Printer Reviews

I have had the Lexmark X1150 for just over one month. I really like it a lot. It makes wonderful copies, prints beautifully, with very good color matches to original material. It is a little slower than promised, but that may be my Computers fault. It prints, copies, and scans and as I said above, it also Faxes. That surprised me, and I feel as though I got a real bargain because of that. The ink cartridge is too small and in this one month I have already used two black ink cartridges and one color. That is a problem. That is why I do not give it five stars, only four. Ink cartridges cost too much.

This printer is great, its easy to setup, and its fast. I cant believe the quality of this printer and all the features you get for such a low price, i recommend it to anyone who needs or wants an new printer.

My mom came home with this thing, and I was skeptical because it was really inexpensive. I'm a computer tech so naturally I felt that my mom had been taken advantage of. Turns out I was completely wrong!

To start with, this model comes with very easy instructions for setup. It connects via USB port, and the CD autoruns. Setup is a breeze.

Second, the design of this model is very nifty. The flatbed scanner sits on top of the printer, and is protected from normal printer operations. The glass stays very well protected until you need it. When you're done scanning there is a safety feature built in so that the top closes slowly and doesn't damage the glass.

It's not like a fax machine that drags and curls your document while trying to duplicate it. It's a regular flat bed scanner.

third, I was VERY impressed with the copy function. You can completely bypass the computer. With other machines you'd have to scan the document, save and then print it. With this machine, you literally put down your paper and push one copy button. Ta-Da! The guides on the scanner make it foolproof as to which way the paper goes too!

fourth, the software that comes with the unit has a wide variety of printing capabilities. You can increase the size of a scan to fit on several pages, or combine a large photo into a smaller one. There is also a built in photo editing program.

All together, it's a very tight package. I was up and running within 5 minutes of opening the box. Installation was smooth.

As far as the other complaint about the ink, I have not gone through that. I haven't printed with it more than once or twice a day, but I have been printing photos in high quality and they have been really crisp.

Definitely a good buy!

The biggest draw of this printer is the price, which becomes very attractive after a rebate from Lexmark. The print quality seemed to me to be pretty much standard for mid-range inkjets. Black text appears dark and crisp, and basic colors on the Better or Best settings are comparable to HP deskjet series printers. I haven't yet tried photos on photo paper, but on plain paper they are passable. The biggest drawback is the cost of cartridges from Lexmark, at $30+ for each (black and color). The color cartridge seems to drain pretty quickly, but the black one, if mostly text is printed out, lasted me over 600 pages, which is not bad. All in all, a very solid buy for this price.

This is my 3rd Lexmark printer. All lexmark printers that I have owned have been wonderful. They have never broken, I just replace to upgrade. This printer is excellent. Extremely nice print with good quality print....(just make sure the ink is dry before touching the paper tray!) Small photos look super (4x6). Great price, but ink is very high $$$$$$$. You might want to try buying refurbished cart. available on web sites.

I just got this printer today after having an HP for a few years. Set-up was a breeze! (I have win98) I was very impressed with this printer. I'm a college student so I could not afford the pricey printers, but I wanted to print picures. The pics come out awesome! It has a lot of great features, which I was surprised at. I love the on-screen ink indicator, which you can even customize!! The printer even talks to you(not much just says that printing is starting or complete-but still a cool option). Also, when you go into print-properties, an "I Want To" list comes up, click on what you want to print and it walks you through everything. It also has auto printer head alignment and a feature that eliminates paper jams. A GREAT PRINTER!!

I purchased this machine based upon the negative reviews of the least expensive HP (which was about $150 more than this product), and based upon the good reviews of the Samsung printers. The biggest complaint I have is that you have to read the manual on the computer screen, or print it out (134 pages of the 1000 pages that the toner is supposed to print) which I thought was a little chintzy. The printer itself is very easy to use (so far).

My mother needed a printer for her research papers that would print clearly, precisely, and fast. I recommended this printer due to the good reviews and the price. Even after five months of awe, my mother still cannot believe that we paid so little for such an excellent printer. Light, smooth, and small. Convenient and cost saving. And the printouts are crisp and clear.

This is an excellent printer! You can't go wrong with this one. The "Toner Save" Mode works well, really hard to tell the difference in the print quality. Initial setup is quick and you're printing in less than 10 minutes after installing the software on the CD-ROM. The footprint on a table or desk is small, especially when using the printer's face down hopper. It comes with a CD-ROM software, parallel cable, Manual (ON CD), and a Quick Setup poster.

I have done a great deal of research on the laser multifunction machines, and settled on the Brother DCP-1400. I am very impressed with it so far. It is quiet, prints fast, and the quality is very good. Scanning is also a breeze.

After reading many reviews about the Brother and HP multifunctions, I concluded that there were two weaknesses that they all share: the included software, and faxing. Well I can tell you that setting this machine up in Windows 98 was very very easy! I also made of couple adjustments that were seamless.

If you are considering Brother, I would suggest this unit over the MFC 9700. First, it has a three year warranty and the 9700 is only a year.

Second, you dont really need the fax component. I receive faxs on line (free), and then print them out. For sending, this unit has an easy to use scan to email..with a choice of .tiff, .jpg, .pdf etc formats. So scan to email (very fast), and email it to someone. As a bonues, no software fax problems! I have a cheap ($60) fax machine for those rare times when the old fshioned method is the only way.

I wish it had a 8.5x14 glass, but you can copy legal through the paper feeder. I also would not use it in high volume environments. But for one at home, its perfect.

Overall, its much better than I expected, and Brothers on-line help seems to be pretty good.

I bought the DCP 1400 mostly for making copies which it does very well, quickly and easily. It's a nice printer too--it comes online almost immediately and the print quality is very good. Setup was simple. The only drawback is that the initial toner cartridge is just for getting started so it runs out pretty quickly. Overall, it's good for a small office.

The DR400 drum for Brother Printers provides crisp and clean printing. Comparing the printing of the Brother HL1240 using the DR400 drum to one of the high-end printers, I really see no difference in quality. One drawback to the DR400 is the pricetag. I have replaced two drums in the last year, but of course I do a high volume of printing. I guess for the money, the DR400 is a good buy.

Brother's separate drum/toner cartridge arrangement makes for a longer life of the toner output equipment overall. Having been the owner of laser printers and inkjet printers for many years, I can say that Brother's solution is very nice. Here's why. In the arrangement used by HP, for example where the toner cartridge and drum are combined, if the drum is scratched, or otherwise damaged, the cartridge is ruined. That's the end; it must be replaced. In this arrangement, however, it is possible to fix the drum. Should a splotch appear, it's possible to wipe it off and even vacuum out the drum, if necessary. Sometimes when a cartridge is about to run out of toner, for example, it burps out a little extra toner. Because you can separate the drum from the cartridge, it's possible to clean this up instead of just throwing out the whole cartridge before it's really worn out. Another advantage along the same lines is being able to remove pieces of paper that get stuck inside the drum should a paper jam occur. Now as far as the economics of laser printer versus inkjet printer go, just figure it out for yourself. Do the math and come up with the best compromise of print yield, resolution, etc. In terms of comparing the cost of combined drum/toner cartridges versus the cost of separate drum/cartridges, I found that there was little difference on a per-print basis. Add to that the convenience of recovering from problems described at the beginning of my comments, and I am forced to conclude that the Brother solution is the best.

There are a ton of people out there running home businesses like me (I'm a full-time medical transcriptionist)who need the speed and economy of a B&W laser printer, but don't want or need a $500-1,000-plus "office-type" unit.

Enter the Brother HL-5140, the perfect, affordable, reliable B&W laser printer for a small business that does a lot of printing (where the cost of ink jet cartridges and slow printing can be VERY expensive).

Several years ago, typical of my venerable HP LaserJet 6P that is still working very well, HP produced great inexpensive laser printers while Brother followed their lead and made great products too.

Unfortunately, HP decided to focus on a very profitable "niche market" a couple of years ago and started making a bunch of cheap plastic printers that would have more consumer appeal when it comes to printing photos instead of continuing to make top-quality low to moderate-cost B&W laser printers.

But Brother has continued to make reliable printers that are actually made of metal -- what a concept. My Brother 5140 weighs in at about 24 pounds, it's made of metal and there's nothing flimsy about it.

So here are the pros and cons of the Brother HL-5140:

PROS:

1. Everything that Brother purports to deliver in terms of printing speed for the 5140 would appear to be accurate. This is one VERY FAST laser printer (rated at 21 ppm).

2. The best thing about the 5140 is how easy it is to install and set up. It's all completely intuitive and the enclosed installation CD makes the process quick (15 minutes or less) and simple.

3. Most people won't care about this very obvious plus, but it's VERY important to some of us old dinosaurs who still use DOS programs. So I need to employ a printer that will accept a parallel connection instead of just USB.

I'm not really a dinosaur, and I use MS Word for everything else, but I still use WordPerfect 5.1 DOS for my work. So I need a printer that will connect on a parallel port and print out my work.

The 5140 with PCL-6 emulation supports all of the latest DOS printer drivers too. No problems printing from DOS in any application.

CONS:

As I've said, the 5140 gets my top rating and it's a definite buy. But there are a couple of things you might want to be aware of:

1. I haven't tried the feature, but other reviewers have given the printer a thumbs-down in terms of its rendition of graphics. Personally, I could care less. If I need graphics I'll use my inkjet printer instead.

2. The usual printout path up to the front output tray can tend to curl the printouts a bit more than you'd like depending on temperature and humidity.

All in all, it's a terrific printer.

I bought this printer last minute. The printer I had before went out on me and I needed something quick. I do a fair amount of printing and this thing is awesome! Not a single glitch, setup took less than 5 min and it was ready to rock and roll. It has fair price for what it is capable of.

The "Brother LC02BK Ink Jet Cartridge (Black)" is one of the necessary accessories you'll need if you purchased one of Brother's 7100 series MFC's. Rich in color, the ink cartridge gives you a good buy for your money. If you a person who doesn't use your MFC on a daily basis, then the cartridge will last you for a long time. However, if you're a person who constantly uses, then the cartridge;s supply won't last too long. That is the only negative thing about this product.

Besides one minor fault, Brother's MFC/Fax accessories are one of the market's best buys in quality and performance. I recommend purchasing a few of these cartridges whenever your purchase them online so that you can have some on reserve just in case your cartridge runs out of ink.

Great product. The black ink cartridge is twice the size of the colored cartridges and it lasts long enough. I use it in my home office daily.

At under ($$$), the D646U+BCJ2110 is a great value for money. The D646U scanner installs easily and I had no problems setting up the software bundle that came with the scanner. Scanning resolution is not fantastic, but its still high enough for most jobs that I do at home. The color reproduction is pretty darn good for the price, and the scanning speed is adequate. The scanning software allows the beginner to begin scanning with a minimum of fuss, while still catering to the whims and fancies of the intermediate user (me!!). The Z-lid on the scanner, which raises up to allow you to scan in fat texts is a great idea and works very well. Plus, the styling is nifty and its slim and beautiful on my desk.
The BCJ-2110 printer is also a great value for the money. Its slow, yes... but hey! I'm in no hurry to go anywhere. Setting up the printer and the software is a breeze and the print quality is pretty good. I have tried printing pretty much everything from text-only documents in draft quality to photographs on glossy paper. All of the printouts are pretty good. The photographs sometimes look a little flat, but that can be remedied by playing around with the printer settings and manually adjusting the brightness, etc.
In summary, a highly recommended bundle.

well, i got one of these for my sister for christmas last year and she liked it so much and has told me over and over again how great it is that i am asking for one for myself this christmas.... i have used hers (both the scanner and printer) and havent one bad thing to say about either. the price is great, the brand is great, and they are both asthetically pleasing. definite recommendation.

I like the clear protective coating on the paper. Seems to be waterproof, which I can't say for the other brand of printer that I looked at. I wish it were easier to find the sizes of paper other than 4x6, though, especially since the printer comes with a 4x8 tray.

I love having my own photo lab at home! This printer is simply fantastic and produces photos that look great. In fact, I can hardly tell the difference from the photos printed with my CP-330 and the ones I've had professionally developed. Photos come out incredibly sharp and colorful.

My favorite feature on this printer is the fact that I can plug my camera directly into it to print a photo that was taken mere moments before. It is so much fun to take photos and then almost immediately be able to have and share a print of it.

If you are looking for an easy to use, high quality photo printer, this would be the perfect choice.

I just bought a Canon S600, and got this paper to test it out. I am extremely pleased with the print quality... with the right settings (emphasis here), the photos come out sharp and clear. The only thing I don't like is the fact that the ink will sometimes smudge if it's touched too much. Granted, some relatively inexpensive spray varnish can fix that, but it would be nice to not have to inhale so many toxic fumes.

I print many photos. I have been using Canon printers for this job for 2 years now. I have tried other papers with the printers and most do a okay job. But I do notice a difference in quaility when closely looked at with the Canon Pro paper. I print a lot of 8 X 10"s. And the Canon Pro Glossy just really jumps out at you. If you were going to print a bunch of wallet size photos you can probably save a couple cents by using the cheaper no name paper. I have even scanned a bunch of B&W snapshots that my father took during WWII and enlarged them and printed them on the Canon paper. They all looked great.