Brother Printer-Scanners -- making them work with PCLOS Debian

My current printer/scanner is a Brother, as was my previous one. These printers do work in Linux, but you need to download drivers from the manufacturer's site. If you just install CUPS, which also forces avahi to install, and then you install and run Print Settings (known as system-config-printer in synaptic), you will see an available printer, which has one problem: it doesn't work. So don't do any of this yet, and go to Brother's site and download a script which installs your printer/scanner.

The Brother site makes you put in the model number of your printer, and then say whether your system is rpm or deb based. And then you download the same script which covers hundreds of printers and works on both deb and rpm systems!

So save time and go straight to this page: https://www.brother.co.uk/support/mfc-j5335dw/downloads

There's a small scrolling frame in the middle of the page, in that frame select OS Family (linux) and OS Version (linux deb) and click OK. Click where it says "Driver Install Tool". After agreeing to the EULA etc, you will download a gz file. Find/make a suitable folder to decompress the script to. But don't run it yet.

Now run PCLOS Debian's "Printer Installer" app, either from the office menu or the control center (where it's called Printer Configuration). Select the third tab (Printer Options). Click OK. To the question "Would you like to use the manufacturer's driver instead?" click Yes. You get a message that the system is setup to use the manutacturer's driver. In order to prevent the non-working printer being created, check Disable_dbus. Then click OK.

Go to the folder where you put your Brother Printer installation script. Right click on some space away from the icons, and select Open in Terminal. In the terminal, type in "su" followed by the root password. Then type ./linux-brprinter-installer-2.2.4-1 (or a different version number at the end if you get a later one) and ENTER.

You will be asked a number of questions, and at the end of the script, your printer, and your scanner if you have one, will be installed and working.



It's late and I'm getting tired now, but over the next few days I will post how to enable the buttons in the touchscreen to scan documents directly into your computer.

Before I show how to make the scanner buttons work, I am going to post a list of printers that the above script will work on, just to show that my link in the last post will get you the correct download. Before I do that, I will tell you why I use Brother printers:

1. Really good Linux drivers supplied.
2. Although the printer isn't cheap (some are loss leaders aimed at forcing you to buy expensive ink), the printer will work well with 3rd party ink. You do get a little icon on the display warning you that the ink isn't genuine, but it does work and as long as the ink is OK, you won't suffer any ill effects. In Britain, there is a firm called Stinky Ink which is cheap and the ink is good quality and hasn't clogged the heads or let me down yet.
3. My first printer from Brother worked for 8 years, and would probably still be working now had I had the patience to get inside and clean out the results of it sharing a home with cats, or had covered it properly in the first place. It was mostly OK and you could still get a usable print from it in "Best" mode. The new one is covered better!

OK list of Printer-Scanners supported by the script:

DCP-110C, DCP-115C, DCP-117C, DCP-120C, DCP-130C, DCP-135C, DCP-145C, DCP-150C, DCP-1510, DCP-1512, DCP-1610W, DCP-1612W, DCP-163C, DCP-165C, DCP-167C, DCP-195C, DCP-197C, DCP-310CN, DCP-315CN, DCP-330C, DCP-340CW, DCP-350C, DCP-357C, DCP-365CN, DCP-375CW, DCP-377CW, DCP-385C, DCP-395CN, DCP-540CN, DCP-560CN, DCP-585CW, DCP-6690CW, DCP-7010, DCP-7025, DCP-7030, DCP-7045N, DCP-7055, DCP-7055W, DCP-7060D, DCP-7065DN, DCP-7070DW, DCP-750CW, DCP-770CW, DCP-8020, DCP-8025D, DCP-8040, DCP-8045D, DCP-8060, DCP-8065DN, DCP-8070D, DCP-8085DN, DCP-8110DN, DCP-8250DN, DCP-9010CN, DCP-9015CDW, DCP-9020CDW, DCP-9040CN, DCP-9042CDN, DCP-9045CDN, DCP-9055CDN, DCP-9270CDN, DCP-J1050DW, DCP-J1100DW, DCP-J1140DW, DCP-J1200W(E), DCP-J125, DCP-J132W, DCP-J140W, DCP-J152W, DCP-J1800DW, DCP-J315W, DCP-J4110DW, DCP-J4120DW, DCP-J515W, DCP-J525W, DCP-J552DW, DCP-J562DW, DCP-J572DW, DCP-J715W, DCP-J725DW, DCP-J752DW, DCP-J772DW, DCP-J774DW, DCP-J785DW, DCP-J925DW, DCP-L2500D, DCP-L2510D, DCP-L2520DW, DCP-L2530DW, DCP-L2540DN, DCP-L2620DW, DCP-L2627DW(XL), DCP-L2627DWE, DCP-L2660DW, DCP-L2665DW, DCP-L3510CDW, DCP-L3515CDW, DCP-L3520CDW(E), DCP-L3527CDW, DCP-L3550CDW, DCP-L3555CDW, DCP-L3560CDW, DCP-L5500DN, DCP-L5510DW, DCP-L6600DW, DCP-L8400CDN, DCP-L8410CDW, DCP-L8450CDW, FAX-1820C, FAX-1840C, FAX-1940CN, FAX-2440C, FAX-2920, FAX-2940, HL-1030, HL-1110, HL-1112, HL-1210W, HL-1212W, HL-1230, HL-1240, HL-1250, HL-1270N, HL-1430, HL-1440, HL-1450, HL-1470N, HL-1650, HL-1670N, HL-1850, HL-1870N, HL-2030, HL-2035, HL-2040, HL-2070N, HL-2130, HL-2132, HL-2135W, HL-2140, HL-2150N, HL-2170W, HL-2240, HL-2240D, HL-2250DN, HL-2270DW, HL-2460, HL-2600CN, HL-2700CN, HL-3040CN, HL-3070CW, HL-3140CW, HL-3150CDW, HL-3170CDW, HL-3260N, HL-3450CN, HL-4140CN, HL-4150CDN, HL-4570CDW, HL-4570CDWT, HL-5030, HL-5040, HL-5050, HL-5070N, HL-5130, HL-5140, HL-5150D, HL-5170DN, HL-5240, HL-5250DN, HL-5270DN, HL-5280DW, HL-5340D, HL-5350DN, HL-5350DNLT, HL-5370DW, HL-5380DN, HL-5440D, HL-5450DN, HL-5450DNT, HL-5470DW, HL-6050DN, HL-6180DW, HL-6180DWT, HL-7050N, HL-8050N, HL-J6000DW, HL-J6100DW, HL-L2300D, HL-L2310D, HL-L2340DW, HL-L2350DW, HL-L2360DN, HL-L2365DW, HL-L2370DN, HL-L2375DW, HL-L2400DW, HL-L2400DWE, HL-L2445DW, HL-L2447DW, HL-L3210CW, HL-L3215CW, HL-L3220CW(E), HL-L3230CDW, HL-L3240CDW, HL-L3270CDW, HL-L5000D, HL-L5050DN, HL-L5100DN(T), HL-L5200DW(T), HL-L5210DN, HL-L5210DW, HL-L5215DN, HL-L6210DW, HL-L6250DN, HL-L6300DW(T), HL-L6400DW(T), HL-L6410DN, HL-L6415DN, HL-L6450DW , HL-L8230CDW, HL-L8240CDW, HL-L8250CDN, HL-L8260CDW, HL-L8350CDW, HL-L8360CDW, HL-L9200CDWT, HL-L9310CDW(T), HL-L9430CDN, HL-L9470CDN, HL-S7000DN, MFC-1810, MFC-1910W, MFC-210C, MFC-215C, MFC-235C, MFC-240C, MFC-250C, MFC-255CW, MFC-260C, MFC-290C, MFC-295CN, MFC-297C, MFC-3220C, MFC-3240C, MFC-3320CN, MFC-3340CN, MFC-3360C, MFC-3420C, MFC-3820CN, MFC-410CN, MFC-425CN, MFC-440CN, MFC-465CN, MFC-490CW, MFC-5440CN, MFC-5460CN, MFC-5490CN, MFC-5840CN, MFC-5860CN, MFC-5890CN, MFC-5895CW, MFC-620CN, MFC-640CW, MFC-6490CW, MFC-660CN, MFC-680CN, MFC-6890CDW, MFC-7225N, MFC-7320, MFC-7360N, MFC-7420, MFC-7440N, MFC-7460DN, MFC-7820N, MFC-7840W, MFC-7860DW, MFC-790CW, MFC-795CW, MFC-820CW, MFC-8370DN, MFC-8380DN, MFC-8420, MFC-8440, MFC-845CW, MFC-8460N, MFC-8510DN, MFC-8520DN, MFC-8820D, MFC-8840D, MFC-8840DN, MFC-885CW, MFC-8860DN, MFC-8870DW, MFC-8880DN, MFC-8890DW, MFC-8950DW, MFC-8950DWT, MFC-9030, MFC-9070, MFC-9120CN, MFC-9140CDN, MFC-9160, MFC-9180, MFC-9320CW, MFC-9330CDW, MFC-9340CDW, MFC-9420CN, MFC-9440CN, MFC-9450CDN, MFC-9460CDN, MFC-9465CDN, MFC-9660, MFC-9760, MFC-9840CDW, MFC-9880, MFC-990CW, MFC-9970CDW, MFC-EX670, MFC-EX910, MFC-J1010DW, MFC-J1300DW, MFC-J265W, MFC-J410, MFC-J415W, MFC-J430W, MFC-J4335DW(XL), MFC-J4340DW(E), MFC-J4410DW, MFC-J4420DW, MFC-J4510DW, MFC-J4535DWXL, MFC-J4540DW(XL), MFC-J4610DW, MFC-J4620DW, MFC-J4625DW, MFC-J470DW, MFC-J4710DW, MFC-J480DW, MFC-J491DW, MFC-J497DW, MFC-J5320DW, MFC-J5330DW, MFC-J5335DW, MFC-J5340DW(E), MFC-J5345DW, MFC-J5620DW, MFC-J5625DW, MFC-J5720DW, MFC-J5730DW, MFC-J5740DW, MFC-J5910DW, MFC-J5920DW, MFC-J5930DW, MFC-J5945DW, MFC-J5955DW, MFC-J615W, MFC-J625DW, MFC-J650DW, MFC-J6510DW, MFC-J6520DW, MFC-J6530DW, MFC-J6540DW(E), MFC-J6710DW, MFC-J6720DW, MFC-J680DW, MFC-J6910DW, MFC-J6920DW, MFC-J6925DW, MFC-J6930DW, MFC-J6935DW, MFC-J6940DW, MFC-J6945DW, MFC-J6947DW, MFC-J6955DW, MFC-J6957DW, MFC-J6959DW, MFC-J825DW, MFC-J870DW, MFC-J880DW, MFC-J890DW, MFC-J895DW, MFC-J985DW, MFC-L2700DN, MFC-L2700DW, MFC-L2710DN, MFC-L2710DW, MFC-L2720DW, MFC-L2730DW, MFC-L2740DW, MFC-L2750DW, MFC-L2800DW, MFC-L2827DW(XL), MFC-L2835DW, MFC-L2860DW, MFC-L2860DWE, MFC-L3710CW, MFC-L3730CDN, MFC-L3740CDW(E), MFC-L3750CDW, MFC-L3760CDW, MFC-L3770CDW, MFC-L5700DN, MFC-L5710DN, MFC-L5710DW, MFC-L5715DN, MFC-L5750DW, MFC-L6710DW, MFC-L6800DW(T), MFC-L6900DW(T), MFC-L6910DN, MFC-L6915DN, MFC-L6950DW, MFC-L6970DW, MFC-L8340CDW, MFC-L8390CDW, MFC-L8650CDW, MFC-L8690CDW, MFC-L8850CDW, MFC-L8900CDW, MFC-L9550CDW(T), MFC-L9570CDW(T), MFC-L9577CDW, MFC-L9630CDN, MFC-L9635CDN, MFC-L9670CDN

I made a tutorial from Brother DCP-7055 year 2015. Not sure if it still is working?

https://puolanka.info/goto/how-to-install-brother-dcp-7055/

The first post here will get you a working printer-scanner, but if you want to make use of your scanner buttons on the touchscreen at the front, you have some more work to do.

The scanner key workings are kept in a folder called /opt/brother/scanner/brscan-skey/. You will see four files in the folder with the extension ".config". Look at these files and ensure that the paper size is correct. In the UK it should be A4. I also prefer scans to work at 300dpi rather than 100dpi. It's easier to reduce the size of a scan than it is to increase it! So make that change in all 4 config files.

There is another folder called scripts. Open that, and there are for scripts. I'll be honest, I've never got "scantoemail" working, so I won't bother with that. scantoimage is meant to open the scan up in a program. If you look down the script, there is a list of possible programs that the image will be opened with. You can hash out that entire section of the script, and just add a line that says:

Code:


APL=(your favourite image program)


In my case, I've made it APL=xnview. That's good enough for cropping and small changes. If you want to do some real stuff on the scanned image, use APL=gimp.

There's another script called scantofile. This defaults to TIF, which produces HUGE files. So, at the end, I've added:

Code:



NEWOUTPUT=`basename $OUTPUT .tif`.png

convert $OUTPUT ~/brscan/$NEWOUTPUT
rm -f $OUTPUT

echo "$NEWOUTPUT" is created.


The final line here replaces one that says "$OUTPUT" is created. It converts the TIF file to a PNG file and, without any loss of detail, immediately cuts the file size in half, and makes it compatible with more programs.

The other script is called scantoocr. At the end of the file, are a number of lines that are hashed out. These are to be unhashed if you install an OCR package called cunieform. Just delete them! My preference is for tesseract. So the lines I have at the end are simply:

Code:


tesseract "$OUTPUT" "$OUTPUT"
rm "$OUTPUT"


What will happen is that the text will have the same filename as the converted file, but also have an extra extension, .txt, added at the end. If you want to keep the original image file, just remove the line starting with rm

tesseract is a powerful command-line program that gets text from an image. Before being turned over into the public domain, it was originally written by Hewlett Packard, and then owned by Google for a while. It now has a Free Software license, GPL or similar, and I found, by trial and error, that tesseract works best when the text image is scanned at 300dpi. Once you have tesseract installed, if you go to their web site, they suggest a number of GUI front ends that will make use of it to carry out a number of tasks involving converting images to text.

FINALLY (phew!) in order to make this all work, you need to add the following command to your startup programs as each user logs in:

Code:


/opt/brother/scanner/brscan-skey/brscan-skey


That varies between desktops, so you'll have to work that one out for yourself.

Anyway I hope this has been helpful!

nobody wrote:I made a tutorial from Brother DCP-7055 year 2015. Not sure if it still is working?

https://puolanka.info/goto/how-to-install-brother-dcp-7055/

Nowadays there's a script, as I mentioned above. And I've also covered a number of tweaks to get the touchscreen buttons working.