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,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Brother HL-2140 Laser Printer
Customer Review: Hard not to love this printer
Summary: 5 Stars
PROS:
* The toner cartridges (especially high-yield) last a long time, and my drum still has a lot of life left in it. Also, replacements for both seem to be reasonably priced. (Non-OEM toners and drums are also available for less, though I have not tried any.)
* I leave my printer off most of the time to save energy, but when I turn it on, it starts quickly, and my first page is out of the printer in no time at all.
* Plays nicely with OS X (and Windows)
* Small size (for a laser)
* Cheaper than an inkjet over the long run--and perhaps even initially, as (despite the list price of this item) it's quite easy to find it on sale for significantly less. I paid only a double-digit price for this printer.
CONS
* Input tray is only 250 pages--not a big deal, since you shouldn't use this printer for huge jobs, but it means that if you buy a ream of paper, you'll have to save half of it somewhere else.
* It seems to use a lot of energy, as my lights flicker when printing
* No automatic duplexing. This isn't a surprise (it says "manual duplexing" in the specs), but it's painful to have to print evens, turn the pages around yourself (and remember the correct way to do it--even trickier when you're doing four pages per sheet), and then print odds.
* The cartridges claim they're empty before they are. Google the "tape trick" for this printer, and you'll see how to use the full life of your cartridge. (Basically, cover the window on the right side of the cartridge with opaque tape, and continue using it until it's genuinely out of toner.)
OTHER
This is a great printer for home or personal use. It's faster and cheaper than an inkjet, which is mostly what I'm concerned about, plus the prints look great. No complaints, and I recommend this printer to anyone looking for an inexpensive (but still good) black and white printer for low-to-medium volume printing.
Customer Review: Economical and FAST
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this printer for one reason and that was to save money. I have an inkjet printer that I use for color printing but it drinks ink like it's happy hour at the local pub. Ink ain't cheap and I'm tired of buying it for every 2 reams of paper. Toner isn't cheap either but for standard black and white text prints it's far cheaper to use this printer rather than the inkjet.
This printer is a snap to setup, just remove some packing material, insert the toner cartridge and paper, install the printer drivers and away you go. The print quality is what you would expect from a laser printer, crisp, clear and above all it doesn't smear if it gets wet like inkjet print. This is a very basic printer with minimal controls but for my needs it's perfect. It's very fast and somewhat noisy but again I don't care much about the noise for the limited volume of printing that I do.
I got this printer for $69 plus shipping and I think it's a bargain. It seems to be a solid little printer, very sturdy construction which is on par with my expectations for this class of printer. I have confidence that I'll have this printer and it will still be working for a few years which is more than I can say about some other brands. The only draw back that I can find is that the USB cable wasn't included in the box. I had several of them laying around so for me it wasn't an issue but I know that a good number of people will find themselves making a second trip to the store in order to get the necessary cable.
So if you're like me and are tired of buying expensive ink and just need a quality black and white printer then this will serve you well. It's not intended for large volume printing but I think that for most home users it's right on the money.
Customer Review: Very fast, easy to set up with Mac OS X, and cheap.
Summary: 5 Stars
I had considered purchasing a laser printer in the past, but my little inkjet seemed more cost-efficient. Now that I'm into my dissertation and need to print 20+-page articles every few days - sometimes 9 or 10 at a time - the inkjet is no longer useful for my purposes. I saw this printer for very cheap at Staples and decided to go for it.
I am unsure about real-life cost-effectiveness, since I've only had the printer for a few days. I am still using the starter toner that came with the printer. It has lasted through about 250 pages of full text so far. I ordered the high-yield (2,500-page) toner from Staples for $61 including tax. Drum replacement looks to be about $100 every 12,000 pages (every 4 toner cartridges). That says it will cost about $350 every 12,000 pages or so, if the printer lasts that long.
This printer is small and light, and very simple. When it runs out of paper, it gives the red error message. You add paper, press the single button, and it works again. Startup-to-print time is very quick - less than 10 seconds after flipping the power switch. I was stunned at how fast pages came out of this little thing (quicker even than the HP 2300 I have in my office). And yes, the lights in my apartment dim when it prints.
I use this with a Macbook Pro over Airport Extreme (it worked! first try!)
I am confident in my purchase. (But not so confident that I waived the $15 warranty option when I purchased from Staples for $69 after rebates!)
2 caveats: this printer does not come with a USB cable (but my $3 USB 2.0 cable worked just fine.) As I said, it only comes with a starter toner, which is supposed to last only 250 pages (mine has lasted exactly that, and no fading yet).
Customer Review: Laser Printer is great for personal low volume use
Summary: 5 Stars
I have never written a review for a product before. I had read the range of reviews before purchasing the Brothers Laser printer. I was really tired of the inkjet printer ink cartridge costs.
The setup was so simple. You can do a test page even before you hook the printer up to the computer. The computer setup disk is very easy to follow.
I was expecting the printer to be somewhat noisy - it was not bad at all. However, I learned a laser printer does use a lot of electricity to heat up the element. The lights flickered a little while using the printer - so you may want to have fewer computer items plugged into the same wall outlet. But even with the flickering lights, the printer works fine.
You do have to buy a separate USB cable. Make sure you have a direct-connection USB port available on your computer also. You cannot hook the USB cable to a typical non-powered USB Hub.
The directions say that it should be a maximum of 6 ft length to avoid timing problems. I needed a 10 foot cable for the large distance I have between the computer and the laser printer. It works just fine.
I still have only the starter laser element, so I don't have any experience as yet with how long it will last. However, the cost of a replacement element is about the same as two inkjet cartridges - and I understand I will get many more sheets of paper output with the laser element.
I print mostly music notation - and I was concerned at first as to how the laser would handle that kind of graphics with many music staff lines and filled in notation. I should not have worried - it comes out beautifully!
For home use, I highly recommend this laser printer.
Customer Review: Fantastic personal laser printer
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my HL-2140 for over a week now and printed over 300 pages of documents. I couldn't be happier with my purchase: this is a really high-quality laser printer that prints fast and prints well.
The starter toner you get in the package is rated at 1,000 pages. Additional toner cartridges can print 2,000 or 3,000 pages and are priced reasonably -- no expensive toner to worry about! The drum, according to the manual, should be replaced after a while, but the list price ($99) is again reasonable and I don't think you need worry about the replacement anytime soon. (I think I'll just buy another HL-2140 or its new successor model!)
The printer starts up fast and prints fast. The resolution is pure laser-quality. I use printing paper from Staples and the printer handles the paper with complete aplomb (as expected). You can print A4 size, as well.
Installation on Windows XP and Vista was a breeze; just be sure to NOT connect the USB cable until you're told to. One minor caveat is no A-to-B USB cable is included in the package (as disclosed on the box); but one costs less than ten bucks at Staples or any other store. This printer is USB 2.0 high-speed-compatible.
The printer is made in China but seems well made for a Chinese-assembled product. I accidentally dropped it on the floor (from ~3 ft.) and it survived without any problems.
I love this printer!
PS: It's a "personal" laser printer because it cannot be networked, i.e., no Ethernet connection or wireless printing. You hook it to a PC by the aforementioned A-to-B USB 2.0 cable.