SKU:

CS-Brother-OEM-DR420-BK

Printer Brand:

Brother

OEM Number:

DR420

Ink Color:

Black

Page Yield:

12,000 Pages

Printer Type:

Drum Unit

Condition:

New

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a toner cartridge?

No — and that distinction is the whole point of the DR420. This is the drum unit: the photosensitive cylinder that transfers the image onto the page. Toner cartridges (the TN420 standard-yield and the TN450 high-yield) click into this drum, and the drum outlives several of them. The DR420 is rated at 12,000 pages, which in practice means roughly four to five TN450 cartridges — or around ten TN420s — pass through one drum before it needs replacing. If your printer is asking for toner, this is not the part; if it is asking for a drum, no toner cartridge will clear the message.

How do I know the drum — not the toner — is what my printer needs?

Two tells. First, the message: machines in this family say so directly, with a Replace Drum or drum-life warning on the display or status monitor. Second, the print itself: a worn drum leaves repeating marks or spots at regular intervals down the page, ghost images of earlier content, or a grey background haze that a fresh toner cartridge does not cure. Plain fading is usually toner. If you have already fitted a new TN450 and the same evenly-spaced marks persist, the drum is your answer — that is exactly the situation this unit exists for.

What does the DR420 cost per page, honestly?

At $140.33 against a $196.46 list price — $56.13 under list — spread across its 12,000-page rated life, the drum adds a little over a cent a page to your running costs. It feels like a big outlay because it lands in one hit every few years rather than dribbling out cartridge by cartridge, but averaged over its life it is one of the cheapest components in the machine. Buying the genuine unit matters here more than anywhere: the drum surface is the precision part, and a scored or poorly coated aftermarket drum shows its flaws on every single page it prints.

Which printers take the DR420 drum unit?

The DR420 serves the HL-2130, HL-2132, HL-2220, HL-2230, HL-2240, HL-2240D, HL-2242D, HL-2250DN, HL-2270DW, HL-2275DW and HL-2280DW; the DCP-7060D and DCP-7065DN; the MFC-7240, MFC-7360N, MFC-7365DN, MFC-7460DN and MFC-7860DW; and the IntelliFax 2840 and 2940. That is twenty models on one drum platform, which is why these machines are so cheap to keep running. Your existing TN420 or TN450 cartridge transfers into the new drum — you are replacing the frame it sits in, not the toner supply, unless the cartridge happens to be empty at the same time.

What should I do when fitting the new drum?

Three habits protect the new unit. Handle it by its edges and keep the green drum surface away from fingers and bright light — the coating is light-sensitive and a fingerprint will print on every page. Transfer your toner cartridge into the new drum, slide the corona-wire cleaning tab back and forth as the manual describes, and once the machine is running, reset the drum counter through the printer's menu: skip that step and the printer will keep reporting a dead drum it no longer has. Keep the old unit out of direct sunlight until it is recycled.

What cover do I get on a genuine drum unit?

The store's return window on genuine Brother products is 30 days, in all cases, and warranty protection is Brother's manufacturer warranty — those are the OEM terms, set out on our shipping and returns page. A drum that arrives damaged or faulty should be reported to support Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST, inside that window so it can be sorted without a manufacturer queue.

About This Genuine Brother DR420 Drum Unit

The genuine Brother DR420 drum unit — the 12,000-page imaging heart of the HL-22xx, DCP-70xx, MFC-7xxx and IntelliFax generation, priced at $140.33 against a $196.46 list. It is replaced a handful of times in a machine's life, usually after four or five TN450 toner cartridges, and a fresh genuine drum is what restores like-new print density to an ageing printer. The full genuine selection sits in the Brother range at Clever Supplies. Ships from our IL, PA, GA or CA warehouse.