Print resolution not available for Brother printer which connects as AirPrint device to my MacBook

Question

Print resolution not available for Brother printer which connects as AirPrint device to my MacBook

My Brother MFC-L2740DW printer is capable of 600dpi. My printouts appear to be printing at 300DPI. I used to be able to use proprietary printer tools and driver provided by Brother, but now, with Sonoma, my printer uses AirPrint (Brother MFC-L2740DW series-AirPrint) instead. Gone are the options where things like print resolution are accessible. On my Windows 11 system, I can use the latest proprietary drivers which includes the Brother tools that are available through the printer properties. It works. I can choose 300DPI, 600DPI, and Super fine.

The print dialog (sometimes accessed by "Printer..." such as in Acrobat) shows some options. Closest I can imaging is going to Media & Quality, then to Quality, but it shows only one ambiguous option: "Normal".

So, if the AirPrint driver isn't providing access to DPI, am I expected to toss my perfectly good scanner/printer for another? What gives?

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 14.4

Posted on Oct 5, 2024 6:47 PM

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Answer 1

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VikingOSX

Level 10

125,400 points

Oct 6, 2024 9:26 AM in response to TualatinChris

I use a Samsung ML2955ND laser via AirPrint on Sequoia (as I did on Sonoma). The printer is capable of 1200 DPI and AirPrint doesn't give me the option to choose between 600 or 1200 DPI. However, the 64-bit Samsung Easy Printer Manager software still communicates with the printer and it does permit me to configure the preferred DPI setting, and other printer settings.

Perhaps Brother has an application compatible with Sonoma that permits this flexibility of DPI setting, despite using AirPrint.

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

123,494 points

Oct 5, 2024 7:16 PM in response to TualatinChris

Brother can make their own printer driver. Have you checked?

AirPrint has the capability to provide print Quality settings. If Brothers didn’t enable that in their AirPrint interface, you should ask them.

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Answer 3

Oct 5, 2024 9:25 PM in response to TualatinChris

Brother USA – MFC-L2740DW Support

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Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

123,494 points

Oct 6, 2024 4:34 PM in response to TualatinChris

The brother support site essentially says to use the AirPrint driver. I have the stock driver installed by Apple, but there is no download available for Sonoma.

AirPrint has nothing to do with the Image Capture Architecture (ICA). You either need an ICA driver to scan from Preview, Image Capture, or the Printers & Scanners System Settings or you need a Brother Scan App. AirPrint, as the name suggests, is for Printing.

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Answer 5

Oct 6, 2024 12:04 PM in response to Barney-15E

The brother support site essentially says to use the AirPrint driver. I have the stock driver installed by Apple, but there is no download available for Sonoma.

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Answer 6

Barney-15E

Level 10

123,494 points

Oct 7, 2024 12:48 PM in response to VikingOSX

VikingOSX wrote:

The Canon LIDE 300, 400 scanners and the Brother DS-940DW, MDS-940DW products are in the AirPrint listing as USB-connected, driverless devices for scanning. This is how my LIDE 400 is configured.

It’s still not using AirPrint to scan. It is using ICA.

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Answer 7

Oct 6, 2024 12:06 PM in response to VikingOSX

I'll check and see. If it's a default setting that's retained in the printer itself, perhaps I can set from my Windows PC? Good food for thought next time I can work on this.

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Answer 8

VikingOSX

Level 10

125,400 points

Oct 7, 2024 5:31 AM in response to Barney-15E

The Canon LIDE 300, 400 scanners and the Brother DS-940DW, MDS-940DW products are in the AirPrint listing as USB-connected, driverless devices for scanning. This is how my LIDE 400 is configured.

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