EricW Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Buy now, and you can get it for $100 less than I paid for it: Brother HL-4070CDW @ Costco.com This sucker is a moose of a printer. It weighs as much as a sack of fertilizer. But...it works. Does everything: parallel, USB, wired ethernet, and 802.11 wireless. I'm using it on wireless and it does fine. Fully mac compatible. Fully PC compatible via Parallels. Built-in duplex printing. Reasonably simple setup for anyone that knows basic networking. If you do not know an IP address from your mailing address, this printer is probably not for you. Even being on Mac does not alleviate this. The printer does have an "easy setup" function that leads you through the process. I didn't have a lot of success with the "auto config," so I ended up hardwiring the IP address and subnet. What it is *not* is quick on the uptake. This really isn't the kind of printer you go use to knock out a page here or there quickly. It's sort of a tractor trailer: slow to get up to speed, but once you're on the interstate, you can really haul ass. Like all printers, you'll be financing it via new supplies. It will cost me about $400 to recharge it. I'll probably spend 1/3 to half that to just refill the cartridges. Brother cartridges seem to last through about 1 toner refill then need replacement. You're really flipping a coin on quality on refill #2. The color quality is not photographic quality, but is still very good for a $400 printer. For those who have had the kind of issues I have suffered through with inkjet (cartridges dying before their time, overly frequent incremental expenses) - you may want to consider this option, particularly now that it's on sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Eric, I just added a Brother 5250DN (Mono/WiFi) to my office. And man, the setup was a no-brainer. Getting it to print from all the computers - Ethernet or WiFi - was a breeze. The BRAdmin app the installer put in Library/Printers/Brother/Utilities did all the work for me. (And yes I got it from Costco as you suggested. I ordered it Tuesday and it was delivered Wednesday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted June 26, 2008 Author Share Posted June 26, 2008 Brian, You will *not* miss ink. Just think of all the bread you'll save to spend on that 650 Dakar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Well... I still use on old Epson 740i to print Endicia shipping labels. It's so easy to just lay the labels in the tray and print. It never jams with labels, unlike my last Brother Laser whether from the tray of single fed, and I get black cartridges for about 3 bucks each. When the Epson craps out, I'll try the new Brother for labels. But even if it doesn't jam for when you run the label through the first time, it probably will when I try to print the same sheet again. Especially if I put more than one label in the tray. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Boudrie Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Have you found a source for colored toner you can use to refill cartridges? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 http://www.lasertonerdiscount.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 Eric, Do you have any experience with replacing drums with aftermarket (not OEM) drums? In my previous Brother (a 5140 I think, it's now in the new printers box), I replaced the drum unit, by "mistake" actually. Joni ordered a drum online, thinking she was ordering a toner cartridge. So instead of returning it, I thought I'd slap it in. At that time we were having jams with it, trying to print shipping labels. So I thought maybe that might help. Then she ordered the toner and we slapped that in. Well, I think it was right around then that we started having paper jams with plain paper. Previous to that I can't remember it ever having a paper jam with plain paper. So I did some googling, and I found quite a few places/forums where people said not to use aftermarket drums. And sadly, I think I trashed the old drum. I thought maybe I saved but can't find it. So, following my new "printer-lifelong-rule" - Don't keep trying to fix a printer! My stubbornness has allowed me to waste SO MUCH time trying to fix printers over the years, I'm just not going to do it anymore. So, I have a 5140 that has paper jams now and then (they're pretty uncommon actually, I just can't deal with it as a work printer) that I'd ship to someone real cheap. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted July 1, 2008 Author Share Posted July 1, 2008 Eric,Do you have any experience with replacing drums with aftermarket (not OEM) drums? Hi Brian, Sorry, I don't. My vibe on printers is that the mechanisms are essentially disposable for the $500 and under jobs. The replacement factory drums seem to be priced at exactly where you'd simply opt to buy a new printer instead. I think the drum unit for my $179 Brother was $150 or some silly thing like that. Once you get into the "industrial" class of printer (say $1500 and up) then it would seem to make sense to refurb the unit with a new factory drum. I'm not sure what the market value of used printers is, but if you're really burning the things out, maybe you dump the old one on Craigslist for 30 to 50% off new money and upgrade once a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Hi Brian,Sorry, I don't. My vibe on printers is that the mechanisms are essentially disposable for the $500 and under jobs. The replacement factory drums seem to be priced at exactly where you'd simply opt to buy a new printer instead. I think the drum unit for my $179 Brother was $150 or some silly thing like that. Once you get into the "industrial" class of printer (say $1500 and up) then it would seem to make sense to refurb the unit with a new factory drum. . Thanks Eric. I totally agree. The drum replacement thing was a silly idea. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Eric, I wasn't sure from the pic - Does this printer have an individual sheet feed in the front? I bet they all do - but I don't know for sure. Thanks, be (Sad - it's no longer on costco. They only have one Brother/Color/Laser, and it doesn't have WiFi. But it is on Amazon w/free shipping for $350! It's $500 at my local Office Max!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JThompson Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 (edited) Eric,I wasn't sure from the pic - Does this printer have an individual sheet feed in the front? Yes. Multi-purpose Tray is the tray that folds down... not to be confused with the Multi-Pass. http://www.brother-usa.com/printer/modelde...DW&tab=spec Edited August 18, 2008 by JThompson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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