Earlier this week, we highlighted RepairTuber Louis Rossmann’s video and wiki, which collected and presented evidence that Brother printers had turned to the dark side. Today, Ars Technica has published a lengthy statement from Brother, which asserts that it hasn’t been leveraging firmware updates to prevent printers from using third party toner or ink supplies. In brief, Brother thinks that negative social media and forum posts stem from misunderstandings or the (low) quality of non-genuine supplies.
Rossmann’s video is a heartfelt lament about the demise of the last decent printer company. But might he and the collection of Brother grievances that form the related wiki be in error? Brother is resolute in its denials of restricting third-party toner and ink cartridges, and its explanations seem pretty reasonable. Moreover, Rossmann’s sources were not numerous or high-quality. For example, we didn’t see any tech reviewers highlight Brother’s move to the dark side of the printer supplies and service markets.
Let’s look a little closer at Brother’s statement. The printer maker starts with a strong denial, insisting claims that Brother firmware updates may restrict the use of third-party ink cartridges as “false.” To address the accusations of intentionally degrading print quality when non-genuine supplies are used, Brother’s statement that it “cannot verify the quality of printing” when using third-party toners or inks is understandable.
Brother Genuine check confusion
Ars wisely asked what Brother thought was the source of the consumer confusion about third-party supplies, if it wasn’t blocking their use. The printer firm’s interesting reply was that its devices may sometimes “perform a Brother [G]enuine check when troubleshooting.” It admits that such troubleshooting processes may request Brother Genuine supplies. Nevertheless, it ends its statement by insisting “the firmware update would not be responsible for the degradation of quality or removal of printer features.”
Reading between the lines, there may indeed have been some user confusion, but Brother’s admitted preference for using genuine toner/ink for troubleshooting sounds somewhat pushy for a device many consider(ed) to be open to equipping third-party supplies. Genuine toners and ink cartridges can be costly, especially if a complete set is required, and users might find it hard to justify such a purchase for a malfunctioning device, not knowing what a troubleshooter might recommend.