What Ink Does the Brother MFC-J4335DW Use?

by Last Updated:

Quick answer: The Brother MFC-J4335DW uses Brother LC406 or LC406XL ink cartridges in black, cyan, magenta and yellow — four individual cartridges. The XL versions roughly double the black and more than triple each color, so they are much cheaper per page. There is no LC406XXL, whatever some listings suggest.

CastleScore · October 2026

89/100 — Highly Recommended

Brother MFC-J4335DW

Pillar (weight)ScoreWhat it is based on
Owner ratings (28%) 91 4.00★ average across 4,143 ratings at Amazon (4.0)
Expert reviews (18%) 85 PCMag 4.0/5
Cost per page (24%) 96 About 0.8¢ per page blended (black + color) with our remanufactured LC406XL (6,000 black / 5,000 color pages).
Reliability (13%) 80 Most-reported problems: paper jams with recurring 'Repeat Jam' errors
Features (12%) 90 Print, copy, scan, document feeder, auto two-sided printing, fax, Wi-Fi. No touchscreen.
Value (5%) 84 Running cost and owner satisfaction

Discontinued. Brother lists the MFC-J4335DW as discontinued. LC406 and LC406XL cartridges are still sold, and the nearest current model, the MFC-J4355DW, uses LC506.

CastleScore is Castle Ink’s own editorial rating, built from retailer star ratings, expert reviews, real cost per page and owner complaint patterns, checked October 8, 2026. It is not a customer review. See every ranked printer or how the score works.

The cartridges, pictured

Our own remanufactured cartridges, photographed in-house.

Brother MFC-J4335DW Ink Cartridges at a Glance

Cartridge Color Approx. Page Yield
Brother LC406BKS Black ~3,000 pages
Brother LC406CS / MS / YS Cyan / Magenta / Yellow ~1,500 pages each
Brother LC406XLBKS Black (high-yield) ~6,000 pages
Brother LC406XLCS / XLMS / XLYS Cyan / Magenta / Yellow (high-yield) ~5,000 pages each

Brother now lists the MFC-J4335DW as discontinued, but LC406 and LC406XL cartridges are still current. It was the entry point to Brother's INKvestment Tank line — an inkjet designed around unusually high cartridge yields and a big box of ink up front.

Standard vs. XL: Which Should You Buy?

The XL, for almost anyone. Black rises from roughly 3,000 pages to 6,000, and each color from about 1,500 to 5,000 — more than triple — for a price increase nowhere near that. On a printer built around low running costs, buying standard cartridges undoes much of the point.

These are already generous yields by inkjet standards. A 6,000-page black cartridge is in laser territory, which is exactly what Brother's INKvestment Tank design is aiming at. Run the numbers for your own volume with our Printer Ink Cost Calculator.

There Is No LC406XXL — Don't Let a Listing Fool You

You will see LC406XXL cartridges advertised. Brother does not make one. The US lineup for this printer family is LC406 and LC406XL only, and Brother's own cartridge pages confirm 6,000 pages as the top black tier.

The confusion comes from the newer LC506 family, which does include an XXL and fits different machines such as the MFC-J4355DW and MFC-J4555DW. An LC506 cartridge will not work in your printer. Check the number on the cartridge you are removing before you order.

What Actually Ships in the Box

This is where Brother's INKvestment Tank models genuinely differ from most inkjets. Rather than reduced-capacity setup cartridges, the Brother MFC-J4335DW ships with around a year of ink at Brother's assumed usage. It is a real cost advantage and worth factoring in when comparing purchase prices against an HP or Canon that includes a starter set good for a couple of hundred pages.

How to Replace the Ink in the Brother MFC-J4335DW

  1. Open the ink cartridge cover on the front of the printer.
  2. Press the lock release lever for the color you are replacing and pull the cartridge straight out.
  3. Unwrap the new cartridge and remove the orange protective packing. Do not touch the contacts.
  4. Slide the cartridge into the matching color slot in the direction of the arrow on the label, and push until it locks.
  5. Close the cover. The printer will prepare the ink system briefly.
  6. Print a test page. If quality looks off, run Print Head Cleaning from the Ink or Maintenance menu.

Replace one cartridge at a time so you do not lose track of which slot is which — the colors are labelled but the cartridges look similar.

Troubleshooting Tips

Printer will not recognize a cartridge: Remove it and reseat it firmly — these cartridges need a definite click. If it still fails, wipe the contacts with a dry cloth.

"Cannot Detect" after fitting compatibles: Power the printer fully off, leave it a minute, then power on with the cartridges installed. This clears most detection faults on the LC406 series.

Colors missing or streaky: Run Print Head Cleaning, up to three cycles. The printhead is part of the printer rather than the cartridge here, so a genuine clog is fixable — do not simply replace cartridges.

Ink counter seems wrong after a refill or reset: The printer estimates usage rather than measuring the ink, so the reading may jump after you change a cartridge. Judge by output.

Printer says a cartridge is low almost immediately: Check you did not fit a standard LC406 where you meant to fit an LC406XL — they look near-identical in the slot.

How to Check Your Ink Levels on the Brother MFC-J4335DW

The MFC-J4335DW has push buttons and a 1.8-inch color screen rather than a touchscreen; the ink-level estimate is in the control panel menus. The same figures appear in Brother iPrint&Scan on a computer and in the Brother Mobile Connect app, and the printer's built-in web interface (type its IP address into a browser) shows them too.

Treat every one of these readings as an estimate rather than a measurement. Printers calculate remaining ink by counting drops fired since the cartridge was installed, not by looking inside it, and manufacturers deliberately set the low-ink threshold early. It is routine to get a few hundred more pages after the first warning — keep printing until quality actually drops.

Which Other Printers Use the Same Ink?

The Brother LC406 / LC406XL cartridge is used across a range of machines, which keeps compatible prices low and availability high. If you run more than one of these, a single cartridge type covers them all:

  • Brother MFC-J4335DW
  • Brother MFC-J4345DW XL
  • Brother MFC-J4535DW
  • Brother MFC-J5855DW
  • Brother MFC-J5955DW
  • Brother MFC-J6555DW
  • Brother MFC-J6955DW

Always check the number printed on the cartridge you are replacing before ordering — manufacturers reuse similar-looking numbers across families. You can also look your machine up in our Find Ink by Printer directory.

What MFC-J4335DW owners ask

These are the questions that come up most for this printer on retailer Q&A pages, Brother's support pages and owner reviews, answered in our words.

Does it scan or copy both sides of a page automatically?

No. Brother lists automatic two-sided printing only, up to Letter size. Two-sided scanning, copying and faxing are listed as "No", and the 20-sheet document feeder is single-sided.

How much ink actually comes in the box?

Brother says the four included cartridges last up to a year at about 150 pages a month, 60% black and 40% color. A few buyers say their unit did not arrive with that full supply.

Can I plug it into my router with a cable?

No. There is no Ethernet port. It connects by Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Wi-Fi Direct or USB 2.0.

The screen keeps saying "Repeat Jam" even though I removed the paper. What now?

Brother's fix is to unplug the printer, look carefully for scraps, and open the rear Jam Clear Cover by squeezing its two levers. If the error stays, feed one sheet of thick Letter paper into the manual feed slot while it is unplugged, then plug it back in so the sheet pushes the debris out.

Brother says the MFC-J4335DW is discontinued. What is the closest current model?

Brother doesn't name a successor. Its similar-products list includes the MFC-J4355DW, the nearest model in the same class, but that printer takes LC506 cartridges, not LC406.

MFC-J4335DW quirks worth knowing

  • Unplug it before clearing a jam. If the print head is parked in the right corner, Brother says to close the scanner cover, plug the printer back in, reopen the cover and hold Stop/Exit until the head moves to the center.
  • Unplugging it can wipe faxes stored in memory. Brother says to transfer them to a PC or another fax machine before you pull the plug.
  • The fax modem runs at 14.4 kbps with 170 pages of memory, slower than the 33.6 kbps on Brother's bigger INKvestment models such as the MFC-J5855DW.
  • Brother gives it a 2-year warranty and rates it for up to 30,000 pages a month (250 to 2,000 recommended).

Frequently Asked Questions

What ink does the Brother MFC-J4335DW use? Brother LC406 or LC406XL cartridges in black, cyan, magenta and yellow — four individual cartridges.

Is there an LC406XXL? No. Brother's top tier for this family is LC406XL at roughly 6,000 black pages. An XXL exists only in the newer LC506 family, which fits different printers — do not buy it for this machine.

Is the XL worth it? Yes. The XL doubles black from about 3,000 to 6,000 pages and more than triples each color from about 1,500 to 5,000, at nowhere near the equivalent price increase.

Do the colors drain even when I print black text? Some, yes. The printer uses small amounts of color for maintenance cycles, and many documents contain color you have not noticed. Greyscale as a driver default helps.

Does compatible ink void the Brother MFC-J4335DW warranty? No. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act in the US, using a third-party cartridge does not by itself void a printer warranty.

Can I mix standard and XL cartridges? Yes. The printer does not care whether the four cartridges are the same capacity.

Other printers that use LC406

Brother MFC-J4535DW · Brother MFC-J5855DW · Brother MFC-J6555DW · Brother MFC-J4345DW · Brother MFC-J6955DW

More Brother ink guides: Brother MFC-J1360DW · Brother MFC-J4355DW · Brother MFC-J1170DW · find any printer

Replacing it? Our highest-rated alternatives

Sources

Ratings and prices were checked on October 8, 2026 and will change over time.

Need replacement Brother ink cartridges? Shop Brother ink cartridges at Castle Ink. Remanufactured, up to 70% less than OEM, and shipped the same day when you order by 4 PM ET.

Written and reviewed by — Founder of Castle Ink, 20+ years in the printer & imaging supplies industry.

Back to Printer Support