Brother TN223 vs TN227, Which One Should I Buy?

TN223 and TN227 are the most popular Brother color laser toner cartridges in 2022. Brother TN223 has standard page yield. And Brother TN227 has high page yield. These two toner cartridges are for use in Brother HL-L3210CW, HL-L3230CDW, HL-L3270CDW, HL-L3290CDW, MFC-L3710CW, MFC-L3750CDW, and MFC-L3770CDW color laserjet printers. TN223 and TN227 both have the same design, same compatibility, and same print quality. So many printer users have no idea which one is more worth buying. In this blog, we will introduce the similarities and differences between them first. Then, the final part will give you some suggestions on which one to buy.

What Is Page Yield?

First of all, let’s explain what is page yield. The page yield is used to indicate the estimated number of pages that one ink or toner cartridge can print. The data is obtained from the industry-standardized printing test in accordance with the ISO 24711 standard. See how Brother page yields are measured. This ISO 24711 standard stipulates that a letter-size printout with 5% ink or toner coverage is counted as one page. So, how many pages one cartridge can approximately print is measured with this standard.

Moreover, brand manufacturers will divide cartridges into standard yield and high yield according to the amount of page yield. And there comes another question. How to name the standard yield cartridge and high yield cartridge in the same series? Brother company usually replaces the second or third digit of the standard yield cartridge model with a larger number to indicate a high yield version. Take standard yield TN630 and high yield TN660 as an example. The number 3 in TN630 is replaced with the larger number 6 in TN660.

The Similarities Between Brother TN223 VS TN227

Brother toner TN223 and Brother toner TN227 are essentially the same in design, compatibility, and print quality. So there is no doubt that they are interchangeable with each other. For these points, let’s explain them to you one by one.

Compatible with Same Printer Models

Overall, both TN223 toner and TN227 toner are intelligently designed as part of a complete printing system to work smoothly with your Brother printer. The laser printers they are compatible with include HL-L3270CDW HL-L3230CDN HL-L3210CW HL-L3230CDW HL-L3270CDW HL-L3290CDW MFC-l3710CW MFC-L3750CDW and MFC-L3770CDW printers. From this point of view, Brother TN223 and TN227 toner cartridges are interchangeable. So, that is to say, you can use these two models of printer cartridges at same time in your Brother laser printer. For example, you can use one TN227BK with three TN223C/Y/M color toner cartridges.

Same Design

Both Brother TN223 and TN227 toner cartridges include four color toner cartridges, black cyan magenta yellow. So, they also can be called TN223BK/C/Y/M and TN227BK/C/Y/M. Whether it is black toner cartridges or color toner cartridges of TN223 and TN227, all of them are identical in internal structure and appearance (size and shape). You can’t tell any difference between them in terms of the design. Therefore, from this point, TN-223 and TN-227 are also interchangeable with each other.

Same Print Quality

There is not any difference in print quality between Brother TN223 and TN227 toner cartridges. Both two models of Brother genuine toners produce superior printouts. Why? Three reasons for this will be presented below.
Firstly, the raw material used for the TN-233 toner cartridges is what is used for the TN-227 toner cartridges. For example, they use the same quality toner and developer roller. Secondly, these two models of toner cartridges are manufactured by the same intelligent engineering and masterful craft process. Finally, their printing-test requirements and standards are also consistent. Both TN223 and TN227 meet the same print requirements and standards, indicating that they are identical in print quality. So, no matter which toner cartridge you use, it will produce superior quality results that withstand the test of time for you.

The Differences Between Brother TN223 VS TN227

Enough about the similarities, now, let’s talk about some differences between these two cartridges. In fact, the biggest difference between Brother TN223BK/C/Y/M and TN227BK/C/Y/M is the page yield. And, different page yields also result in price and print cost differences.

Different Page Yields

The volume of toner powder determines the page yield of one toner cartridge. TN227 high yield toner cartridges contain more toner powder. So, TN-227 is able to print more pages than TN-223 standard yield toner cartridges.(Note: The page yield is estimated at 5% coverage in Letter/A4 size paper in accordance with the ISO 24711.)

The Page Yield Comparison of TN223 vs TN227

Let’s talk about TN223BK/C/Y/M series toner cartridges first. From the chart above, we can know that the TN223BK standard yield black toner cartridge has a yield of 1,400 pages. Each TN223C/Y/M color toner cartridge yields up to 1,300 pages. While the genuine TN227BK high yield black toner cartridge delivers 3,000 pages. The TN227C/Y/M color toner cartridges can print 2,300 pages each.

Different Weight

As mentioned above, high yield TN227BK/C/Y/M toner cartridges hold more toner powder than standard yield TN-223BK/C/Y/M toner cartridges. So, TN227 will be a little heavier than TN223. For instance, black genuine standard yield toner TN223BK weighs up to 1.367 pounds. While genuine TN227BK high yield toner has a weight of 1.46 pounds. And, there is also a difference in weight between these two yields of color toner cartridges.

Different Prices

The high yield TN227 toner is filled with more quality toner powder. So the raw material cost is higher than that of standard yield TN223 toner. This makes Brother TN227 high yield toner cartridges more expensive than Brother TN-223 standard yield toner cartridges. Let’s compare the price of Brother genuine TN223BK/C/Y/M and TN227BK/C/Y/M in the below table. Since the pricing may vary from different toner cartridge suppliers, we take the price on Brother store as an example.

The Price of OEM Cartridges: Brother TN223 VS TN227

	Black	Color(C/Y/M)	Toner Set (4 Pack)
TN-223	$60.48	$75.98 ea	$259.49 (≈$65 ea)
TN-227	$78.98	$100.98 ea	$357.89 (≈$89 ea)

From the table, we can see that the TN227BK toner cartridge is about $20 more expensive than the TN223BK toner cartridge. TN-227 single color toner cartridge is priced about $25 more than the TN-223 color cartridge. So, the Brother TN227 toner cartridge set costs $100 more than the Brother TN223 toner cartridge set.

Different Cost Per Page

Do you know what the terminology “cost per page” means? As the name suggests, cost-per-page means the cost of printing each page (Letter/A4) at 5% coverage by using the toner cartridge. Cost per page equals selling price divided by page yield (Cost Per Page = Price of Cartridge / Page yield of cartridge). The TN227 cartridge has a lower cost per page than the TN223 cartridge. Let’s compare it in the below table.

The Cost Per Page of OEM Cartridges: Brother TN223 VS TN227

	Black	Color(C/Y/M)	Toner Set (4 Pack)
TN-223	4.32 cents	5.84 cents	4.89 cents
TN-227	2.63 cents	4.39 cents	3.61 cents

From the results of the above chart, we can know that Brother TN227 cartridges cost much less on each page printed than standard yield black toner cartridge.

Brother TN223 vs TN227 – Suggestions on Which to Buy

The different capacities of ink and toner cartridges are provided to give you more options. When considering whether to choose TN223 or TN227, we suggest that printer users take usage scenarios, budget, and cost per page into consideration.

Usage Scenarios

Medium or large offices:
Large volumes of documents need to be printed in medium or large offices every day. The toner will be consumed more quickly. Therefore, we recommend you to use the TN227BK/C/Y/M series toner cartridges which contain more toner. It can reduce the frequency of toner cartridge replacement, and offer convenience for you.
Small or home office:
Conversely, if your printer is used in a small or home office, it usually only needs to print several pages per day. So, the toner will be consumed at a slow speed. At this point, the less toner-containing TN223BK/C/Y/M cartridges are more suitable for you to buy.

Budget

As mentioned above, TN227 toner cartridges are more expensive than TN223 toner cartridges. So, in case of a limited budget, we would suggest you buy the cheaper TN223 cartridges set (4 multi-pack). And, if you are only short of a certain color cartridge, you can also choose to buy one single pack.

Cost Per Page

According to the table above, we know that the cost per page of TN227BK/C/Y/M is lower than that of TN223BK/C/Y/M. Therefore, from the perspective of cost-cutting, it is more economical to buy the TN227 series toner cartridges. Buy one pack or one set? If you often need to print color texts or images, buying one set of TN227 cartridges is more affordable.

In conclusion, there is no good or bad between high capacity and standard capacity toner cartridges. Toner cartridge supplier offer options of different yields just for meeting different customers’ printing needs. Being suitable for you is the most important thing.

Compatible TN223 & TN227 to Help You Save Printing Costs

More Reasonable Price: Do you think the price of original Brother cartridges is too high? Compared to our YB compatible toner cartridges, they are indeed much more expensive. Brother genuine cartridges are three or four times more expensive than our compatible cartridges. So, using YB compatible cartridges will greatly cut your printing costs. You can see the specific prices of our compatible cartridges listed in the table below.

The Price of Compatible Cartridges (YB Toner): Brother TN223 VS TN227

	Black	Color(C/Y/M)	Toner Set (4 Pack)
TN223	$28.99	$28.99 ea	$84.95 (≈$21 ea)
TN227	$29.99	$29.99 ea	$89.99 (≈$22 ea)

OEM-like Quality: In addition to the low price, both the print quality and page yield can meet OEM standards. These toner cartridges are all filled with sufficient high-quality black or color toner powder. So, no matter which toner cartridge you use, you will be able to get high-quality printing results that satisfy you. Both TN223 and TN227 toner cartridges produce superior quality results that withstand the test of time. You can always get crisp and vivid monochrome or color prints that can last for a long time. It would be a great honor for YB if you could try to use compatible TN223 or TN227 toner cartridges.