Industry Trends

Brother MFC-L2750DW: An Honest Admin’s FAQ on Ink, Updates, and Random Printing Questions

Questions I Actually Get Asked About the Brother MFC-L2750DW

I'm the office administrator for a 40-person marketing firm. I handle all the print-related purchasing—toner, paper, and the occasional weird request for a custom sticker run. This machine, the Brother MFC-L2750DW, is what we've been using for the last 18 months. I've had enough conversations at the water cooler (and a few frantic Slack DMs) to know what people actually want to know.

So here are the answers to the questions I get most often, plus one I didn't expect but had to figure out.

1. Is the Brother MFC-L2750DW an 'Ink' or 'Laser' Printer, and Why Does It Matter?

It's a laser printer. Specifically, a monochrome (black-and-white) laser all-in-one. It uses a toner cartridge, not ink.

I know, the keyword "Brother ink printer" might have gotten you here. This machine is part of the Brother ink ecosystem in the broad sense (they sell the consumables for it), but it's not an inkjet. It's a laser, which means it's fast and the text doesn't smear if you get a little coffee on it. (Which happens more than I'd like to admit.)

If you really need a color inkjet, Brother has the INKvestment series, like the MFC-J1010DW. But for a high-volume B&W document machine? This laser is the one.

2. How Often Does It Need Updates, and Are They Annoying?

Good question. The Brother MFC-L2750DW does get firmware updates. I'd say I've seen maybe three or four in the last year and a half. They're not monthly, which is nice.

The annoying part (which, honestly, took me a minute to figure out): you have to download the update from the Brother Support site to a computer, then apply it via USB or network. The printer won't just pull it from the cloud automatically. Every time I see a pop-up on the management console, I groan a little, because it's a 10-minute detour I hadn't planned.

But they do fix things. One update in late 2024 addressed a Wi-Fi Direct connection bug that was causing our design team’s laptops to drop the connection mid-print. So, yes, they're a small pain, but skipping them is risky.

I don't have hard data on the number of security patches, but my sense is that if you're on a network you care about, you should check for updates every 90 days.

3. Is the Toner Expensive? (The 'Hidden' Cost)

This is the one that gets people. The machine itself is reasonably priced—I think we paid around $250. But the toner is where the margin lives.

The standard TN-760 cartridge gets you about 3,000 pages. A high-yield TN-770 gets you about 4,500 pages. On the Brother store, a TN-770 is roughly $85 (based on publicly listed prices, January 2025; verify current rates).

That works out to about 1.9 cents per page for the high-yield. That's actually pretty good for a laser in this class. But the gotcha is: if you buy the wrong one (like the starter cartridge that comes with the printer), it only has about 1,000 pages. So your first replacement comes faster than you expect, and your department budget feels that shock.

I wish I had tracked cost-per-page more carefully from the start. What I can say anecdotally is that we use the high-yield toners exclusively now. The per-page cost is about 40% lower than the standard ones, and we go through one every 6-8 weeks.

4. Can It Handle Labels and Unusual Media? (Like... Stickers?)

Yes, it can. The manual feed slot is your friend here. I've run everything from standard Avery labels to a batch of custom vinyl stickers that a department ordered for a conference giveaway.

Which brings up a question I got just last week: 'Is vinyl wrap durable?' The answer is: as a sticker on a water bottle or laptop? Yes, it's quite durable. My niece has one on her Hydro Flask that's survived the dishwasher once. But as a print job on this particular printer? It works fine for a short run, but don't run a full roll of vinyl through it—it's not a plotter. I did have a colleague once who tried to print a "Deliverance" poster (don't ask) on glossy paper through this machine, and it jammed twice before we figured out the paper was too thick for the standard tray. Use the manual feed for anything thicker than 80lb cover stock.

I've never fully understood why people buy a monochrome laser to print a movie poster (surprise, surprise, it was black and white anyway), but that's an admin's life. You get odd requests.

5. Should I Bother with the 'Ink' Part of This? (Or Is It Just for Laser People?)

If you're here because you searched 'Brother ink printer,' you might be looking at the MFC-J1010DW or another INKvestment model. The MFC-L2750DW is a laser, but learning about its maintenance is useful because the logic is similar.

The company is trying to rationalize its printer fleets, but honestly, I'm on the fence about recommending Brother inkjets for our use case. My experience with another brand's ink system was that the ink dried out in five months if we didn't use it daily. Brother's INKvestment series is supposed to be better because the ink packs are larger. I haven't tested one long-term, but if you print color presentations weekly, it's probably a good fit. If you print once a quarter? Stick with the color laser.

I don't have hard data on Brother ink longevity vs. HP or Epson, but based on our old experience with a different brand, we're laser-only now unless a specific project justifies an ink run.

6. Random Question: Did You Get a 'Disney Pin Coffee Cup Set' as a Client Gift?

Not me, but someone on the operations team mentioned a vendor sent a Disney pin coffee cup set as a promo gift last year. I mention it because it's a solid example of something you might want to apply a custom design to. You could, theoretically, print a small decal for a coffee cup with this Brother MFC-L2750DW using the manual feed and some decal paper. I haven't tried it myself, but I know a few admins who do small craft runs for team events. Just make sure you have the right adhesive paper. The printer's heat (from the fuser) can cause cheap sticker paper to peel.

And if you're printing a Deliverance poster? Use a dedicated print service. Trust me.