I have two Brother laser printers: one at home, and one in the hangar office.

Great printers, but I have one problem. The vertical position of the printed image is not the same for both printers. One is about 5mm (almost 1/4") higher than the other.

This is not a big problem, except when printing a form that requires close alignment. I can get it perfect, or very close, on either printer, but then when I print the same image on the other printer, the vertical position is off by that 1/4" or so.

I spent some time with Brother tech support. They apparently did not understand the problem. They gave me instructions on how to size the image on the printed page. I tried to explain that my problem is not the size, it is the vertical position, but I was not getting through to "Peggy."

I discussed this with the developer of one of the programs that is affected by this problem. He said that he uses HP printers, and they have the ability to fine tune the vertical position.

Does anybody here know of a way to do this with Brother?

On my HL-5370DW (network connected) it has a configuration web interface that lets me change X and Y offset. Check if there's a similar option for yours.

Bob --

That sounds like just what I need, but I do not see any option to do this.

Where did you find it? Can you post or email me a screen shot?

What model is your printer?

On mine it's just http://<local printer ip> to get to the configuration page.

quote:

Originally posted by bobtheelf:

What model is your printer?

On mine it's just http://<local printer ip> to get to the configuration page.

Model at home is MFC-L2705DW.

I can get to the web interface, no problem. I can not find anything that lets me adjust the X & Y offset.

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Model at hangar office is DCP-L2520DW. I might be there later today, I will check the configuration web page on that one.

The software that is showing the problem is a check printing app. Position of the MICR line at the bottom of the check (the OCR line that shows the bank's routing number and my account number) is the problem. It needs to be at a specified position on the check. The check app lets me position it, but when it is correct for one printer, it is off by almost 1/4" on the other printer, way out of tolerance limits. I can then use the app's position adjustment on whichever printer is out of spec to fix it, but then it goes bad on the other printer.

I have discussed this with the developer of the check printing software (Check Builder Pro), and there is no provision for handling this type of situation within his app. He had two suggestions:

1. Fine tune the X,Y, position via printer driver, much as bobtheelf suggests. I can not find this feature in the printer driver for this model, and Brother was not able to help.
   
   
2. Keep two separate data files for the check printing app, one for each printer. The problem with this is that the data file keeps all of the "boiler plate" information for the check including the check number for the next check to be printed. I need to maintain the check numbers in sequence, no matter which printer I use. If I had to keep two separate data files (one for each printer) for the same account, I would need to jump through some hoops to keep the sequence in order. Doable, with a small third file separate from the check printing app, but now I have three separate files to deal with for one piece of data, very bad practice, and easy to screw this up. Not good. The proper answer is to find a way to fine tune the X,Y offsets for one of the printers. Either one, not necessary for both.

A search comes up with the printer driver adjustment:

https://support.brother.com/g/...aqid=faq00003060_001

I downloaded the service manual for the model you have at home and it appears there's a way to enter maintenance mode and set the X and Y offset that way. I have to go to work, but when I get home this evening I'll dig through it and see if I can put together the steps.

In the meantime, it shows several different screen/button configurations for your printer. Is there any way you could post a photo or a description of the screen and button layout for the one at home?

If you plug and play and let Windows install the drivers instead of manually installing the drivers you don't get the same options.

Could it be that the default paper-size is set wrong?

quote:

Originally posted by ridgerat:

Could it be that the default paper-size is set wrong?

No, that's not it.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:

If you plug and play and let Windows install the drivers instead of manually installing the drivers you don't get the same options.

Mac, not Windows.

Brother drivers are excellent on OS X.

If you have the version with a keypad:

To enter maintenance mode, when the printer is "Ready", press Menu once, Start once, then the Up Arrow four times.

Press the up or down arrow until you see "MAINTENANCE 43", then hit OK. "Manual Feed" will be displayed. Press the up or down arrow until you get to the setting that says "P-Pos Y-Offset", then hit OK. Set the value (from -500 to +500 on a scale of 1/300 DPI - so 300 would move it 1 inch).

Press the "Stop" key to return to the main maintenance mode menu. Press the up or down arrow until you see "MAINTENANCE 99" on the screen and press OK. That will exit maintenance mode.

If you have the version with the touchscreen LCD:

With the printer in the "Ready" state, press and hold the "Home" key for 5 seconds. A screen showing the serial # and ROM version will show, along with two blank fields below.

Press and hold the blank field at the bottom for two seconds. A number pad will show.

Press *, 2, 8, 6, 4 in that order. MAINTENANCE will show at the top. Use the number pad to select the maintenance functions above - 4, 3 for the offset, 9, 9 for quitting maintenance mode.

quote:

To enter maintenance mode . . .

Thanks bob, I'll give it a try and report back.

Sound like it is leaving room for a header. I've used Brother laser printers exclusively since 2000.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodman:

Sound like it is leaving room for a header. I've used Brother laser printers exclusively since 2000.

Why would one Brother laser printer do this, and the other not do it?

Because of the way it was originally configured, maybe through Printer Utility, or Printer Driver, when it was linked into the network.

Have you ever bought a shirt online and unwittingly found yourself on their email solicitation list? It would have been like that, someone breezed past the option.

For instance, if Login User Name was selected to be printed in a header or footer, and there was no data to print, the space would appear blank.

Header-Footer Print: When this feature is enabled, it will print the date and time on your document from your computer's system clock and the PC login user name or the text you entered. By clicking Settings, you can customize the information.

ID Print: If you select Login User Name, your PC login user name will print. If you select Custom and enter the text in the Custom edit box, the text you entered will print.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

To enter maintenance mode . . .

Thanks bob, I'll give it a try and report back.

Any update?

quote:

Originally posted by bobtheelf:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

To enter maintenance mode . . .

Thanks bob, I'll give it a try and report back.

Any update?

Not yet.

I have been putting out some other fires.

I hope to have time to try this tomorrow.