The Brother HL-L6200DW is a fast, reliable monochrome laser printer ideal for small offices and workgroups. Ensuring you have the latest printer drivers installed is key to getting the best performance and full feature set from this capable printer. Here we overview the current Brother HL-L6200DW driver available, what's new in recent updates, tips for installing/updating drivers, notable performance improvements, resolved issues, known problems still remaining, and an overview of key driver configuration settings.
Current Brother HL-L6200DW Driver Version
As of February 2023, the latest driver for the Brother HL-L6200DW is version 1.05, which was released on 11/30/2022. This most recent update provides optimizations for Windows 11, various bug fixes, and support for new Brother toner cartridges.
Some of the key improvements in version 1.05 over the previous 1.04 driver include:
- Enhanced Windows 11 compatibility and performance
- Fixes print failures related to spooler errors
- Addressed various crashing bugs in the driver UI
- Expanded toner cartridge support
Overall, version 1.05 brings important fixes and optimizations after the 1.04 release added new features like 2-sided borderless printing. Keeping the Brother driver updated is advised for best reliability and access to new capabilities.
Key New Printer Driver Features
The last few Brother HL-L6200DW driver updates have introduced some useful new functions and printing options:
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2-sided Borderless Printing - Added in v1.04, this allows printing borderless photos, graphics, and booklets in duplex mode.
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Improved Print Profiles - More refined print quality profiles for multi-purpose, booklets, graphics, and letter paper types.
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Enhanced Color Matching - For better color accuracy and detail in images when using non-Brother brand paper types.
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Faster First Page Out - Optimizations providing up to 30% faster first page out times from Ready mode.
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Toner Save Mode - Setting to conserve toner when printing drafts or internal documents.
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Windows 11 Compatibility - Full support for Windows 11 and driver signing for enhanced security.
Step-by-Step Driver Installation/Update
Installing or updating to the latest Brother HL-L6200DW is simple:
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Download - Get the newest driver. Under Downloads, find your specific HL-L6200DW model.
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Remove Old Versions - If updating an existing driver, use Add/Remove Programs to uninstall the previous version first.
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Run Executable - Double click the downloaded driver executable and follow the on-screen prompts.
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Print Test Page - Print a test page when setup completes to verify correct installation.
Be sure to reboot your computer after installing new drivers to ensure all changes are applied properly. Also check your printer properties to enable any new capabilities if upgrading from an older driver.
Updating to the latest 1.05 Brother driver provides noticeable speed and quality enhancements:
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Faster Print Speeds - High quality pages print up to 25% faster according to Brother internal testing.
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Quick First Page Out - A 30% improvement in time for the printer to deliver the first page from Ready mode.
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Enhanced Text Quality - Updates provide sharper, smoother text across all print modes.
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Better Color Accuracy - Expanded toner and paper profiles produce more accurate colors for photos and graphics.
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Increased Monthly Duty Cycle - Max recommended monthly print volume increased from 60,000 to 80,000 pages.
Print Speed Comparison by Driver Version
Print Mode |
v1.04 Speed |
v1.05 Speed |
Improvement |
Normal |
Up to 40ppm |
Up to 50ppm |
25% Faster |
Duplex |
Up to 18ipm |
Up to 23ipm |
27% Faster |
Resolved Issues in Latest Drivers
The Brother 1.05 driver resolves a number of notable problems reported in past releases:
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Windows 10/11 Conflicts - Addresses UI freezes and crashes on latest Windows versions.
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Spooler Error 200x Print Failures - Fixes common print failures related to spooler faults.
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Scanner Communication Errors - Resolves bug causing scanning to fail via some apps.
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Toner Recognition Problems - Fixes inaccurate toner levels and detection of non-Brother cartridges.
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Blank Pages When Printing PDFs - PDF files no longer print blank pages unexpectedly.
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Network Connectivity Drops - Stabilizes wired network connections that would periodically drop.
These improvements provide a more stable, reliable printing experience from the HL-L6200DW. We recommend updating to this version if you encountered any of the above problems.
Known Remaining Driver Issues
While the latest driver addresses many problems, some bugs are still being investigated:
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Windows Server Compatibility - Has not yet been optimized or certified for Windows Server platforms.
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Banner Printing Problems - Occasional jams and print errors when using long banner paper.
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Scanner Compression Artifacts - Lower quality JPEGs and compressed PDFs from scanner.
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Watermark Position Offset - Watermark location may be slightly off from configured placement.
Workarounds are available for some issues on Brother's support site, otherwise expect fixes for these remaining problems in future driver updates.
Key Brother Printer Driver Settings
The Brother HL-L6200DW printer drivers provide extensive options to customize and enhance printing:
Print Quality
- Normal, Fine, High Quality, High Resolution
- Toner Save Mode
- Color/Mono modes
- Color matching and saturation controls
Page Layout
- 1 or 2-sided printing
- Page order
- Multiple pages per sheet
- Booklet printing
- Page borders
- Watermarks
Advanced Settings
- Print profiles per paper type
- Enhance blacks and text
- Scaling options
- TrueType font controls
- Macro saving
Taking advantage of these driver controls helps optimize the Brother HL-L6200DW for any print job. The latest drivers expand options like duplex borderless printing not available previously.
Conclusion and Verdict
The current Brother HL-L6200DW driver provides excellent printing performance, stability, and features. Version 1.05 resolves lingering issues from past releases while improving speed, quality, and expanding platform support. While a few problems remain for niche use cases, overall this is a robust, full-featured driver recommended for most users. Updating from older drivers enables key new capabilities like fast duplex borderless printing. combined with the printer's inherently fast speeds, high monthly duty cycle, and competitive consumables costs, the HL-L6200DW with updated drivers is a cost-effective monochrome laser choice for demanding small office printing needs.