SPONSORED: Brother Laser/LED Printer Buyers Guide

Laser/LED Printer Specifications and Parting Advice

Laser/LED Printer Specifications - Part 1

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ModelPricePrint TechMax. Black SpeedMax. Color SpeedMax. Print ResolutionStandard Input Capacity
HL-2270DW$149.99laser27 ppmN/A2400x600250
HL-5340D$199.99laser32 ppmN/A1200x1200250
MFC-7340$199.99laser21 ppmN/A2400x600250
MFC-8480DN$399.99laser32 ppmN/A1200x1200250
HL-3070C$299.99LED17 ppm17 ppm2400x600250
HL-4570CDW$499.99laser30 ppm30 ppm2400x600250
MFC-9120CN$399.99LED17 ppm17 ppm2400x600250
MFC-9460CDN$599.99laser25 ppm25 ppm2400x600300

Laser/LED Printer Specifications - Part 2

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ModelDuplex?Max. Monthly Duty CycleFax?Scan?ADF capacityEthernet?WiFi?USB Direct?
HL-2270DWyes10,000nonononeyesyesno
HL-5340Dyes30,000nonononenonono
MFC-7340no10,000yesyes35nonono
MFC-8480DNyes30,000yesyes50yesnoyes
HL-3070Cno25,000nonononeyesyesyes
HL-4570CDWyes60,000nonononeyesyesyes
MFC-9120CNno25,000yesyes35yesnono
MFC-9460CDNyes40,000yesyes35yesnoyes

Parting Advice

In the real world, we have to confess that some of the specs we’ve frequently mentioned—output speeds in particular—are only mildly useful. Printer manufacturers generally base their performance numbers on 10% coverage, meaning only 10% of a page has ink or toner on it. If you’re printing out PDFs with graphics in them, how much coverage is that? Naturally, you probably have no idea. These ppm numbers serve mostly to rank printer models in terms of fast, faster, and fastest. That’s about as precise as you’re going to get.

Some things can’t be measured, such as how intuitive a printer’s menu system is for the average user. Brother is better than most about keeping its products friendly and accessible, but you still want to try out a model first-hand. Ideally, try to find a retailer with a floor model you can try out. Bring a flash drive with some job samples to try out if your desired model supports USB Direct.

Not least of all, give careful thought to features. It’s easy to overspend in this category. In this author’s home office, there hasn’t been a need to receive a fax in several years, and the need to send one crops up perhaps twice each year. Is faxing alone worth an extra $50 to you? You’ll have to be the judge. The good news is that these printers all excel in output quality. We no longer need to agonize over which models have sharper text and so on. For business use, all of them look fantastic. The remaining questions ultimately boil down to the issue of total value. Identify the features that will make a difference to your daily productivity and invest in those aspects for maximum return.

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  • mty msi
    Not sure if it's still a current model but if not I don't see a replacement model listed here. My MFC 9840 CDW laser has a legal document size scanning bed, duplex prints and uses the high capacity cartridges.

    I would also like to compliment Brother on their excellent phone tech support. I am very satisfied with both the product and the support.
    Reply
  • coyotefreek
    mty msiNot sure if it's still a current model but if not I don't see a replacement model listed here. My MFC 9840 CDW laser has a legal document size scanning bed, duplex prints and uses the high capacity cartridges.I would also like to compliment Brother on their excellent phone tech support. I am very satisfied with both the product and the support.
    The MFC-9970CDW would be the replacement. Its way down on the bottom of the page on Color All-In-One's. As mentioned in the article it supports duplex prints and high capacity cartridges. What they didn't mention is that it is also the only model with a legal size document bed.
    Reply
  • shineon2010
    Brother has one of the best phone tech support in the world!
    Reply