So I Can Print from my Chromebook and Chromebox

Brothers of Briar

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RSteve

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Printing directly from a Chromebook, for the most part, requires wireless, wi-fi printing. In the past when I wanted something printed I went to my hard wired Windows laptop. I've been wanting to connect a wireless printer for my Chrome machines. Some years ago I bought a Brother HL-2270DW Compact Laser Printer. Time flies and I never got it installed. There's no way I could do it myself. I viewed several videos and all they did was confuse me. Today, my older daughter came to my house, confident that she could tie everything together. In two weeks, she transitions from 18 years teaching physical education, to I.T. Specialist.
The first statement she made when I brought the boxed printer up from the basement, "Dad, you bought this printer in 2014. What's the hurry?"
It took time, a Windows PC with a rom drive, etc. to get the printer talking to my router and this helpful, but incomplete set of instructions

INSTALLING A BROTHER HL-2270DW LASER PRINTER IN CHROMEO

POSTED ON NOVEMBER 29, 2019
I recently purchased a Chromebook running ChromeOS and I needed to install my Brother HL-2270DW black and white laser printer. Getting it installed took a little bit of trial and error but here are the steps that worked for me.

  • Open the Settings app
  • Select Printing under Advanced
  • Click the Set up button next to the Brother HL-2270DW which should automatically be listed under Available printers to save
  • Select Brother as the Manufacturer
  • Select Brother HL-2170W for the Model (this was the closest one)
The new printer should now be listed under Saved printers, but it probably won’t work, yet. We need to modify the settings a little bit.
  • Select the dots next to the Brother HL-2270DW and choose Edit
  • Edit the Address field and change the port (the number after the colon) from 631 to 9100
  • Change the Protocol to AppSocket (TCP/IP)
  • Click Save
Your printer should be working now. Give it a test print.

My daughter said she could not imagine all of the writer's trial and error to get everything working together. I'm really surprised that she could work through some real roadblocks.
 
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Wow…never ceases to amaze me…coincidences. You have the 2270 model and I have the 2370. I think they’re essentially the same thing. Smart move getting the laser.

Lucky for me, I downloaded the Brother printer app. (iPrint & Scan) and my iPad and printer chatted back and forth a bit, got to know each other and set up housekeeping. Bingo!
 
I downloaded the Brother printer app. (iPrint & Scan) and my iPad and printer chatted back and forth a bit, got to know each other and set up housekeeping. Bingo!
My daughter said the problem was the Chromebook universe. She also downloaded the Brother printer app. (iPrint & Scan) and hoped it would work for Chrome, but no dice. Ultimately, she cabled the printer to a Windows PC and used the enclosed CD rom to get the printer and my router exchanging pleasantries. My router iis several years old and is a Securifi Almond N, plus I have a couple of range extenders in my house. The range extenders do extend range but at my router the speed is 40 to 50 mps; at the range extenders 12 to 18 mps. I purchased the Amazon AC Eero mesh system with three units which she'll hook up some time this week. hopefully.
 
Yeah. The name “iPrint” should have been a clue. It’s Apple only I’m pretty sure.
The instruction booklet that came with the printer is very specific to Windows and Apple. The UPS shipping label on the printer box was 2014, but the date on the CD rom is 2011. The first commercially available Chromebooks were in June, 2011. I guess Brother, at that time, had no reason to include Chromebook instructions. I have no idea what I paid for the printer, but I'm quite certain that it was less than half of Amazon's current price.
 
The printer we have does a great job…yours should do the same.
I'm wondering if the ink cartridges dry up if they sit too long. The cartridge that came with the printer is working fine, but apparently when I bought the printer I also bought two N450 cartridges, as well. Each one of those is supposed to be good for 2500 pages. The joke's on me 'cause I really don't print much. I wanted the laser printer to print hard copies of my annual taxes.
 
I’ve had seldom used laser printers that went for years without “drying up”. I think you’re in for the long haul.

But know that you’ll get nowhere near the stated number of pages the cartridge is listed for. They rate the cartridge per ISO standards and depending on how much coverage your text or image contains you very likely get somewhere in the neighborhood of 40% of their advertised number of pages. So if they say it’ll print 1000 pages, you’ll likely get 400 pages (math wiz here). This information is from users complaining on the Brother website about these specific cartridges…lots of users. But given your intended level of use it shouldn’t present a problem for you.
 
They rate the cartridge per ISO standards and depending on how much coverage your text or image contains you very likely get somewhere in the neighborhood of 40% of their advertised number of pages.
That's probably why I bought a couple of extra cartridges. It's so long ago, I can't exactly remember when or where I bought the printer or cartridges. I must have read some reviews.
 
I can't believe how nervous I was to use the new Brother printer. I had to print an Amazon return label, 2 pages. I hit print and heard the printer come to life, but only one page printed. I got a red "error" light. What now?!
Just out of paper...what a relief.
 
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