Note: I am using Linux Mint. I do not know how well this will work for other distros; just make sure you have sane-airscan installed.
Another note: I have not been able to get printing working via this method despite my many, many attempts. Scanning works great though!
Download and install relevant printer & scanner drivers from Brother’s website; e.g. since I have an MFC-J4535DW, I would download this scanner driver.
Make sure your printer/scanner is on. In your terminal, enter the command scanimage --help and wait a few seconds. At the bottom, it should show a list of available devices, formatted something like this:
List of available devices:
escl:http://10.0.0.*:* airscan:e0:Brother *-*Take note of what’s between the http:// and the :*; this is your printer’s IP address.
Download the Windows 10 64-bit version of the iPrint&Scan setup file from the Brother website.
In Lutris, click the + in the top left, and select “Install a Windows game from an executable”. Call it whatever you want; just make sure the installer preset is set to Windows 10 64-bit. Install, install. Select the iPrint&Scan setup exe and install. Agree to the terms and conditions, install. It will attempt to install Microsoft Edge Webview2 Runtime, but fail. Don’t worry about it, just click “Close”. The setup should be successful; click “Launch” and agree to the EULA. Once it’s open, close it by pressing the X in the corner.
Abort the process in Lutris, but make sure “Remove game files” is UNCHECKED.
Now, click the + in the top left, and select “Add locally installed game”. Again, name it whatever you want; just make sure you set the runner to Wine. In “Game options”, select the three dots to choose the Executable. Navigate to the prefix you used while installing, then to drive-c/Program Files (x86)/Brother/iPrint&Scan. Select Brother iPrint&Scan.exe. Under “Wine prefix”, set it to the prefix you chose. Save.
Click “Play” under your newly created Lutris “game”, then click “+ Add Machine” in the software. It will search for a few seconds, then fail. Another screen will pop up with various options; click “Enter IP Address”. There, enter the IP address you noted down earlier, and click “Search” again. Your printer should show up—click it, select “OK”, and let the software set the machine. A web page may open; it’s just the Brother website, close it. A pop-up about privacy policy and usage data will show up in the software; if you don’t want to share your data, click “Program settings…”, then “No”, then “OK”.
You may receive an error that says printer drivers aren’t installed. You don’t need them to scan, so don’t worry about it. On an unrelated note, if you’re able to get printing working from here, please let me know how.
You should be good to go from here; scan to your heart’s delight!