How to Use Brother HL-2240 as a Wireless Phone Printer in 2 Minutes

On Reddit’s r/BuyItForLife, few pieces of computer technology receive as much unanimous praise as Brother monochrome laser printers. Models like the Brother HL-2240, HL-2140, HL-L2300D, and HL-L2320D are legendary:

• Toner cartridges (TN-420, TN-450, TN-630, TN-660) yield thousands of pages and cost under $15.
• Unlike inkjets, the toner powder never dries out, even if left unused for months.
• The paper feed mechanism is virtually indestructible.

There is just one glaring problem: these models only have a USB-B port. They do not have built-in Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or Apple AirPrint support.

When you need to print a boarding pass, a PDF homework assignment, or a shipping label directly from your iPhone, iPad, or Android device, you’re usually forced to transfer the file to a PC first.

With Printman, you can transform your Brother USB printer into a high-speed wireless network printer accessible from every smartphone in your house—in less than 2 minutes.

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Why You Don’t Need an AirPrint Dongle or Raspberry Pi

Many users attempt to solve this with a Raspberry Pi running CUPS or a generic USB print server adapter. However:

1. Sleep mode lockups: Older Brother GDI printers frequently go into deep sleep over USB, causing generic Linux CUPS print queues to hang until the printer is physically unplugged and replugged.
2. Duplexing conflicts: Getting automatic double-sided printing (on the D models like HL-2240D or HL-L2300D) to work properly over Linux CUPS requires custom PPD tweaking.
3. Windows drivers already work perfectly: Your Windows 10 or 11 PC already has official Brother drivers that handle power saving, status monitoring, and hardware duplexing flawlessly.

Printman runs directly on your Windows PC and bridges your native Brother spooler to any mobile browser on your local Wi-Fi.

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Step 1: Ensure Your Brother Printer is Ready on Windows

1. Connect your Brother printer to your Windows PC with a standard USB-A to USB-B cable.
2. Ensure you have installed the official Brother Full Driver & Software Package or Windows Update default driver.
3. In Windows Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, verify your printer status shows Idle or Ready.
4. Print a test page from Windows to confirm proper communication.

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Step 2: Download and Run Printman

Printman is a zero-dependency, open-source Windows binary with an embedded high-performance web server.

1. Download the Standalone ZIP (printman-win-x64-standalone.zip) from the Printman GitHub Releases.
2. Extract printman.exe to a permanent folder (such as C:\Tools\Printman).
3. Open a terminal (PowerShell or Command Prompt) in that folder and run:

./printman.exe serve --no-auth

Printman will instantly detect your Brother printer, bind to port 5000, and show your local network access URL:

  [WEB SERVER RUNNING]  Port: 5000
  [SECURITY] Open Access (No PIN required)

  Access from this machine or your phone on the same Wi-Fi:
    Local:    http://localhost:5000/
    Network:  http://192.168.1.105:5000/

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Step 3: Print from Your Phone in Any Browser

1. Connect your iPhone or Android phone to your home Wi-Fi network.
2. Open Safari, Chrome, or Firefox and go to the Network URL shown in your terminal (e.g. http://192.168.1.105:5000).
3. Bookmark the URL or tap Add to Home Screen on your phone so it behaves like a native mobile app.

Sending a Print Job:

1. Tap Select Documents and pick your file (PDF document, image, or receipt).
2. Choose your Brother HL-2240 series from the printer selection menu.
3. Choose your settings:
   • Copies: Enter the desired quantity.
   • Duplex: If your model supports hardware duplexing (HL-2240D or HL-L2300D), select Double-sided (Long Edge).
   • Paper Size: Letter or A4 (queried directly from the Brother driver).
4. Tap the blue Print button.

The file is uploaded instantly to your Windows PC, rendered using Windows native WinRT PDF rasterization, and spooled to your Brother printer. Within 3 seconds, your Brother printer spins up and outputs your pages.

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Running Printman Silently in the Background

To make sure your Brother printer is always ready for phone printing whenever your PC is turned on:

1. Press Win + R, type shell:startup, and press Enter.
2. In the Startup folder, right-click and choose New > Shortcut.
3. Target:

   "C:\Tools\Printman\printman.exe" serve --no-auth

4. Name the shortcut Printman Service and click Finish.

Now, whenever you boot your PC, Printman runs quietly in the background without needing manual intervention.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Does this work with Brother HL-L2300D and HL-L2320D?

Yes! The HL-L2300D and HL-L2320D are newer revisions of the same reliable engine. Printman automatically retrieves their hardware capabilities, including automatic 2-sided duplexing.

Will Printman wake up my Brother printer from deep sleep?

Yes. When Printman submits a print job to the Windows print spooler, the standard USB bus activity sends the wake command to the Brother firmware, just as if you printed from Microsoft Word on the PC.

Can multiple family members print from different phones at the same time?

Yes. Printman includes a serialized background channel worker. If two people tap print simultaneously, Printman queues the jobs in memory and feeds them to the Brother print spooler sequentially, eliminating paper jams or corrupted print spools.