MFC-J1170DW
The Brother MFC-J1170DW is the third model on Brother's official LC401 list. It takes two tiers of the same family: LC401 Standard Yield (200 pages per cartridge) and LC401XL High Yield (500 pages per cartridge), rated in accordance with ISO/IEC 24711. The Clever Supplies compatible singles and sets below — standard and XL — are chipped for this printer and carry a lifetime warranty.
| Cartridge | Type | Color | Approx. Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brother LC401BK (compatible) | Standard Yield ink cartridge | Black | 200 pages |
| Brother LC401C (compatible) | Standard Yield ink cartridge | Cyan | 200 pages |
| Brother LC401M (compatible) | Standard Yield ink cartridge | Magenta | 200 pages |
| Brother LC401Y (compatible) | Standard Yield ink cartridge | Yellow | 200 pages |
| Brother LC401 Set of 4 (compatible) | Standard Yield full cartridge set | Black / Cyan / Magenta / Yellow | 200 pages per cartridge |
| Brother LC401XLBK (compatible) | XL High Yield ink cartridge | Black | 500 pages |
| Brother LC401XLC (compatible) | XL High Yield ink cartridge | Cyan | 500 pages |
| Brother LC401XLM (compatible) | XL High Yield ink cartridge | Magenta | 500 pages |
| Brother LC401XLY (compatible) | XL High Yield ink cartridge | Yellow | 500 pages |
| Brother LC401XL Set of 4 (compatible) | XL High Yield full cartridge set | Black / Cyan / Magenta / Yellow | 500 pages per cartridge |
| Brother LC401XL Set of 9 (compatible) | XL High Yield bulk set (3 Black + 2 per color) | Black / Cyan / Magenta / Yellow | 500 pages per cartridge |
MFC-J1170DW Ink — Two Tiers, and Three Families It Is Not
Two LC401 tiers, two refill rhythms for the MFC-J1170DW. Standard Yield — LC401BK, LC401C, LC401M, LC401Y at 200 pages per cartridge — fits light use; XL High Yield — LC401XLBK, LC401XLC, LC401XLM, LC401XLY at 500 pages per cartridge, rated in accordance with ISO/IEC 24711 — fits a printer that works every day. Since the tiers mix by slot, the sensible pattern is to step up only the position you keep emptying. Brother's official list has exactly three printers for this family, and the MFC-J1170DW is one of them.
Spend on the wrong branch and the cartridge never fits at all: the LC40x generation has four look-alike branches, and for the MFC-J1170DW only LC401 is right. LC402 (A3 office), LC404 (small INKvestment) and LC406 (large INKvestment) cartridges carry different bodies and fit none of these printers. One listing trap, flagged plainly: some sellers add the MFC-J1800DW to this family; Brother's official LC401 page does not list it, so it is not claimed for the MFC-J1170DW's cartridges either.
The MFC-J1170DW is the third model on Brother’s official LC401 list; the other two are the MFC-J1010DW and the MFC-J1012DW, linked at the bottom of this page.
Which LC401 should you buy?
- Light use — Standard singles: black $10.49, cyan, magenta and yellow $8.99 each; the Set of 4 is $29.94 (200 pages per cartridge).
- Everyday use — XL singles: black, cyan, magenta and yellow at $14.99 each (500 pages per cartridge).
- Sets: the LC401XL Set of 4 ($50.94) for a full XL refresh, or the Set of 9 ($103.82, 3 black + 2 of each color) for a stocked shelf.
Chip, ink and everyday use
For the MFC-J1170DW, keep an eye on which slot flags low first — that is the cartridge to replace, and it can move between tiers on its own, since a standard color and an XL color can sit side by side with no conversion. Every cartridge here carries a new compatible chip. Brother's official “Cannot Detect Ink Volume” page names this generation and warns that with non-genuine ink the machine may or may not detect the ink volume; no official Brother statement that a firmware update blocks these cartridges was found, and none is claimed on this page. Lifetime warranty with 1-year free returns on every cartridge.