Before I ordered this item, I called to make sure that it was an OEM vs. generic version. I placed the order on 1/26/09 and the item was delivered on 1/31/09. Although I haven't opened the package, the box indicates that it's an OEM from Brother. So, perhaps Amazon has corrected the problem.
Also, someone posted this tip for another Brother printer cartridge, but it works on the TN360 as well.
The Toner Life LED flips on, requiring you to replace the cartridge, even when there's still toner left in the cartridge. The machine detects end of life by shining a light through from one side to the other.
To circumvent the detection mechanism, remove the cartridge and put a piece of masking tape over the clear opening/circle on the right side of the toner cartridge, and then pop the cartridge back in. Eventually, you'll start seeing streaks, and then you'll know that the cartridge is truly empty. Brother TN360 High Yield Black Toner Cartridge
I spent so much $$$ on buying these toner cartridges but I just found a neat trick to extending your toner life. The printer is great but the toner light comes on way too early.
You can fix the problem by covering up the "sensor" on the toner cartridge with some white paper labels. There are lots of "how to" videos on youtube that you can find or you can go to [...] (that's the best one I found).
Please rate this review so it stays at the top and more people can see it.
At a reasonable price, this high-yield toner cartridge slips in nicely and makes enough copies to keep this paper-based home office content. As a writer, I need to do a lot of printing - I print out research, drafts, manuscripts, press releases, emails and documents all day long. I need a dependable cartridge and buy this one every time.
A good hint, if you do a tremendous amount of print jobs at home, is to re-set your default printer instructions for the lowest-quality and "toner-saving" settings. The pages come out lovely for my own use (not too light at all), and the cartridge lasts longer.
It's worth it for the price to get the high-yield cartridge, BTW. You are really paying much more for the plastic housing than any actual ink.
Plus, as each one of these large toner containers has a large carbon footprint as it's produced, and creates toxic waste in landfills when empty, getting as much use out of one single, efficient product is better for the environment than any of the lower-yield versions.
I've been using product for a few weeks now as I write this. It has performed flawlessly.
Here is a tip if your current printer/cartridge is reporting out of toner condition. Remove cartridge. On right side look for a small window (may be circular). Cover window with a little masking tape. Re-install cartridge. Toner error will disappear. Now you can use your old cartridge awhile longer while waiting for your new one to arrive.
Edit: 5 mos. Later: Still working perfectly except when I select "Toner Saver" mode. Then I'll see a little excess toner appearing like dust in a small area or two on the printed page. Of course I only use that mode when I'm printing something that I know I'm going to toss out after I read it.
I still recommend it.
While other "High Yield" toners by Brother such as TN570 and TN580 print more than 6,000 pages, TN360's capacity is only 2,600 pages. Each page will cost you 2 cents while TN570 and TN 580 less than 1 cent, excluding paper and depreciation of the printer. The similar calculation can be applied when you use recycle toners. The prices of recycled TN 570 and TN 580 are similar to those of recycled TN360, yet the former have twice as large printing capacity as the latter.
While HL-2140 and HL-2170w (printers using TN360) are cheap, the total running cost is not as low as they appear. If you print a large number of pages, I would recommend Brother HL-5370DW.
I have the MFC 7840W and love it. The toner thing was getting on my nerves, since it went low too early and as others have mentioned, you can't "shake and go" for longer life. Using the tip to cover the window on the right side of the cartridge with opaque tape, I have been through over 3 reams of paper and have put the fourth ream in earlier today, on that same cartridge that was at "end of toner life". I keep waiting for it to start fading, but it's still printing and printing and printing....
Was happy to get the OEM Brother cartridge after seeing that some people got the generic.
Also, the tape trick indicated in another review is a great tip. I think I have printed 300 pages + since the cartridge 'ran out' ... and it's still going.
I ordered a new toner cartridge to replace the 'starter' cartridge that came with the printer - when the toner light started blinking. A couple of weeks after the new cartridge arrived, the toner light went 'solid' and would not print. So, I used the 'tape over the port' trick to fool it into continuing to print. That worked and the starter cartridge is still printing fine - no streaking or significant fading yet. I still have it set on draft print mode for routine printing. Oh, I forgot to mention that I applied the tape in March of this year!! I'm writing this in early October. I don't print 'tons' but I'm sure I've printed another 1000 pages or so since the cartridge was showing empty. This is my 3rd similar Brother printer, (wired, then ethernet, then wireless) and all have worked fine as have the replacement toner cartridges.'
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