Showing posts with label multifunction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label multifunction. Show all posts

5/10/2012

Brother MFC-8840DN Network Multifunction Laser Printer Review

Brother MFC-8840DN Network Multifunction Laser Printer
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
After doing a lot of research for multi-function printers I selected this printer and love it! I wanted a laser since it's cheaper to maintain (no $$$ ink cartridges) and didn't really need color (since I have a very nice photo printer for the rare times I want to print in color). I love the duplex mode (double side printing) to save paper and it'll automatically print 'n' pages to one physical page which is also handy. I have it networked between my computer and my husband's so we both can use it. (DSL connection with separate Linksys router and DSL modem.)
All wasn't 100% rosey at first.... I connected it via my network and it worked great but due to a problem using it while connected via VPN to my employer, I decided to use the USB connection (when I was on VPN I couldn't see the printer). I got all features working fine except for the scanning (it wouldn't scan at all). After reading so many bad reviews of Brother's tech support I was leary to call them but after many reinstalls w/o luck, I finally called them. The support folks were GREAT!! I ended up calling twice; one for help uninstalling the network drivers and again for a scanning problem. The second call I was on the phone for almost an hour and they found a patch (from Scansoft) to my original VPN problem as well as a registry patch (from Microsoft) for the USB scanning problem. The fix for the uninstall problem was because I had to log in as Administrator not just be in the admin group (I'm running Win2k) so that's why I couldn't completely switch from network connection to USB (the network drivers were still partially installed). In both calls, the tech support folks were helpful, pleasant, and knowledgeable.
The only remaining problem is configuring the fax with an answering machine. The manual has a lot of info but their explanation of the features for the fax isn't all that clear. Right now I don't need the fax much so I'll wait a bit and call tech support back again later.
I love this printer, I like that it has all the features I need in one nicely packaged unit, and for a change, I have good things to say about a company's tech support. (Every company says customers are number one, but only a tiny % actually mean it.)
Other reviewers have complained about the included scanning software (Paperport 8.0 SE from Scansoft) but so far so good, it works ok for me. I haven't tried the OCR feature though but supposedly it'll let me scan pure-text documents for later edits (like in Word) as well as let me search for docments by providing words inside of the document (not just file name which isn't too useful).
I ended up purchasing this printer at PCuniverse (free shipping and no sales tax) for the same price listed here. The reviews of the MFC 8840 printers in Amazon were a great help in selecting which printer to purchase.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Brother MFC-8840DN Network Multifunction Laser Printer

The Brother MFC-8840DN multifunction laser printer offers fast printing, up to 21 ppm (draft); crisp resolution, up to 2,400 x 600 dpi; plus great copy, scan, and fax performance. A complete range of easy-to-use front-mounted controls facilitateseasy walk-up single-job use, while Ethernet connectivity accommodates workgroup sharing.
With versatile paper handling, the MFC-8840DN performs two-in-one and four-in-one copying, automatic duplexing, poster copying, and reduction/enlargement options from 25% to 400% in 1% increments. It also has a 50-sheet ADF for even greater convenience.
The MFC-8840DN offers your choice of Ethernet (10/100BaseTX), USB (2.0), and parallel connectivity, and is PC and Mac compatible.Fax features include a built-in 33.6 Kbps modem, 300 speed dial locations, 40 one-touch dialing locations, and more.The MFC-8840DN also allows access via PC fax interface.
What's in the Box MFC-8840DN, ADF, power cable, AC power adapter, Quick Reference Guide, CD (software), warranty information

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5/08/2012

Brother DCP-7020 Laser Digital Copier/Printer Review

Brother DCP-7020 Laser Digital Copier/Printer
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I almost never write a review, but the forest of multi-functions is so thick and I am so impressed by my Brother DCP-7020 that I figure I ought to share my personal view of this tremendous small office/home-office machine.
I spent weeks researching and testing multi-functions, going back and forth among Brother, HP, Sharp, Xerox, Canon, and others. What a nightmare, sorting out and comparing all the rival features!
My own needs were straight-forward: truly excellent, professional-looking B&W laser printing and copying capability; reliable paper-path routing with few or no jams; able to handle periodic high volume and otherwise steady daily use; large paper tray capacity; reliable Auto Document Feeder; handy and roomy output tray; acceptable color as well as B&W scanning; and reasonably priced laser supplies that have a reasonably high volume capacity.
While I had no need for fax or networking, I might have taken either or both if the quality of the more important features I sought warranted the extra price. I also was hoping for a stand-alone copying capability, just to give me more flexibility in office machinery since I also have a Brother HL-5150DLT (which is a tremendous stand-alone printer, by the way!)
Several times I almost decided on the Sharp AL-1641CS or its equivalent at Canon and Xerox. My initial misgivings about the latest Brother multifunction machines came down to three things: I was concerned about a few reports of modest paper curling; I was nervous about the paper output slot which seemed at first glance kind of puny and inconveniently located at the inside front, rather than outside to the side, of the machine; and the Brother multi-function machines somehow didn't look to me quite as robust or strong as some of their competitors, at least as they sat on the store shelf.
Repeated testing in multiple stores convinced me that the Brother DCP-7020 was the most likely to meet my needs at an initial price (and also a lower laser cartridge supplies price) so substantially less than the Sharp or equivalents that I decided to 'chance' it, as I thought. It turned out far, far better than I had hoped.
This is a GREAT workhorse machine that takes up substantially less work space and yet turns out excellent laser printing and/or copying with sharp, professional-looking text. Reliable, smooth paper handling with no paper jams to speak of (other than one deliberately caused for testing, which was very easily cleared). Superior copying capability (stand-alone or attached to a computer.) And, though not my top priority, very good scanning as well, supported by excellent, intuitive software.
The earlier review and product descriptions you can read at Amazon.com are accurate. This machine is awesome; the best buy for the money you will find, unless you need faxing capability or color printing in your multi-function. As for my original misgivings, here's my experience:
(1) Paper curling. Not a problem! The paper curling reports are true but greatly exaggerated. Very, very minor curling occurs (probably due to the extreme heat needed for any laser printing), but the paper flattens quickly as it cools and in a minute or so you won't even know it had a slight curl as it emerged from the machine.
(2) Output tray. Not a problem! True, the output slot at the front of the machine looks a little inconvenient or insubstantial, but that turns out to be a mirage, probably because we are so accustomed to expecting to see a bulky exterior separate output tray. The Brother DCP-7020 output tray actually is an innovation. It works perfectly and can hold up to 100 pages, no problem. Lift the lid below the copier and you will see you have access to the entire output tray in all its glory.
(3) The wrong-est I was in my initial misgivings was in thinking that visually the Brother DCP-7020 looked somehow more fragile, or less robust, than the Sharp or similar competitors. It may look that way, but in reality it is every bit as much a workhorse machine as its equivalent competitors. The DCP-7020 is a strong, muscular, and reliable machine. Just a much smaller footprint and at half the price.
Although not my own top priority, I've also been very pleasantly surprised at how good the scanning function is. A couple of reviewers here and there on the web grumble about this, but I found the Brother DCP-7020 scanning function and quality does at least well with color photos as any other $200-$400 scanner I've used, and far better than most of them. The text recognition software is far superior to what most well known competing brands use. And the scanner control panel is very intuitive with good defaults and ample opportunity to easily customize. I've wound up putting my 1 year old $400 HP scanner in the attic.)
I unhesitatingly recommend the Brother DCP-7020. It is everything I wanted in a B&W laser printer/copier/scanner -- and more! -- at half the price of the competition.
Afterword about Brother support: For those concerned about tech support, there is good, and bad, and more good news -- but REALLY good news if you pay attention to what I have to say here.
1. Good news: Brother's toll-free number you can call in an emergency usually leads you to a live English-speaking person who isn't in India or Sri-Lanka or some other Exploited-Labor-of-the-Month hell hole.
2. Bad news: Like the infamous Indian "tech support" people we all know and loath, you probably will get an American who is mostly clueless other than they've been trained to read the manuals. If you haven't read the manual yourself, they can be a kind of "aural" manual and walk you through a few quick fixes. If you know the manual and those fixes haven't worked, go to the next point below.
3. More good news: If you have time to e-mail or call Brother support and ask specifically for a truly knowledgeable tech person to contact you, in a day or at most two you will wind up being called by a REAL expert who will take the time to answer all of your questions patiently and in depth. These people know what they're doing. They're honest and knowledgeable. They are the way tech support used to be, once upon a time.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Brother DCP-7020 Laser Digital Copier/Printer

Brother DCP-7020 Monochrome Laser Printer, Copier, and Color Scanner

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4/26/2012

HP Officejet Pro L7680 Color All-in-One Printer Review

HP Officejet Pro L7680 Color All-in-One Printer
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I've had the HP L7680 for slightly over three months. I've been a pretty heavy user, having printed (according to the self-test page) almost 4000 pages during that time. Unlike some of the others mentioned here, my unit has been completely reliable.
Print Quality - Printing is very sharp and closely approaches laser quality...it's certainly above the threshold for business correspondence and presentations. The color output is solid, with almost no visible banding. I have not used it to print many photos, but those that I have have been also acceptable, given the constraints of a four color ink system. If photography printing is your primary usage, you should buy a printer with more ink colors.
Ink consumption - Over the span of 4000 pages, I went through the initial set of ink cartridges and am now on the third black cartridge...the second cartridge was a standard capacity one, while the third is the XL version. It's still 2/3 full. A second set of color cartridges were also the standard capacity versions. They're still 3/4 full. When they go empty, they'll also be replaced with the XL versions. Most of my printing is obviously black with a minor amount of spot color.
Faxing - It works. Faxes seem to get there.
Copying - The internal memory is inadequate to allow more than 5-6 pages of a document to be scanned and stored for collated printing. This flaw was obviously anticipated by the printer's firmware designers...the page
that causes the memory to overflow is returned to the scanning input tray so it can be scanned in the next five page batch. Unfortunately this flaw requires manual intervention...you have to remove the five printed pages from the output tray, set them aside and then place them on top of the next batch out. This is an absolute pain...The leader of the copier design team should be required to make fifteen copies of Tolstoy's War and Peace as atonement.
Scanning - The HP software works, but is awkward. I have yet to discover where the defaults are set...and the preset ones aren't optimal for my office. I'd like to be able to set it to scan an 8x11.5 letter size by default, rather than have the software guess the paper size based upon the image. It's NEVER guessed correctly. And, after scanning something into Adobe Acrobat, I need to click on "cancel" three more times before the image is finally transferred...it's like a Japanese monster movie...The Software That Wouldn't Die. There's other annoyances. The bottom line, though, is that it works. It's just doesn't work nicely.
So...the copying and scanning issues dropped this printer from a strong five stars down to three. It prints great and if there was a socket where I could add in more memory, the copying problem would go away. But there isn't. And while the scanning stuff is just annoying, the copying problem is a real time-waster.
Update: Since I've had the printer for a year and a half, I thought I'd add in a quick update and note that it's still going strong. I've gone through 500cc of black ink, 50-60cc of cyan and yellow, and 36cc of magenta. There has been some drift in the alignment, resulting in some slight banding while printing, but I suspect that that could be calibrated out. The only major problem has been wear in the automatic page feed mechanism in the document feeder, which causes misfeeds while faxing or copying. Cleaning the rollers and pads helped, but they should be replaced. The purchase of a high speed scanner (Fujitsu ScanSnap S510 Sheet-fed Scanner) has pretty much eliminated my use of the automatic document feeder, otherwise this problem would be a serious hassle.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Officejet Pro L7680 Color All-in-One Printer

HP OFFICEJET PRO L7680 Color All In One Printer/ Fax/ Scanner/ Copier. It is the worlds fastest desktop AiO for business color with up to 25 percent lower cost per page. It produces laser quality prints faster than most color laser all in ones up to 12 ppm black/10 ppm color. It contains a breakthrough inkjet draft mode with speeds up to 35 ppm black and up to 34 ppm color. The built in wired networking allows user to share powerful all in one capabilities. Features outstanding scanning with up to 2400 dpi CCD optical scanning for documents, photos, projects and more. Scan and store documents and photos directly to a network folder with Direct Digital Filing. Quickly and conveniently copy, scan, and fax multiple page documents using 50 sheet auto document feeder. Never miss a fax even without power, faxes store in memory when device is on or off. Enjoy efficient high volume printing with optional 350 sheet paper tray for a total of 600 sheets. Archived documents retain laser quality black text and lab quality photos for decades without fading. Do more without a PC using the large 2.4 inch color graphics display and intuitive control panel. Easily preview, select and print photos from memory cards using HP Photo Proof Sheet.

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3/28/2012

Brother MFC-665CW Photo Color All-in-One Printer with Wireless Networking Review

Brother MFC-665CW Photo Color All-in-One Printer with Wireless Networking
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Having gotten a new desktop replacement computer which lacked the parallel cable port for my old Xerox 490cx multifunction, I got this model because of its functions, wireless capability, and cost (one-fifty at office depot). It's also the first flatbed device I have gotten. Its relatively small footprint was also a selling point. My use is light home office and personal use - short work-related text documents, recipes for wife, color pictures the kids make, simple copying tasks, and for sending and receiving short faxes.
Set-up - a little bit involved as far as setting it up for wireless on my somewhat old netgear router. Still it found my network, and entering the security key was fairly straightforward. It would be nice if its mac address was more obvious. It might be hard for a total novice to hook this up to wireless unless s/he were running an open and unsecure network. While the box touts its wireless capability, the instructions time and time again recommend using usb or Cat5 connection for best results. Rather disturbing they would choose to discourage you from actually using a feature they tout so prominently on its packaging. I had to turn off the computer's firewall for it to find the printer on the network the first time. You have to use the install disk on every computer you want to enable to access this printer. But I got it working, and all connected computers can find it and print to it. Nice to cut down on a single wire (usb or LAN), but you still have a power cord and a phone-in and phone-out cord so you still have a heavily wired set-up.
Features - the LCD screen is a nice touch and it folds up so you can see it from different angles. It has card reader slots so you can print directly from flash memory cards. The print quality is just so-so. I easily could see the grain on text; on graphics the colors bleed a little. Even using photo paper the results are not satisfactory for printing photos. It has individual ink cartridges which is a plus, and they are very elegantly and easily accessed from the front of the machine. Can't comment on ink cartridge duration yet. I like to refill my own cartridges especially black, but don't know yet if these are amenable to after-market ink refilling. Print speed is a little slow for color, and adequate for text. You can load up to 100 sheets in the cartridge easily accessed at the front of the machine. As a scanner, the resolution certainly should be adequate for most home user tasks, but i found the colors of scanned photos lack vibrancy. This could perhaps be touched up using photo-editing software. After getting a question, i checked it out and you can indeed scan to PDF format - just set up a custom scan program.
Other - It has a built in phone handset and answering machine which are a nice touch if you also want to get rid of a separate phone/answering machine. In retrospect the phone is almost useless to me. You can set the machine to answer faxes only, or phone calls also. The PC fax is a great feature, and you can create a cover page in a snap - all you do is "Print" and select PC-fax from the drop-down menu. Unfortunately you can't preview your scanned fax before sending. I have not received a fax yet, but you are able to save these faxes directly as computer documents - not sure which format yet but another great saver of paper and time. I haven't tried the document feeder yet but if it works for a few pages without a jam, i'll be delighted.
I've not owned a brother brand printer before; I hope it lasts as long as previously owned canon and Xerox devices I've had. For its price, I'm satisfied but not blown away.
UPDATE:
It's Broken
I bought all this Brother ink and now it doesn't work.
Upon starting the machine there is a grating sound as if plastic gears are turning against resistance and then the "Paper Jam" message appears. But there is no paper stuck inside. Rebooting (which you can only do by unplugging) doesn't help. A plastic gear has broken off in the cartridge housing. It is out of warranty. This is after 7 months of very light household use, so you might want to refrain from buying this. And this after I bought alot of Brother LC51 ink.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Brother MFC-665CW Photo Color All-in-One Printer with Wireless Networking

The Brother MFC-665cw is a powerful color multi-function center with wireless (80.211b/g) networking capabilities, making it a great addition to your home or small business office.
Color Printer The MFC-665cw features a flip-up, 2.5-inch color LCD so you can control all of its functions at a glance. Enjoy up to 27 ppm black and 22 ppm color print speed, as well as photo quality printing up to 6000 x 1200 dpi. With a droplet size as small as 1.5 picoliters you can be assured of fine details and color accuracy. The unit's front loading paper tray holds up to 100 sheets, while a photo by-pass tray holds up to 20 sheets of 4x6 glossy paper. Borderless photo printing is possible, and USB, ethernet, and wireless 80.211b/g interfaces are included. The printer works with Windows and Mac operating systems.
Color Copier With a versatile flatbed design, the MFC-665cw offers easy copying. No PC is required for copying, and you'll enjoy up to 20 cpm black and 18 cpm color copy speeds. The copier also offers up to 1200 x 600 dpi resolution, as well as multi-copying for up to 99 copies. Reduce or enlarge your copies from 25 percent to 400 percent, in 1 percent increments.
Color Scanner Use the MFC-665cw for flatbed color scanning at up to 19,200 dpi (interpolated) resolution, and up to 600 x 2400 dpi (optical) resolution. The unit includes award-winning ScanSoft PaperPort SE with OCR Software for Windows and Presto! PageManager for Mac.
Photo Capture Center Use the color LCD display to preview, print images or even an index--all without a computer. The MFC-665cw features convenient digital camera media card slots for high quality photo printing (Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, xD-Picture Card Type M/Type H, CompactFlash, Secure Digital, and MultiMediaCard). The memory card system also works as a removable disk drive, and there's also a PictBridge interface to print photos directly from your PictBridge-enabled camera.
Color Fax When it comes time to send a fax, you can choose black and white or color faxing using the ITU-T30E standard. A 10-page auto document feeder makes big faxing jobs a snap, while the 14.4 Kbps high-speed fax modem delivers your documents quickly. The fax machine supports caller ID and distinctive ring modes. No PC is required for faxing. You can also take advantage of 80-station auto dialing, and 32 MB of total memory means you can store up to 480 pages.
PC Fax The MFC-665cw comes with the Brother PC Fax Driver for sending and receiving faxes from your computer. The software supports fax broadcasting from your PC, as well as network PC fax send and receive. PC fax functionality works with Windows and Mac operating systems.
Message Center The MFC-665cw's built-in digital answering machine records up to 99 messages or up to 29 total minutes. The unit features a built-in telephone handset, as well as a full-duplex speakerphone for hands-free operation. Volume controls for both the handset and speakerphone are provided.

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12/24/2011

HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf Printer (CE841A#BGJ) Review

HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf  Printer (CE841A#BGJ)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
My mom just bought this today and I helped her set it up. I'm already thinking about buying one, even though I already have a laser MFC at home. It's that good. The setup is easy, the quality is good, and the price is right.
1. Setup on PC, Mac, and network
It was super easy. HP includes the usual install CD, but you don't need it on PC; they put the files on the machine, and they show up when you connect the USB cable (the same way a USB flash drive would, though this doesn't work on Mac). Just follow the instructions; everything is straightforward.
If you want to use it over the network (i.e., connect it to your router), you still need to connect it via USB first. Before too long, the installation program tells you to disconnect the USB cable, and you don't need to connect it via USB any further. (So if you have a USB cable that you can use temporarily, you don't need to buy another just for the printer to use it over the network.)
If you haven't yet connected the networking cable from the printer to the router, it'll tell you when to connect it, and the router and printer should talk to each other without any difficulty. (My mom's router is a modem/router/wifi hub combo from the Paleozoic Era, issued by a very low-tech rural DSL provider, and it worked just fine.) I expected the networking part to be hard, and it was actually fairly easy. If everything I've written so far makes sense, you probably know enough to set this up on the network.
Once it's set up on one computer and on the network, use the driver CD to install the drivers on any other computers on your network; this is even easier.
Within an hour (half of the time making room for the printer and so forth), we had:
*Installed the drivers on 4 computers (1 Mac and 3 PCs--one is even Vista!)
*Printed test pages from each
*Set up the fax preferences (you can do this on the computer via the device management software, which is WAY easier than navigating the device menus)
*Successfully scanned documents into JPGs and PDFs, via the flatbed and sheetfeeder, over the network (many MFCs print well over the network but make it all but impossible to scan without connecting the USB cable), via Mac and PC
I've connected a LOT of devices to a LOT of computers, and for such a complicated device, this was ridiculously easy. Major kudos to HP's software team.
2. Quality
Print and copy quality are great. That's a given with a laser printer, I suppose. It's only black-and-white, but if you don't need color (e.g., if you print your photos at the pharmacy) or have a separate color printer (e.g., a photo-quality inkjet printer), you're good.
The scanning quality is also very good. 300x300 pixel black-and-white scans of sheet-fed documents make great PDFs. I also did a 1200x1200 pixel color scan of an old sports card, and it's quite sharp. I'm not somebody who works with images for a living, but unless you are (or are a very serious hobbyist), this scanner should suit your needs.
I wasn't able to get the standard Mac software (Image Capture) to operate the scanner (that software is pretty weak anyway), but the HP Director software works well on Mac (genuinely shocked) and PC.
My one complaint about using the HP software for scanning is that it doesn't let you preview-and-crop. If you need cropping (e.g., if you're scanning in 4x6 photos), you'll need to do that with another program. You probably already have something on your computer that will do this, but if not, you can download GIMP (free open source program) or buy something cheap and simple to crop, correct color, etc.
We haven't tried the fax yet.
3. Value
At the list price, this is a steal. Even lower-quality manufacturers (you know who they are) are charging similar prices for laser MFCs with no networking capability.
If you've never bought a laser printer, the toner cost (currently on the HP website at $68 for a cartridge that yields about 1600 pages) might be a turnoff, but on a per-page basis, it's probably somewhat-to-much cheaper than the inkjet you're using or considering. The overall build quality and durability of laser printers is also much better, so your "total cost of ownership" (cost of printer + ink/toner, divided by pages printed before the device dies) is likely much lower.
In short, this printer is a winner, at least based on initial quality.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf  Printer (CE841A#BGJ)

HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf

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11/14/2011

Samsung Monochrome Multifunction Laser Printer (SCX-4623FW) Review

Samsung Monochrome Multifunction Laser Printer (SCX-4623FW)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
This copier/printer/scanner/fax machine is great for the small business owner. The wireless system was easy to set up -- just a few clicks and router info, and it was running. Black ink only, but that is ok - I'm tired of spending $$$$$ on color. I recommend it for home or small business use.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Samsung Monochrome Multifunction Laser Printer (SCX-4623FW)

Simply more. That's what you get with the Samsung SCX-4623F mono laser MFP's ESP Easy Screen Print button, and the SCX-4623FW's One-Touch WiFi button. Using Samsung's AnyWeb Print software, you can select, drag and drop content from different web pages into a new page, then print your screen with the ESP button. Or easily connect to your network wirelessly using the One-touch WiFi button. You also get faxing to and from your PC, print speeds of 23 ppm, 12,000 page monthly duty cycle and a sleek, compact design. Work more, simply. With the SCX-4623F/SCX-4623FW mono laser MFPs from Samsung.

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9/22/2011

Brother MFC-7840W Laser Multifunction Center with Wireless and Ethernet Network Interfaces Review

Brother MFC-7840W Laser Multifunction Center with Wireless and Ethernet Network Interfaces
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I spent about a week researching for just the right multi-function printer for my needs. I own a small business with about 30 employees so I needed more than an inkjet but didn't require a 'corporate' $1000+ version either. I needed fax, scan, copy, and print capability with laser printing and built-in wireless capability. Suprisingly, there are not that many printers on the market that can give you all of these in one package. Originally I was going to purchase the Brother's MFC-8870 for around $500 which all the reviews on the internet recommend, but I found this while browsing around and realized that it had just come out a few weeks ago. Although there were no reviews out yet for this new printer, it was considerably less expensive than the 8870 and the only thing I seemed to be losing was auto-duplexing so I made the purchase. It took about 15 minutes total for me to set up an ad-hoc wireless printer setup and everything works great. The scans are nice, the printing is very crisp and clear even in very small fonts. The only thing I haven't tried yet is the fax which I won't be using much. I really can't say anything bad about this product. Sure it would be nice to have a legal-size flatbed, auto-duplex, and 64mb memory (instead of the default 32mb) but for the money this can't be beat. Overall, this seems to be a really great product at a great price. I highly recommend this if you need a 4-in-1 with wireless capability. Definitely the best on the market for this niche.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Brother MFC-7840W Laser Multifunction Center with Wireless and Ethernet Network Interfaces

The Brother MFC-7840W Laser Multi-Function Center with Wireless Networking is an economical, compact device that can handle all your small office printing, copying, scanning, and faxing needs. With crisp, high-quality output and fast print speeds, you won't be waiting around for the MFC-7840N to finish its job. It is compatible with both Macs and Windows, and built-in 802.11b/g wireless networking makes it easy for you to share the device with everyone in your office.
Compact, Elegant Design and Multiple Networking Options The MFC-7840W measures a compact 16.9 x 15.6 x 12 inches (WxDxH) and tips in at just under 25 pounds, taking up minimal space in your office. Featuring an elegant black color scheme, the device won't look out of place in any office. An LCD backlit display keeps you apprised of the device's status.
With USB, Ethernet and 802.11b/g wireless interfaces, setting up this printer for use with a single computer or with a network is simple. Once connected, everyone in your office can print, fax, and scan. The wireless networking supports WEP 64/128, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK, and LEAP for security so you won't have to worry about your sensitive documents falling into the wrong hands.
Fast Print Speeds and Outstanding Output with High Compatibility With crisp black output at 2400 x 600 dpi, no one will be straining their eyes to read your latest report. And with the prints coming out at a speedy 23 pages per minute, you won't have to wait for them either. The printer includes 32MB of memory and has a maximum monthly duty cycle of 10,000 pages. Thanks to support for PCL 6 and BR-Script3 print emulations, the printer will work seamlessly with a large variety of computers.
Flexible Paper Handling with 250-Sheet Input Capacity The MFC-7840N features a 250-sheet paper tray that can be adjusted for both letter and legal size paper. Other media, such as envelopes and labels can be fed through the single-sheet bypass slot. The fold-out rear output tray reduces the possibility of paper jams by allowing for a straight paper path when printing envelopes and other thick media.
Make Copies and Faxes without Turning on the Computer Using the same components that does the printing, you can make copies at the same fast 23 pages per minute. Thanks to a 35-page auto document feeder, you can copy, fax, and scan multiple pages without standing around manually swapping pages. The copier lets you reduce and enlarge from 25 to 400 percent of the original, and you can put 2 or 4 sheets on one page. The copier also supports a sorting function.
A built-in 33.6k bps fax modem lets you fax documents at speeds of up to 2 seconds per page. The device supports Caller ID, out-of-paper reception, external TAD interface, distinctive ring detection, auto fax reduction, fax forwarding, automatic redial, dual access, and fax broadcasting of up to 258 locations at once. Built-in memory allows the device to store up to 600 pages in memory for faxing.
Scan Photographs, Images, and Documents Scan photographs and pictures at a resolution of up to 19200 x 19200 dpi (600 x 2400 dpi optical) at 48-bit color depth for integrating high-quality images into your documents. With the included OCR software for both Windows and Mac, you can also easily change paper documents into editable digital copies.
The Brother MFC-7840N Laser Multi-Function Center with Networking measures 21.7 x 20.1 x 20.5 inches (WxDxH) and is Energy Star compliant. It is backed by a one-year warranty.

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6/27/2011

Cisco-Linksys Wireless-G Print Server with Multifunction Printer Support Review

Cisco-Linksys Wireless-G Print Server with Multifunction Printer Support
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Once you get this gizmo going, it works nicely. You can connect multiple computers on your home network to a printer that's within WiFi range. But setting it up is a challenge, because you have to do exactly the right things in exactly the right sequence, and some of the things you have to do right aren't mentioned in the setup wizard that runs when you insert the Linksys setup CD into your computer, or they're mentioned so late in the process that you may have to start all over again!
The process takes about 90 minutes if you do everything right the first time around and don't have to double back. Most of the time you're watching software load - it's as exciting as watching paint dry. Here's what you have to do, as far as I'm able to recount from having just done it for a friend's home network. If you think the following is written in Greek or maybe in Geek, get someone else to do this for you. If you're up to the challenge, this review may save you time and frustration and prevent more 1-star reviews.
(1) Before you set the print server up, it's a good idea to go to the web site of the company that makes your router (Linksys, D-Link, Netgear, etc.) and download and install the latest "firmware" for your router. That takes maybe 15 minutes.
(2) Move the printer close to the PC that's connected to your wireless router. It has to be close enough to the router for you to connect it via a standard Ethernet ("patch" or "Internet") cable. It's not a big deal, but it means you may have to set the printer up in one place and then move it back to where you want it to be. (Linksys supplies the necessary cables in the box, which is to their credit. Most printer manufacturers make you buy your own cable.)
(3) The printer needs to be set up on the computer using a wired (USB) connection *before* you try to set up the wireless connection. If you're just going wireless with a printer you've already installed on the PC that's connected to your WiFi router, you're all set. But if you're installing a new printer, or trying to go wireless with a printer you've moved from some other computer, be sure to install it as a USB printer first. (3-a) Once you have the printer set up as a wireless "network" computer, you may want to uninstall the USB version of the same printer, because when you boot up, some versions of Windows will give you endless warnings that the local printer isn't connected. (3-b) This also means that if you ever buy a new printer and you want to connect it wirelessly via the Linksys print server, you have to install it first as a (wired) USB printer, and then re-run the "Set Up Computer" wizard from the CD that comes with the Linksys. Don't lose that CD!
(4) The setup wizard asks for a password for the print server. You can use any password you like, BUT then it asks for a passphrase, and the wizard fails to point out that you need the exact WEP passphrase or WEP key you've (already) used to set up your wireless router. (You are using WEP or stronger security on your wireless router, right? If not, go find out how to set up WEP security and do it immediately.) (4-a) The setup wizard asks for a passphrase, but if you've used a passcode on your router, there's a way to enter it you look carefully at the screen.
(5) Once you complete setting up the wireless print server, the wizard leads you through setting up your computer. Again, you must have already installed the printer onto the computer via a USB cable before you get to this point! Follow the instructions and by gosh - it works! Then at the very end there's a small note saying that if you want to set up other computers, you have to install the printer drivers first. Nice of Linksys to point that out at the very end; it would have saved me an hour of messing around if they'd said that at the beginning!
(6) Once the printer is set up, it's the default printer, and it wasn't possible (at least for me, with Windows XP) to set a different printer up as the default printer on one of the computers on my home friend's network. A minor irritation, in most cases, and there may be a workaround. If I find it I'll add it to this review.
So: 5 stars for convenience once it's set up; 3 stars for the glitch with the default; 2 stars for poor setup instructions... how do you rate this thing? 4 stars, I guess.


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Linksys 54Mbps 802.11g Wireless USB 2.0 Print Server The Linksys Wireless-G PrintServer with Multifunction Printer Support lets you connect a multifunction USB printer directly to your network, eliminating the need to dedicate a PC to print sharing chores. Using a PrintServer frees up your print share PC so you don't have to leave it on all the time. It also removes the printing bottleneck, and sets your PC free to do more useful work.The PrintServer is compatible with most USB multifunction printers, and allows full access to printing, faxing, scanning, and copying functions. Like any print server, users on the network can print anytime. The other functions are treated a little differently -- any user can request access to one of the other functions, and get exclusive use of that function until his task is complete.Connect the PrintServer directly to your network by 10/100 Ethernet cable, or wirelessly at up to 54Mbps via Wireless-G. The wireless option lets you put your prin

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