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(NOTE: crossposted here: ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1621795)

I've got a Brother MFC-8840D. Works great with Ubuntu server! Setting up a CUPS print server was pretty straightforward, and I also finally got network scanning working reliably with saned. Printing documents and Web pages works well: fonts are crisp/clear, etc.

One issue has got me completely vexed: printing raster (ie: JPG) images. They are blurry. For example, I can scan a page of black and white text at 150 or 300 dpi. The grayscale image looks perfect on my monitor. But the printed version is much blurrier than the original, regardless of the "print resolution" dpi I choose.

As a counterexample, if I use the "copy" function of the MFC-8840D, the copy looks excellent, and this function is much, much faster than if I scan then print a scan of same.

I've googled around a bunch and tried different tricks (printing a PDF with the image from evince, printing with Gimp, EOG and other applications) but I just can't print anything that looks as good as a copy made with the MFC-8840D.

Any ideas?

I'm using Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS server. I'm using the PPD file from solutions.brother.com.

Thanks, -Adam

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If you are using Eye of Gnome as your jpg viewer, then it may be smoothing the image you see. Check the EOG preferences. I found that this makes a difference in viewing text in a jpg image. – W_Whalley Sep 23 '11 at 23:08
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You're running the cups service on a different computer from the desktop, right?

I think that this is a problem with the media resolution settings, either the settings are not available for you to select or have been defined so as to increase the communication speed with the printer.

I can't find anything in the ppd that relates, so perhaps it's time to contact Brother and ask them about the issue.

http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/bsc/public_s/id/linux/en/index.html

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Good idea, I'll email support. I've had good luck with them before with scanner setup. – Adam Monsen Dec 2 '10 at 23:58
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