Before April 2014 we could parse those pages (but Brother™ deleted them):
DCP, FAX, HL, MFC printer driver download page(web archive);PT, QL, PJ, TD printer (labeler) driver download page(web archive);PC-FAX (cups and modem) driver download page(web archive).Scanner driver download page(web archive);Source code download page(web archive).
Thanks to the web archive project, they were’nt lost.
We found reading the linux-brprinter-installer [gz] tool that each model seems to have a description file like that:
[MFC-J5910DW]
PRN_CUP_RPM=mfcj5910dwcupswrapper-3.0.0-1.i386.rpm
PRN_CUP_DEB=mfcj5910dwcupswrapper-3.0.0-1.i386.deb
PRN_LPD_RPM=mfcj5910dwlpr-3.0.0-1.i386.rpm
PRN_LPD_DEB=mfcj5910dwlpr-3.0.0-1.i386.deb
PRINTERNAME=MFCJ5910DW
SCANNER_DRV=brscan4
SCANKEY_DRV=brscan-skey
But we don’t have found a way to list available models, and those description files don’t list source files.
Brother left some information on this page and sub-pages:
Some pages like this page describing command line option for some tools list some models, we don’t know if those lists are exhaustives.
There is a new interface substituting the good old web pages, it’s a form allowing user to search an already known model. It seems there is no way to list models.
When a model is known, files can’t be downloaded only replaying a complicated list of web requests simulating an human interaction.
For information, this page list the DCP-7025 model, but we can’t found this model on newer interface, the deleted pages referenced the brdcp7025lpr-2.0.1-1.i386.deb driver. The new interface can’t list models and its database is incomplete.
We don’t know how to know newer models released since April 2014.
This page lists some man pages-like, for example: option_cupsink2.pdf.
The OpenPrinting project share some knowledge.
Some GNU/Linux users have tested the drivers and have described how they, the problems they found and how they solve them.
-
Liste des Imprimantes et Multifonctions Brother (french page);
Shares some PPD tweak, or recommends driver from another model. -
Imprimantes et Multifonctions Brother (french page);
PPD tweak, brprintconf usecase. -
Ubuntu/HardwareSupportComponentsPrintersBrother;
An Ubuntu compatibility matrix.
See also other Ubuntu tutorials: 1, 2, 3.
- Arch Linux information page.
This page detailed some investigations and methods to transform official packages to another distribution (no more than detailed here).