Brother HL-2140 Laser Printer
by BROTHER
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List Price: Our Price: $199.88 You Save: $0.11 (0%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $29.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Brother HL-2140 Laser Printer
Customer Review: Yet another honest five-star review
Summary: 5 Stars
My father kept buying cheap inkjets at the local superstore because every time he would go to print something, the ink cartridge would be all dried up! When he went to go buy a new cartridge he would find a brand new printer for about the same price and purchase that instead! I visited and saw a pile of inkjets against the wall and when I asked him about it he said "Why would I buy just an ink cartridge when I can get the whole printer including the cartridge for the same price?! It seems like such a waste though!"
Come to find out, he might print something once every few weeks, sometimes going a couple of months between print jobs which is why his ink kept drying up, so I suggested a laser printer. Yeah it might cost a little more, but the toner would last him forever considering the light printing he does and I was shocked when we found this baby on sale online for $40 with free shipping. At that cost, it was only a tiny bit more than an el-cheapo inkjet so what was there to lose?
He's been using it for over two years now and just finished off his 'starter' cartridge. The printer has never jammed on him nor failed to print. Yes there are a few times he got his printer settings all wonky on his computer, but that has nothing to do with the printer itself... more like him pressing buttons he didn't need to press.
About this time last year after visiting my dad to print some tax forms I asked myself, "Why am I being so cheap! I should just buy my own printer!" so I got this baby for $54 with shipping and once again, mine hasn't jammed once nor failed to print. I'm still on my starter cartridge as well, but then again my printing needs are very light.
About 11 months ago the printer at the auto repair shop that I worked at conked out. It was.. you know I don't even remember the brand but we were constantly unjamming it and resetting it.. seemed like 4 or 5 times a day.. just to print 100-150 sheets each day. I drove down the street to the closest retail chain and (the shop) bought this printer for $75. A bit more than I paid for mine but much cheaper than the owner expected to pay. I hooked it up and we used it problem free for a couple of weeks.
Then the owner purchased a commercial-grade printer (again the brand name escapes me) because he didn't think this printer would last. We kept the HL2140 in storage for a backup just in case but the commercial printer he paid several hundred dollars for conked out after only three weeks and was troublesome during that time anyway with periodic jams and lockups and the whole bit. I hooked the 2140 back up and told the owner "thanks but no thanks" and made him return the commercial printer. We used the 2140 CONSTANTLY all day long for several months straight without so much as a hiccup!
Keep in mind, this was during the summer.. with no air conditioning.. and very dirty conditions and not once did it ever complain. Even running generic-brand hi capacity toner cartridges didn't phase it. (I also learned figured out a trick involving some electrical tape to get more life out of the toner).
So that's three HL-2140 printers I've encountered personally that all worked flawlessly, one working in severe conditions and outlasting much more expensive commercial grade printers!
If your printing needs don't require a network cable connection, and don't require color printing... REGARDLESS as to how often or how much you print... then this printer is EXACTLY what you need (at a fraction of the cost).
Customer Review: A super good value
Summary: 5 Stars
After a month using this printer, I'm delighted. Compared to my ink printer, the brother prints at lightning speed. And every time I print something, I smile at the money I'm saving.
I am a writer but I often prints color photographs too, so I was using color photo printers for years. But in the midst of printing black on white manuscripts, a window would pop up to tell me I had better change the magenta cartridge or risk damaging the machine. I thought the machine might use a touch of magenta when printing black, but when the photo cyan cartridge gave out, I suspected something devious.
I calculated what I'd spent of ink cartridges for the past year and realized I could buy the brother HL-2140 plus enough toner to print 26 manuscripts of 400 pages each for the same amount. So I did.
The installation instructions that came in the box are clear, simple and precise. In ten minutes, I had the HL-2140 printing. But I had two problems.
Printing the same page on both printers, I noticed that the brother does not get the letters as black as the color printer does. Although the sheet printed on the brother is fine, no quibbling, I tried to get a darker print. In "print properties, advanced" I changed the resolution from 600 dpi to 1200, but noticed no difference between the two. I tried using "graphics" instead of "general." That didn't help either.
Reluctantly I accepted that when all else fails I have to read the instructions. The user guide did not come in my box, but I quickly found it on the brother website and downloaded the Acrobat file. I found the solution is the density adjustment slider, which is not easy to find. Go to Printer/Properties/Advanced/Device Options and select "Density Adjustment" for the list to activate the slider. This option does not work if 1200 dpi is selected or with Macintosh computers. But with Windows at 600 dpi, I could replicate the results with my ink printer.
My other problem was the brother printed last page first, forcing me manually restack the document. After reading the manual twice, I couldn't figure how to solve it. (Please stop laughing.) Finally, I discovered I had the "Reverse Print Order" box checked in the Windows printer options dialogue. Windows, not the print driver controls this option.
But reading the manual served me well. I learned the brother HL-2140 has an impressive array of duplex print options and other features. This machine is a super good value.
Customer Review: Super deal on great little printer
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this printer about a year. I needed a printer for my home-office but didn't have a lot to spend This printer has been perfect! (I got it for around 50 or 60 after a rebate--at newegg--and they also offered free 2day shipping--so it's worth shopping around to get the best price....)
I refused to go with yet another inkjet printer, since ink is SO expensive, and I have not had great luck with their quality or reliability. This was the best deal for a laser printer i could find.
It is very fast (after a brief warmup period), and I have had no issues with printing. No creases, no jams--other reviewers have mentioned them, but I've not experienced these problems.
It is true that the toner can be pricey, but as someone who doesn't print very often, I'd prefer to have a cheap printer with expensive toner than vice versa. Others who print more might prefer the reverse, and should keep that in mind when shopping.
I have only had two problems, both of which were easily resolved.
1. The printer stopped working after about 5 months. Turned out it might have been because I had it plugged into the wall, and not a surge protector. Called up Brother, and they told me the possible cause, and sent me another one free of charge with free fast shipping. All I had to do was put the broken one in the provided box and send it back (again, free shipping). So, if you have a problem within the first 6 months, DON'T FORGET about the 6month manufacturer's warranty! (I'd also make a point of sending back the registration card, since I believe that's what made my situation so amazingly easy.) I've kept it plugged into the surge protector since, and had no further problems.
2. At one point, the printer wouldn't print, and kept saying that I needed to "clean the corona wire in the drum." I did this multiple times, yet the problem refused to resolve. However, it turned out that the printer merely needed new toner. Annoying little glitch, but easily resolved once I identified the problem! If it seems too early for new toner, remember that the starter toner is only for about 1000 pages.
All in all, I highly recommend!
Customer Review: Instructions for duplex, envelopes and booklet printing
Summary: 5 Stars
Great printer at a great price (around $50 on sale). Using Times Roman font was weak so I mostly use Arial that prints better on this printer. Covered window on the right side of the cartridge with opaque tape and the starter cartridge printed hundreds of pages after indicating empty.
Here are my notes for printing duplex, envelopes and booklets using Word 2003:
DUPLEX
From Bottom Tray (printing on face down side)
Print odd pages.
Put back with printed page up and top of page in front of tray.
Print even pages
Single Page Feed (printing on face up side)
Open back output tray to get straight feed (for heavy stock)
Page side to be printed top
Insert page underneath rollers - make sure page is grabbed by rollers
Return with top of page fed into slot
Print back side
Watch for skewed pages!
ENVELOPES
Open back output tray to get straight feed for envelopes.
Bring up Printer in Control Panel
Printing Preferences/Paper Size: Choose COM 10
Move guides to envelope size (use both hands)
Put envelope in Front Feeder with side to be printed up (visible)
and flap (bottom side) towards left side of printer
In Word 2003 choose Tools/Letters & Mailings/Envelopes & Labels
Print Envelope
Note: It wrinkled some. Brother advises to turn envelope 180 deg
& change direction in software or printer driver.
BOOKLETS (2 per page, 4 per sheet on both sides - Landscape)
Word 2003
Page Setup:
Orientation: Landscape
Multiple Pages: Book Fold
Paper:
Paper Size: Letter
Width: 11"
Height: 8.5"
Default Tray
Properties/Advanced
Click on A:B
Manual Duplex
Flip on Top Edge
Click to print Even Pages
Wait till all even pages are printed
Return printed pages to tray
Printed face up
Top of page towards blue light
Click to print Odd Pages
Customer Review: Great for students!
Summary: 5 Stars
Entering my senior year of college with two senior projects, there was obviously going to be a lot of printing to do. My inkjet printer worked okay, but it tended to run out of black ink really quickly. Plus, the printer didn't support the high-capacity cartridge that my parents' higher-end printer used, so I was buying 2-3 black cartridges a year. They went on my Christmas list, for heaven's sake!
Enter Brother HL-2140. I found it for a decent price (not here at the time, the going price seems to shift like sand w/rebates and all). I calculated my inkjet was costing me 10c/pp while this unit (with high capacity toner) would cost a mere 1.2c/pp. It spins up in about 10 seconds, page curl is noticeable but tolerable. Print resolution is very good (and no ink smears). I have not experienced the problem of feeding pages that just printed back through for duplexing and having them jam as some people have. I just feed back through and it works fine.
The footprint is small for a laser--one of the smallest I've seen (but not the absolute smallest). It did emit a "pine tree" smell for the first few prints, but that's gone away.
This printer plugs in and works without an install CD with Windows 7 x86 and x64. However, Windows 7 will not install the most functional driver. It will work just fine, but there will be no options for tonersave, duplexing and the like. Get the driver from Brother. Oh, and the driver (both) are Device Stage capable. Works fine as a shared USB printer over a network (even with hacked DD-WRT routers acting as wireless bridges). Note that the printer itself does NOT have network capabilities--it has to be plugged into a PC.
Nagging Complaints: Does not come with a USB cable (I knew this in advance but it reminds me of toys or accessories that need batteries, but come without them). There is no way (that I know of) to view the exact toner level without using "Print Settings" in the control panel (and thus using more toner).