Brother inkjet printer
Ranked 5 of 5 printers by recommenders
Recommended because it just works across Linux, Mac, Android and iPhone, with cheap pages; the main caveat is ink used for head cleaning.
Recommended because it just works across Linux, Mac, Android and iPhone, with cheap pages; the main caveat is ink used for head cleaning.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Just works with no effort
“I have a Brother printer (inkjet) and it literally just works.”
Comment from 21 Nov 2025 in “Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10” “Linux, Mac, Android, iPhone, all print with zero effort.”
Comment from 23 Nov 2025 in “Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10” “my Brother printer just works too”
Comment from 21 Nov 2025 in “Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10” Cheap printer and cheap pages
“the price per page looked to be cheaper overall (as was the printer itself)”
Comment from 6 Oct 2026 in “Ask HN: Do you still own a printer?” “is smaller than a microwave and super cheap”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Reparaible and open source paper printer” Compact and thoughtful design
“is smaller than a microwave and super cheap”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Reparaible and open source paper printer” “It's a very thoughtful design element.”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “You Don't Love Systemd Timers Enough”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Ink runs out and drains fast
“wouldn't print black and white if one of the color cartridges was empty”
Comment from 29 Oct 2026 in “Getting debug access on a Brother printer over Telnet” “It will sneakily drain the ink cleaning the print head at midnight.”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Ask HN: What home printer do you use/recommend?” “every time I needed to print, the printer was out of ink”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Reparaible and open source paper printer”
Other printers people recommend
The four most recommended other printers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brother laser printer | 56 | 21 | 73% | 12 | 10 yrs17 owners | Approved |
| OpenPrinter | 14 | 14 | 50% | 4 | — | — |
| HP LaserJet | 10 | 6 | 63% | 7 | 25 yrs8 owners | — |
| Epson EcoTank printer | 10 | 7 | 59% | 7 | 4.5 yrs4 owners | — |
| Brother inkjet printerThis page | 6 | 3 | 67% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“wouldn't print black and white if one of the color cartridges was empty”
“I vastly prefer my Brother inkjet”
“the price per page looked to be cheaper overall (as was the printer itself)”
“is smaller than a microwave and super cheap”
“every time I needed to print, the printer was out of ink”
“It will sneakily drain the ink cleaning the print head at midnight.”
“It's a very thoughtful design element.”
“Linux, Mac, Android, iPhone, all print with zero effort.”
“my Brother printer just works too”
“I have a Brother printer (inkjet) and it literally just works.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.