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Fault dogs NZ printer owners
New Zealand owners of Brother inkjet printers are the latest to be bitten in a worldwide problem with a faulty component.
“Error
41” is the codename for the problem that has been dogging Brother
printers around the globe.That is the message that pops up on the
printer’s screen when there is a failure of the print head – a device
that sprays droplets of ink from the print cartridge onto paper
sheets.A Google search on “Brother error 41” reveals blog strands,
involving hundreds of people, devoted to the problem, how to fix it,
and how Brother is handling it.A Christchurch technician alerted The
Press to the problem with Brother inkjet printers and multifunction
centres, believing the public should be warned.His company had been
hearing disgruntled customers complain of “error 41″ and twigged they
were not alone.”We noticed it wasn’t an isolated incident. It was
happening in other places in New Zealand, as well as around the world,”
he said.”The print heads should have been recalled years ago.”For
customers outside their warranty, a new print head costs about $170
plus labour – not a viable option in the case of Brother’s cheaper
inkjet printers worth $99.One blogsite for people trying to fix their
printers, has frustrated and abusive “error 41” messages posted from
Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain.The problem
is so widespread that Brother has had to extend its warranty on the
print heads from one to two years.But that is too late for some New
Zealand customers who have given up hope.They have listed their
printers on Trade Me for $1, pointing out “error 41” or “needs new
print head”.Brother machines rated poorly in a Consumer magazine survey
of 9000 subscribers who had bought new printers since 2003, published
in June.Brother inkjet printers were the least reliable of the five
brands in its survey, including Hewlett Packard (HP), Canon and Epson.About 10% of Brothers had to be repaired.(THIS IS A LIE….MORE LIKE 60%)
Michael
Smith, marketing manager for Brother International (NZ), said the rate
of “error 41″ was unacceptably high in a series of machines launched
five years ago.Models included the Fax1820C, MFC3100C, MFC3220C,
MFC3420C, MFC3820CN, MFC5100C, and MFC5200C.”It is a serious error
because the machine cannot produce a printout and it is inconvenient to
the user because only suitably qualified technicians can replace the
print head,” Smith said.Brother had moved by extending its warranty on
the print heads. “Some units that have been repaired are in excess of
five years old, even though the print head in any printer will
eventually fail due to normal wear and tear,” Smith said.In his
estimate, only about 2% of affected models were displaying the
problem.”This is an industry-wide problem and not just confined to
Brother,” he said.ME41 was a standard code for an image or media error
on any machine, not just Brother’s.Brother could not guarantee the
performance of its machines if third-party, or ink other than
Brother’s, was used.With improvements in design and manufacturing
processes, the latest models did not display error 41 to the same
extent as the old ones, Smith said”It is a problem that is behind us.”Several
technicians who spoke to The Press believed the defect should have been
addressed years ago.One with 30 years experience stopped selling
Brother inkjets two years ago, unless one is specifically ordered.”The
error 41 message is a manufacturing defect that Brother should have
sorted out right at the beginning,” he said.He had seen some print
heads fail after only a month and many after 13 months.
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