Looking to switch from Manjaro to LMDE but need to be able to print to Brother MFC and Label maker(s)

[loggerheadnav]

This is a little pre-emptive, but due to the number of hours we have spent on "trying" various distros, I wanted to reach out to community and ask if anyone has had success setting up LMDE 4 and using a Brother Printer(s) (MFC-L5900DW, QL-1060n, and PT2700) successfully or if there were hoops to jump through.

I got another question for the software folks about using Teamviewer but will post that over there.

So does anyone have any wisdom or words of hope about using LMDE and Brother printers and drivers? Please be nice, we are really just exhausted trying so many different solutions that dont work, not to mention distros. Appreciate the wisdom and patience.

[rossdv8]

Mint LMDE might be using Debian. I've never looked at it, but if it uses .deb files, it might be worth looking here:
https://support.brother.com/g/b/product ... 00dw_us_as

Here is the Linux stuff for the 5900:
https://support.brother.com/g/b/downloa ... 00dw_us_as

And the 1060:
https://support.brother.com/g/b//downlo ... ql1060neas

Looks like the 2700 is Windows and Mac only - but BSC might be able to tell you more if you ask them.
https://support.brother.com/g/b/downloa ... od=2700euk

They have downloads / install scripts and even an installation tool that does most of the downloading and installing for you. I have installed all my Brother printers (about 8 or 8 different models) using this site. (That sounds sarcastic when i read it back - It's NOT - I am very Tired...)

They even have the manuals and stuff to download.

If the .deb files don;t work with LMDE, I don;t know where else you could look, other than messaging Brother Support and asking them.
I've always found them very helpful.

I hope I understood the question, and that this helps.

[cliffcoggin]

This is a little pre-emptive, but due to the number of hours we have spent on "trying" various distros, I wanted to reach out to community and ask if anyone has had success setting up LMDE 4 and using a Brother Printer(s) (MFC-L5900DW, QL-1060n, and PT2700) successfully or if there were hoops to jump through.

By trying distributions did you mean you installed them? You can test the printing abilities for yourself with a live USB of LMDE. All it will cost is a 4GB USB stick and some internet time.

[digitalkaese]

Mint LMDE might be using Debian. I've never looked at it, but if it uses .deb files, it might be worth looking here:
https://support.brother.com/g/b/product ... 00dw_us_as

Here is the Linux stuff for the 5900:
https://support.brother.com/g/b/downloa ... 00dw_us_as

And the 1060:
https://support.brother.com/g/b//downlo ... ql1060neas

Looks like the 2700 is Windows and Mac only - but BSC might be able to tell you more if you ask them.
https://support.brother.com/g/b/downloa ... od=2700euk

They have downloads / install scripts and even an installation tool that does most of the downloading and installing for you. I have installed all my Brother printers (about 8 or 8 different models) using this site. (That sounds sarcastic when i read it back - It's NOT - I am very Tired...)

They even have the manuals and stuff to download.

If the .deb files don;t work with LMDE, I don;t know where else you could look, other than messaging Brother Support and asking them.
I've always found them very helpful.

I hope I understood the question, and that this helps.

Well I have installed LMDE 4 and installed the Brother drivers like described here for my colour laser printer which works fine.
Brother_HL_L8250CDN_series

[loggerheadnav]

And yes we have installed MANY different Distros to "see how it goes". We DID commit to installing LMDE Cinnamon) and are very pleased with the results. Seems to be our new Go To OS for now. We are slowly implementing email, and other typical business applications we use as well as testing QGIS, and all seems to be going well. I AM able to print to the Brother printers so far. Need to settle on best applications for the type f business applications we use. Feel we are about 50% of the way there.

I can say using an OS whereas we can use .deb files for installation is very helpful.

Just posted on the intro forum, as we are also looking to find a consultant to work wit us on various topics. If anyone is interested, check it out and reach out to us.

Aloha.

[axisofevil]

LMDE4 is essentially Debian stable + Mint desktop (Cinnamon).
Do NOT install any Ubuntu .deb files (if at all possible) - you may run into horrible dependency problems!

[rossdv8]

Seems to be our new Go To OS for now. We are slowly implementing email, and other typical business applications

We went through something similar in 1998, when Red Hat Linux became available off the shelf. Before that we had been using whichever Linux distros we could find in IRC and other places online.

You will probably I donlt know what business you are in, but you might be surprised by just how many programs you can find as effective alternatives to what you might have been using with other Operating Systems. Most of the things I had to do, I was told would be 'impossible' without Windows or Mac. Coming from a Unix, cp/m and OS/2 background, I was fairly sure I would find stuff.

In the end I wrote some small programs and shared them and had shareware returned to me, so it all balanced out nicely.
Enjoy Mint.

[sjgold85]

is the multi function printer attached by the network or by USB?

[Skink]

Well, based on your 5-22-20 post, it looks like you took the leap and were able to print with your Brother MFC -- congratulations!

I just installed LMDE4 as my first Debian tryout as well, and I've got an old Brother MFC-8440 that I had to setup with it. Interestingly, the two driver issues I've had to resolve with LMDE so far have turned out to be a lot easier than expected. In case anyone else needs it, here is what worked for me regarding the print and scan drivers.

PRINT DRIVER (via USB):
1) Download the .PPD file from the brother website. https://support.brother.com/g/b/product ... us&lang=en
2) Click on the printer icon in the taskbar and setup a new printer using the popup dialog and .PPD file.
3) "Connection to USB" shows: usb://Unknown/Printer; but printing works.
4) Helpful: CUPS interface can be accessed via browser at: http://localhost:631/admin
5) Bonus: In the Software Manager, also install Printer-driver-cups-pdf, which provides a PDF Writer backend to CUPS.

SCAN DRIVER (via USB, 64-bit):
1) Download the .deb scanner driver from the brother website. (see link above)
2) In the terminal, change to the directory where you downloaded the driver.

Code: Select all

cd [path of target directory]

3) Obtain elevated privileges.

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sudo su

4) Install the Brother scanner driver using the command:

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dpkg -i --force-all  [name of driver]

5) Here's the critical step: since Brother installs the driver(s) to a different directory than one where SANE expects to find it, you have to copy the installed driver(s) to an expected folder:

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cp /usr/lib64/sane/*.* /usr/lib/sane

6: Check to make sure SANE sees your scanner, which should be plugged into a USB port and powered on:

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scanimage -L

7) You should get output similar to:

device `brother:bus2;dev3' is a Brother MFC-8440 USB scanner

Reduce privileges back to normal:

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exit

For a longer explanation of the installation issues with scanners using a "proprietary backend" (like Brother), see: https://wiki.debian.org/Scanner

Hope this helps.