Brother HL-2040 - driver for MacOS Big Sur

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Brother HL-2040 - driver for MacOS Big Sur

I have been trying to help a friend upgrade to Mac OS Big Sur from Mac OS Mojave. Their brother HL-2040 is working fine in Mojave, but I've contacted Brother and was notified that their printer driver for this printer is definitely 32-bit.

I have found the following thread:Using Brother HL-2040 with M1 MacBook Air - Apple Community

The original poster says "nothing to it", and labeled the issue as solved, but didn't reveal which driver they used. Maybe Apples's Generic PCL? That would certainly be simple, if it would actually work.

I've also found the following thread which mentions the possibility of using a MUCH newer Brother driver for the HL-2130 for the HL-2040 -Can we still get Mac OS 10 in a MacBook c… - Apple Community.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried the HL-2130 driver for an HL-2040. And I'm seeking any ideas and recommendations for a way to approach this, other than to recommend purchasing a new printer.

Thanks for looking.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Jun 10, 2021 9:34 PM

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Answer 1

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Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,235 points

Jun 11, 2021 1:37 AM in response to gh1852

Hi,

Yes, it may not be a bad idea* to try the HL-2130 1.5.0 Catalina printer driver (https://support.brother.com/g/b/downloadlist.aspx?c=us_ot&lang=en&prod=hl2130_all&os=10060) with an HL-2040. We have seen a number of cases where Catalina drivers for other models could be used with Brother printers under Big Sur. However, as with any experiment, things may go wrong, so make sure that you have at least three backup copies of important files (photos, etc.) before you start.

*The basis for this is that the HL-2040 and the HL-2130 use the same driver (4.5.0b) under OS X 10.10 Yosemite.

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Answer 2

gh1852 Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 13, 2021 9:53 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

Finally completed the Catalina installation, connected the printer and installed the Catalina software for the HL-2130. Version 1.5.0. Complete success for the HL-2040. We hope to move on to Big Sur in the next couple of months. I truly hope it works. Who knows how difficult Monterey will make things. Apple seems to be trying to draw a line in the sand.

Thanks for letting me know about GDI printers. Not even a concept I was aware of - live and learn. Pretty useless as a network printer, unless you want to connect it to a computer that's running 24/7!

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Answer 3

gh1852 Author

Level 1

11 points

Jun 17, 2021 9:02 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

I have just tried setting up the Brother HL-2040 in Mojave, using the 4.50b driver, but when choosing software, opting for HL-2130 CUPS. Printing performance seems perfect. Therefore, I really don't foresee any issues using the Catalina driver for an HL-2130 for this printer in Catalina.

I'll let everyone know the outcome.

Many thanks

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Answer 4

gh1852 Author

Level 1

11 points

Jul 1, 2021 7:02 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

I have now tried the Brother 1.3.0 driver in Mojave, and choosing the HL-2130 still works fine for the HL-2040. On to Catalina in the next report.

I do have one question. Is in not possible with a USB printer to set it up as Generic PCL? I own a Hewlett Packard 5 MP connected to an Ethernet network print server, and it can be easily set up as either Generic PCL or Generic PostScript. While working with the Brother HL-2040, I hoped to try Generic PCL, but Mojave didn't offer that as on option.

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Answer 5

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,235 points

Jul 2, 2021 1:16 AM in response to gh1852

Hello again,

Thank you for this report.

Regarding generic drivers, the question is whether a certain printer can handle/emulate PCL or PostScript. This is OK for an HP LaserJet 5MP. However, only GDI appears in the Brother HL-2040 specifications (https://support.brother.com/g/b/spec.aspx?c=us_ot&lang=en&prod=hl2040_all). Other languages are mentioned for an HL-2070N (https://support.brother.com/g/b/spec.aspx?c=us_ot&lang=en&prod=hl2070n_all), just as an example. Also, see https://download.brother.com/welcome/doc002089/US_Eur.pdf#G4.1127140 . Anyway, even if it were possible to use some kind of generic driver for an HL-2040 (with or without an external print server for Ethernet or Wi-Fi connected to the USB port), it is probably a better idea to stay with the special Brother drivers for quality reasons.

Add a printer on Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 6

Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,656 points

Jun 10, 2021 10:20 PM in response to gh1852

Before you upgrade to a newer OS you are supposed to check that third party apps and any devices you use with

your mac are still going to be compatible with the new OS. This is especially important if upgrading to Catalina or Big Sur

as they do not run 32bit apps including any 32bit elements like printer drivers.

The last OS the Brother printer was supported in was Mac OS X Yosemite, you have been lucky it kept on working into

macOS Mojave.

I would try the drivers for the HL-2130 it won't do any harm to install them.

If that does not work try resetting the printing system.

Reset the Mac printing system to solve a problem - Apple Support After adding the printer back in go to Default Printer and select the Brother this will force the mac

to connect to Brothers servers and download the drivers necessary if any are available.

There may not but won't do any harm to try.

Also try Gutenprint to see if they offer drivers for this printer http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net

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Answer 7

gh1852 Author

Level 1

11 points

Jun 11, 2021 5:20 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

Thanks to all. I have tried Gutenprint drivers, after resetting CUPS. I had read on Linux forums that GhostScript plus a PPD for an HL-1250 works, so I tried that . The print enters and leaves the queue, but nothing happens at the printer. Just a steady READY light. The Brother Catalina driver for the HL-2130 has not yet been tried. I have also replied to the person I referred to above who is using his HL-2040 with an M1 iMac he received very recently- he says nothing to it, but that’s all he says.

Since the printer is working fine in Mojave using the 4.50b driver , and that driver offers the HL-2130 as an option, that may be the first thing I attempt next. If it works, it ought to work in Mojave with Brother’s Mojave driver. And in Catalina with the Catalina driver.

Thanks again, and I’ll let you know the outcome.

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Answer 8

gh1852 Author

Level 1

11 points

Jun 11, 2021 5:33 AM in response to gh1852

The community member with a new Mac has an M1 MacBook Air. Regardless, he implies that he ran into no difficulties. Unfortunately for me, he has marked his issue as Solved, and is unlikely to see my reply.

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Answer 9

haklor

Level 1

8 points

Jun 11, 2021 3:15 AM in response to gh1852

supposedly you should install it with air print

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Answer 10

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,235 points

Jun 11, 2021 3:24 AM in response to haklor

Hi,

The HL-2040 is not an AirPrint printer (About AirPrint - Apple Support).

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Answer 11

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,235 points

Jun 19, 2021 1:47 AM in response to gh1852

Hello gh1852,

Thank you for the report. Looking forward to hearing about the HL-2130 printer driver version 1.5.0 test.

Jan

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Answer 12

gh1852 Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 13, 2021 12:39 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

I had no plans to attempt to use it as a network printer, but you cleared up why Generic PCL and Generic PostScript never appeared as options. Thanks again

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Answer 13

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,235 points

Aug 13, 2021 11:56 AM in response to gh1852

Glad to hear that the Catalina installation of the 1.5.0 driver was successful.

Regarding the HL-2040 and network connections, there may be other possibilities, such as using a Raspberry Pi as a print server. You could use an old PC and an earlier Ubuntu version for initial experiments with CUPS, Bonjour, and a shared USB printer. Some Linux drivers can also be found via Brother's HL-2040 and HL-2130 downloads pages.

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Brother HL-2040 - driver for MacOS Big Sur

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