and it came out perfect. All by virtue of changing that one software setting!?! OMG. Hopefully the toner won't rub off like it has been, but I am very hopeful it won't. I figured that the smudginess at the left edge would not be affected by that setting change, but it evidently was... completely!

Wow, it was a software setting, after all? Crazy! I never would have thought that, either. Interesting, that you seem to have two different drivers with different settings offered for the same physical printer. Was it changed between wifi and wired, at any time? My Brother inkjet MFC installs with a different network "ID" depending on if I connect it wireless or wired. I prefer wired, as wireless, when it goes to sleep, I have to often manually walk over to the printed and hit the ON button to get it to "wake up" and hopefully, start printing my pages.

 

[Muse]

Wow, it was a software setting, after all? Crazy! I never would have thought that, either. Interesting, that you seem to have two different drivers with different settings offered for the same physical printer. Was it changed between wifi and wired, at any time? My Brother inkjet MFC installs with a different network "ID" depending on if I connect it wireless or wired. I prefer wired, as wireless, when it goes to sleep, I have to often manually walk over to the printed and hit the ON button to get it to "wake up" and hopefully, start printing my pages.

Yeah, I didn't dream they would be able to help me by changing settings in the software. I thought maybe some setting using the instrument panel, conceivably. I did ask him if there was a way of increasing the temperature used by the fuser and he said no. But he then guided me in making that software change. I don't know if he particularly knew what he was doing. I couldn't tell. I followed his directions. I think he may have been working from computer driven assist software. It's very likely. That's something I haven't seen but figure it very likely exists for big companies that have a need for robust customer support, such as Brother and many other companies. I used to do technical support for years, for software. I was a programmer, so I could and did dig into the code. I worked off computer systems, often systems that I designed, programmed and data fed myself.

Big companies no doubt have systems for their phone support. I deal with people like that all the time and figure most of them don't know squat but are "doing their job" using the systems provided them. I try hard not to get angry with them or put them down. I am sympathetic. I think, "how would I feel if I spent 8 hours/day dealing with grumpy customers?!"

Why two different printers to choose from in Printers for the same printer? Don't know. But I had similar things going on for my HP printers, IIRC. I also have a PostScript printer for it using one computer. I chose that when it was offered, in addition to the non-postscript driver.

I have never used it wired. I could. It's sitting close to the rig you designed for me and also my first laptop, a Lenovo T60. But it seems to print fine using wireless, so haven't bothered to investigate any possible improvement by having it wired (which would be ethernet, I guess). It wakes up quick every time I send it a print job. Stays ready when finished printing for a few minutes and then goes to sleep. Don't use it a lot. 4343 prints in around 4 years. It's used about 4% of its duty cycle!