These are a great substitute for expensive Brother cartridges.
I’ve been using after-market print cartridges for decades. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever bought a brand name cartridge. I’ve used after-market cartridges in a variety of different brands and models and both laser and ink-jet. Some printer brands are easier to deal with than others; in other words, some printer manufacturers work harder than others to prevent after-market ink provider products from working. These days, all manufacturers put a chip on the cartridge to give the printer information about the cartridge, e.g., status, ink/toner level, etc. The most insistent manufacturers use a hash, i.e., an encrypted algorithm to secure their machines and prevent any other brand of cartridge from working. When the after-market ink providers eventually crack the algorithm, the printer manufacturers fall back to their second line of defense, copyright enforcement in the courts. It’s a whole big “thing.” In any case, these days, using after-market ink is a never-ending race: owners and after-market ink providers against the printer manufacturers.
I got these cartridges to use in my Brother MFC-L3720CDW printer. This is the fifth different brand of after-market toner cartridges I’ve gotten for this printer. They all worked on the very first try. Admittedly, Brother is pretty easy to deal with, possibly the easiest printer manufacturer to deal with when it comes to after-market cartridges. Brother’s literature (i.e., their manuals and warranty statements) are clear that they recommend you use authentic Brother ink and toner and that they will not accept any warranty repair for a device harmed by after-market ink. Fair enough. After that, though, they don’t insert any other roadblocks into the process. I respect that.
When it’s time to replace an MFC-L3720CDW toner cartridge (and others are probably similar), there’s one bit that’s not entirely intuitive. Most other laser printer manufacturers engineer their toner cartridges and drum units differently. Some completely separate the cartridge and drum into separate pieces you replace individually. Others assemble the cartridge and drum into one joint and inseparable unit; when you replace the toner, you replace the drum because they’re built together. Brother does neither. Instead, with a Brother laser, you pull out a single toner/drum unit but then you have to separate the toner from the drum. This is extremely easy - there's a green lock lever on the drum unit. Press down on the lever lock and the toner cartridge lifts away. When you press the new toner cartridge into the drum unit, if you get them lined up correctly, you don't need to touch the green lever lock. Then reinstall the toner/drum as one single unit.
