The Feature Fax at the Top of the Range

If the FAX-2840 is the dependable fax machine, the IntelliFax-2940 is the one Brother loaded for offices that still run on fax: a 33.6K bps modem sending a page in about 2.5 seconds, a 30-page automatic document feeder for multi-page transmissions, fax broadcasting and forwarding, 200 speed-dial and 22 one-touch locations, and memory security that holds protected documents behind a password. Its fax memory holds about 500 pages, and a USB connection lets it moonlight as a laser printer at up to 24 pages per minute.

One generous detail deserves mention up front: unlike most of its family, the FAX-2940 shipped with a full standard-yield cartridge — the complete 1,200-page TN420 — rather than a small starter fill. Even so, a machine built to broadcast faxes to dozens of recipients and print everything the phone line delivers will work through cartridges steadily, and its supply choices should reflect its workload.

Costs for a Hard-Working Fax Line

Supply	Rated yield	Our compatible price*	Cost per page
TN420	~1,200 pages	$23.59	~2.0¢
TN450	~2,600 pages	$23.59	~0.9¢
DR420 drum	~12,000 pages	$26.52	~0.2¢

*Prices read from the product pages on November 2, 2026; they can change. Yields are Brother's ratings.

With the TN420 and TN450 priced identically at $23.59 on our shelf, the high-yield cartridge is the natural fit here: about 0.9¢ per page instead of roughly 2.0¢, and a 2,600-page buffer on a machine whose incoming workload you do not control. The standard cartridge's role is limited to a fax line being decommissioned.

How to Replace the Toner Cartridge

1. Leave the FAX-2940 switched on and open the front cover. 2. Draw the drum-and-toner assembly out and rest it on a sheet of paper. 3. Press the green lock lever and lift the spent cartridge clear of the drum. 4. Give the new cartridge a gentle side-to-side rock to distribute the toner, then strip off the protective cover. 5. Click the cartridge into the drum until the lever snaps upward, and run the drum's green tab across and back to clean the corona wire, returning the tab to its mark. 6. Refit the assembly, close the cover, and the machine returns to Ready — printing any faxes held in memory as it does.

One Box That Refreshes the Whole Print Path

Every page this machine produces — fax, copy or printout — is imaged by the DR420 drum, which is rated for about 12,000 pages. Our TN450 + DR420 drum and toner set replaces the drum and the high-yield cartridge together for $34.03, saving $16.08 against the $50.11 separate total. The honest counter-case: with a healthy drum fitted, a $23.59 TN450 alone is the entire job, and buying the set early only stores a drum you do not yet need.

A Note for Offices That Broadcast

Broadcasting is this model's signature workload, and it has a supply consequence worth planning around: a single broadcast job to a long recipient list can consume a stack of confirmation and transmission reports, and the machine's own activity logs add pages nobody budgets for. None of this is a flaw — it is the cost of a paper trail — but it means a FAX-2940 in a fax-heavy practice (medical, legal and logistics offices remain the strongholds) lives closer to its cartridge's rating than its owners expect. Fitting the high-yield cartridge and checking the page counter monthly turns that from a surprise into a schedule.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the IntelliFax-2940's toner the same as the FAX-2840's? Identical — TN420, TN450 and the DR420 drum serve both fax machines and the fourteen printers and all-in-ones below. One spare cartridge can cover a mixed fleet.

Did my FAX-2940 really come with a full-size cartridge? Yes. Brother's carton contents list a standard-yield 1,200-page cartridge — the full TN420 size — rather than the roughly 700-page starter fill most of the family shipped with. Your first replacement interval is the honest benchmark.

What does memory security mean for my toner use? Nothing directly: protected faxes wait in the 500-page memory until a password releases them to print. It does mean a backlog can print all at once when released — one more reason to keep the high-yield cartridge fitted.

Can I use the feeder for copying as well as faxing? Yes, the 30-page feeder handles multi-page copying and faxing up to legal size. Copies spend toner like prints; the faxes you send spend none at your end — only received and printed pages do.

Output is streaky even with a new cartridge. What else could it be? The drum. Clean the DR420's corona wire with its green tab; if repeating marks persist, the drum itself is at the end of its roughly 12,000-page life and should be replaced.

Other Printers That Use TN420, TN450 and DR420

The FAX-2940 shares its cartridge and drum with the rest of the family:

• HL-2220
• HL-2230
• HL-2240
• HL-2240D
• HL-2270DW
• HL-2275DW
• HL-2280DW
• DCP-7060D
• DCP-7065DN
• MFC-7240
• MFC-7360N
• MFC-7365DN
• MFC-7460DN
• MFC-7860DW
• FAX-2840

Ready to order? Start from our FAX-2940 toner page, which lists every cartridge, drum and set that fits this machine.