Brother Original Toners

Fuser

Spares

Brother HL-1030 and HL-1200

The HL-1030, HL-1240, HL-1250 and HL-1270N are A4 laser printers using the same engine. This series was introduced in 1999.

These printers have a neat form-factor with a main paper tray under the machine and a manual feed slot for individual sheets of letterhead and envelopes.

Brother's curious naming policy creates muddle - the HL-1030 is a cut down HL-1240 rather than a direct part of the HL-1020 and HL-1040 series.

Speed is 10 pages per minute for the HL-1030, somewhere between the HP Laserjet 2100 and LJ4100 in specification.

  • The HL-1030 speed is a 10 page per minute GDI printer (it uses the host computer to generate the page image).
  • The HL-1240 is a bit faster at 12 ppm and makes an unusual compromise to keep costs down, it can work as a GDI printer at 600x600dpi and can use the standard PCL language at 300x300dpi - it emulates a LaserJet IIP (ie has PCL level 4 not PCL6).
  • The HL-1250 and HL-1270 are both rated for 12ppm and can work at 1200x600 dpi for graphics. They have the PCL 6 language and built in bar-codes.
  • The HL-1270N adds both a PostScript emulation and a network port for workgroup sharing.

These printers are collectively known as the HL-1200 series. These printers quite old now and not particularly fast so people have to make a repair or replace decision before buying parts like a new drum or fuser.

Toners for the HL-1200 Series are the TN6300 (3k pages) amd TN6600 (6k pages) and the DR6000 drum. In the US very similar parts are TN430, TN460 and DR400.

The same catridges have been used in HL-1440, MFC-8600 and a wide variety of other printers.

Brother have favoured a printer design that uses a separate drum where Canon and HP prefer making a one-piece print cartridge. The argument for a separate drum is that it lasts a long time and reduces costs. The problem with these old printers is that Brother's price for new drums is now greater than that of whole new printers. Luckily for anyone with a commitment to these printers there are alternative sources for the drums. Silver Reed refurbished drums are a third the price. Another option for small businesses and home users is to just clean the drum and go on using it until page quality declines.

Fusers are less expensive but the suggested service life is an unusually short 50,000 pages. In practice fusers may last substantially longer and they can also be repaired.

An argumnent in favour of these printers is that the 6,000 page yield is larger than that for many more recent printers and that, whilst the manufacturer didn't intend it, they are refillable.

The cartridges use Brother's curious technique of capturing waste toner and recycling it back to the toner hopper. Catridges can be recycled but they have to be thoroughly cleaned and old toner should not be re-used.

Control:

These printers have a basic control panel with LED lights and a button. The Windows drivers provide more information.

To get a test print on the HL-1030

  • Hold the control panel button down while turning the printer on
  • Release the button when the drum light comes on
  • Press the button again and release it again when the drum light comes on.

The page counter and drum counter and a drum life bar at the bottom of the page. The drum count is given in thousands at the left and then as drum turns in hexadecimal - see the Service Manual.

To get a test print for the HL-1240/1250/1270N

  • Hold the control panel button down while turning the printer on
  • Release the button when the drum light comes on
  • Press the button again and release it again when the drum light comes on.

The page counter and drum counter are at the top of the page and a drum life bar at the bottom of the page.

Duty Cycle:

Brother don't actually seems to give a monthly duty cycle. They do give MTBF and MTTR

The meantime between failure (MTBF) and the meantime to repair (MTTR) for this printer are as follows;

  • MTBF: Up to 4,000 hours
  • MTTR: Average 30 minutes

Up to 10 ppm for the HL-1030; as a GDI printer speeds will be limited by the speed and memory available on the host computer.

Up to 12pmm for the HL-1240 / 1250 and 1270N. High resolution will slow things down.

Warm Up: Maximum 45 seconds from 23°C.

First Print: 15 seconds.

Basic Resolution is 600x600 dpi but the HL-1250 / 1270N have a 1200 x 600 dpi enhanced mode for graphics and pictures.

The HL-1250/1270N support a High Resolution Control and Advanced Photoscale Technology (HRC)

High Resolution Control (HRC) technology provides clear and crisp printouts. Use this function to get smooth text print quality.

Advanced Photoscale Technology (APT) enables the printer to print graphics in 256 grayscales, producing nearly photographic quality. This function gives an ability to print images nearer to photographic quality. (True photographic quality on a 1200x600 dpi printer might require a greyscale better than 256 level.)

Paper Handling:

A4 / US-Letter paper path. The printer has a main tray and a 1 sheet manual feed slot.

Multiple page printing: 2 in 1, 4 in 1, 9 in 1, 16 in 1, 25 in 1 1 in 2x2, 1 in 3x3, 1 in 4x4, 1 in 5x5

Manual Feed:Manual Feed: (Input) 1 sheet, (output) 1 sheet Sizes: min. 2.75"(W) x 4.57"(D) max. 8.5"(W) x 14"(D), OHP, Envelopes, Labels, Organiser Sheet weight: 64-158 g/m2

Tray 2:Paper tray:(Input) 250 Sheet tray, Sizes: A4, B5, A5, A6, Letter, Exe, LGL, Transparencies Sheet weight: 64-105 g/m2

Face Down:

Maximum 150 sheets (80 gsm) face-down only

Duplex:

Manual only

Processor:

HL-1030/1240: MB86833 66MHz

HL-1250/1270N: MB86832 66MHz

(Very slow by these days standards)

Memory:

HL-1030/1240: 2 MB: The printers use compression technology in the printer hardware and the driver to maximise what can be achieved with limited memory. Most full page 600 dpi graphics can be handled with the standard memory. No memory expansion is possible on these models.

HL-1250/1270N: 4.0 Mbytes Expandable up to 36 Mbytes by installing an industry standard SIMM.

According to the service manual the SIMM must have the following specifications;

Type: 72 pin (Both EDO RAM and Fast page mode DRAM can be used.)

Access time: 60 nsec - 80 nsec

Capacity:1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 Mbyte

Interface:

IEEE1284 bi-di Parallel on the HL-1030

The HL-1240 / HL-1250 and HL-1270 also have a USB interface for connection to a PC of Apple Mac.

Optional RS-422A/RS-232C serial (RS-100M) available (for HL- 1250 only)

Network:

10/100 BaseTX Ethernet network interface (for HL-1270N only)

Network Protocols:

10/100 Base TX Ethernet Auto speed detection

TCP/IP Protocols

  • DHCP, BOOTP, RARP, DHCP, NetBIOS over IP
  • LPR/LPD, Port9100, Custom Port, POP3/SMTP SMB Print
  • TELNET, SNMP, HTTP, TFTP
  • Novell IPX.SPX (Bindery/NDS)
  • AppleTalk

Management

Web Based Management

  • BRAdmin32 Windows? based management utility
  • TELNET and Netware Command Console
  • SNMP/MIB II
  • HP JetAdmin / Web JetAdmin compatible

Supplied software

  • BRAdmin32 management utility (for Windows? 95/98/NT 4.0)
  • Port driver for Windows? 95/98/NT 4.0
  • LPR port driver (for Windows? 95/98 only)
  • NetBIOS port driver
  • SMTP port driver

The HL-1230 is a GDI-only printer.

The HL-1240 supports HP LaserJet IIP (PCL level 4)

The HL-1250 supports HP LaserJet 6P (PCL6), Epson FX-850 and IBM Proprinter XL.

The HL-1270N supports HP LaserJet 6P (PCL6), PostScript? Level 2 language emulation

(Brother BR-Script Level 2), Epson FX-850 and IBM Proprinter XL.

To set the printer emulation, use the Remote Printer Console Program.

Printers support an auto-emulation switching between HP, Brother BR-Script 2 and Epson FX-850 or IBM Proprinter XL.

System-Compatabilty:

Dedicated printer driver for Microsoft? Windows? 95/98, Windows? 3.1 and Windows? NT

4.0 are available on the CD-ROM

At the time this printer was produced bi-directional parallel cables were not universal so the IEEE-1284 was recommended but not compulsory.

Linux (CUPS) has support for the HL-1030, HL-1240, HL-1250 and HL-1270

There printers came with a DOS Remote Printer Console (RPC) available on the CD-ROM allowing default settings of the printer such as fonts, page setup and emulations to be changed easily. DOS is no longer widely used, however Windows systems can still run such programs.

Power:

Printers are available in Americas and Rest of World Models

U.S.A. and Canada: AC 110 to 120V, 50 Hz/60 Hz

Europe and Australia: AC 220 to 240V, 50 Hz/60 Hz

Power Consumption:

Printing Peak: 940W With the halogen heater on but ignoring current inrush.

Printing: 340W (average)

Standby: Max 80W

Sleep: Max. 5W (12W for HL-1270N) When the fan has stopped.

Environment

These printers have an economy printing mode which saves 25% or 50% of the standard toner use by making printer somewhat lighter.

Sleep mode reduces the power consumption to less than %W.

Separate toner and rum units allow the user to replace only the components needed to keep the printer going.

Dimensions:

14.2"(w) x 16.9"(d) x 9.3"(h)

Weight:

20.3lb/9.2kg incl. Toner/Drum

Acoustic Noise:

Standby: 27 dBA

Print: 49 dBA

Consumables:

These printers use a separate toner cartridge and drum.

The toner cartridge includes the developer and it's doctor blade. The drum unit has the OPC drum itself, a primary charge corona wire, a transfer roller and the drum cleaner.

This printer uses Brother's technique of redirecting unused waste toner back via the drum and developer into the toner hopper by switching polarties on the waste capture felt and developer. Its an odd technique but they developed it in the 1990s and are still using it in 2010.

The toner and drum have different part codes for different markets with the US and Souh American market a digit shorter.

TN6300 aka TN-430 Standard - Approx. 3000 pages A4/Letter size paper @ 5% coverage

TN6600 aka TN-460 High Yield - Approx. 6000 pages A4/Letter size paper @ 5% coverage

Drum and Developer:

DR-400 aka DR6000 - Approx. 20000 pages (1 page/job)

These consumables are used in a wide variety of Brother machines.

HL-1230, HL-1240, HL-1250, HL-1270N, DCP-1200, DCP-1400,

HL- 1440 / HL-1450 / HL-1470N / HL1470N, HL-1435, HL-1440, HL-1450, HL-1470N, INTELLIFAX-4100, MFC-9650, MFC-9660, MFC-9880

INTELLIFAX-4750, INTELLIFAX-4750e, INTELLIFAX-5750, INTELLIFAX-5750e, MFC-8300, MFC-8500, MFC-8600, MFC-8700, MFC-9600, MFC-9700, MFC-9800, MFC-P2500

Fuser:

The fuser in a laser printer adheres toner to the page using a combination of heat and pressure. The hot roller is coated in non-stick material to prevent the toner sticking and making marks down the page at intervals of 78.5 mm.

After many thousand pages the non stick material becomes exhausted, often parts of the material come away from the metal of the heated roller. In most cases these days technicians just change the whole fuser but in this case the heated roller may be available as an item. The Service Manual gives details on how to change the heated roller.

LJ7759001 Fuser / Fixing Unit 115V

LJ7760001 Fuser / Fixing Unit, 230V

These fusers are used in the HL-1030, HL-1240, HL-1250, HL-1270N, HL-P2500, DCP-1200, Fax 8350, Fax 8750, intelliFAX 4750, intelliFAX 5750, MFC-4750, MFC-8300, MFC-8600, MFC-8700, MFC-9600, MFC-9750, MFC-P2500

LJ4718001 Another code for a 230V fuser also in the service manual but not on distribution lists

UL8907001 Heat Roller 25 UL8907001 Brother Heat Roller (Formerly LJ4169001)

Other parts for the fuser include the following, however they may not be so readily available.

UL8902001 THERMISTOR ASSY

UL8908001 HR BEARING 25

LJ4160001 HALOGEN LAMP, 115V (SP)

LJ4163001 HALOGEN LAMP, 230V (SP)

LJ4845001 PICK OFF FINGER (SP)

Maintenance Kit:

There doesn't seem to be a manufacturers maintenance kit. Buy a fuser (or hot roller) and the Pressure roller, Feed roller and Pad

Whats-In-The-Box:

Old printers only likely to be available as-is from brokers and refurbishers. Refurbishers are likey to ship a recycled cartridge with the printer.

Warranty:

These printers are more than 10 years old.

Spares:

Spares for this printer are still available in March 2010 perhaps because Brother re-used the engine design for some time.

LJ4892001 Pressure Roller in Tray

UL9084001 Separation Pad

UL9060001 1 Paper Feed Roller Assembly

UL9066001 1 Paper Pickup Roller Assembly

LJ8066001 Main Logic with Interface

LJ8239001 Main Logic Pcb

UL9129001 Brother, HL-1240 Front Cover

LG4016001 LV Power Supply

LJ4222001 Engine Pcb (Note - there are variants, see the Service Manual)

LG4016001 Low Voltage PSU PCB ASSY ZLE-B,230V

LJ4157001 1 Laser Unit (B512033)

LJ4181001 1 Paper Tray Assembly, A4

Service:

We offer repair in North East England at present.

Options:

LT-400 - Lower Tray Unit (Input Paper Tray)

Copyright G & J Huskinson & MindMachine Associates Ltd 2013, 2015. Some pictures derived from Brother User and Service guides. These technical pages do not constitute an offer for sale; just our knowledge at the time of writing. See the catalog. Sales pages on this Web site use cookies to store user information. We also use Google Analytics to track site usage patterns.