Brother MFC-420CN Color Inkjet Network Multifunction Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Update: Now I've had the Brother for over a year and a half, and I see that others have had bad luck with theirs. I will temper my original joy with the comment that my first unit did go bad (just wouldn't print), but Brother replaced it with a new one during the warranty period. They are so inexpensive that I bought another one to see me through the two weeks of repair/replacement time. That was less than great, but now I have a backup, for still less than $300.
I've never experienced much in the way of paper jams, so I would guess that at this price point, Brother just isn't providing consistent build quality. That's too bad, because the prospect of a bad unit is a real disincentive. I'm still satisfied overall, but recognize that not everyone is having the same experience. And of course the downtime resulting in purchase of a second unit was a drag. I would consider a different printer, but Epson and HP have both been such poor experiences for me (with far inferior support), that I will still probably prioritize a new Brother model when I need to upgrade. No sign of that happening any time soon though.
August 30, 2006
---------------
Ok, I have only had this all-in-one for a little over a week. But after years of being a slave to the HP ink needle, I am so happy with it I want to dance.
I have never really seriously considered Brother in the past, and now I feel like I have been living in the wrong world. Like if someone told you "My new car does 0-60 in 5 seconds, gets 70 mpg, and cost $1500. What, you didn't know about those?"
For less than $150, I now have a very compact printer with 10baseT ethernet (goodbye nightmarishly technical HP JetDirect 300x external network box), separate ink tanks for all colors, more advanced features than my 3 year old HP that cost around $1000 with the JetDirect, sharper printing, and best of all, real, honest-to-goodness Mac OS X support. Their software and documentation shows an absolute commitment to doing Mac right. (It took a year and a half for HP to get the Mac drivers for my OfficeJet to be minimally functional, and never did manage to handle things like scanning from the unit to a computer on the network.) Brother has earned a long-term customer here, and I am telling everyone I know.
Like any AIO, the quality of printing and scanning is probably not up to what you can get in stand alone units. But for general small office/home office use, it is more than fine. If you want the highest photo quality, get a specialized photo printer with a 6-color head. But actually, the photo quality on this unit is still far better than you could get at any price only a few short years ago. It's just that we have gotten spoiled at the truly amazing quality of photo inkjets in the last couple of years.
I will probably get one of the Olympus dye-subs for photos eventually, but in the meanwhile, prints from this on photo paper are plenty good enough for posting on my refrigerator door. And the resolution and appearance of business graphics, while again possibly not up to what current stand-alones will do, are the best of any printer I have ever owned, and leagues ahead of the older HP OfficeJet I just gave away.
And the best part is, it could fall apart in 6 months, and still not cost much more to replace than I have been spending on HP ink cartridges. My OfficeJet sucked down ink like a storm drain, and the cartridges were EXPENSIVE. It became clear in short order that their business model was built around bleeding you dry on consumable costs. Those guys have quite a racket, but I'm happy to say I am out from under it.
Thanks Brother, I will sing your praises to the skies.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Brother MFC-420CN Color Inkjet Network Multifunction

MFC-420cn Inkjet Flatbed Color Fax Printer/Copier/Scanner/PC Fax (BRTMFC420CN)

Click here for more information about Brother MFC-420CN Color Inkjet Network Multifunction

Read More...

HP DeskJet 6540 Color Inkjet Printer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)HP Deskjet 6540 [PC Pro]
COMPANY: Hewlett - Packard
DATE: Nov 04
Verdict: Excellent text quality, high speed, expandability and smart styling aren't quiteenough to make this basic printer competitive.

The 6540 is the first unit we've seen from HP's all new Deskjet line-up, a range that's been home to several Recommended and A-List award-winners.
Compared to Canon's Pixma iP3000, the 6540 is a fairly basic unit - there's just a single printer tray, no duplex or CD printing, and no direct-print-from-camera functions, yet it still manages to be almost ?30 more expensive. In terms of build quality though, it's streets ahead of the Canon. The dapper metal shell of the HP is much slicker than the iP3000's silver plastic, and the whole unit suffers from much less rattle. The lid is even geared so that it closes softly rather than slamming shut.
This attention to detail is carried over to the button panel on the left; the keys have a positive clicking action and are smartly lit. The bottom button switches between printing modes (draft, normal and best), though the printer software can override this if you'd prefer. Paper follows the traditional HP U-feed path - not a problem unless you want to print on non-standard or thicker media - and there's the usual slot for feeding envelopes. You'll also notice the inclusion of an upstream USB port on the front - not for connecting a camera, but as an easy way to connect a laptop. We're not convinced it's a must-have feature, but it's there if you want it.
In testing, text documents were near laser-quality, with crisp, black and well-formed characters on default settings, while draft mode only added slight feathering. Print speeds aren't staggering, but with our 25-page text document taking four minutes, six seconds to run through on draft mode, and only a minute more for default, the Deskjet 6540 should be fast enough for all but the most demanding users. For extra speed, we found fast draft mode to yield an impressive 21.4 ppm, with still reasonable results.
Photo printing is slightly more disappointing. Though prints are delivered in a timely fashion - one minute, 54 seconds for a best-quality borderless 6 x 4in photo - colours are a little washed out, and detail is softer than we'd like. Some prints also exhibit a slight embossed effect, with ink appearing to sit on top of the printed surface.
The black cartridge can be swapped for a photo cartridge to turn the printer from a four- to a six-colour device. Results were certainly smoother, and though colours still lacked punch and the detail was a little fudged, photo prints of this quality are uncommon in a sub-?100 printer. An additional grey cartridge is also available for smooth monochrome prints. On the plus side, it means you can choose how much to invest in the machine as a photo device; we just wish there was somewhere to put whichever cartridge you're not using.
It isn't just the ink that's modular. HP offers a range of accessories, including an automatic duplexer, complete with separate small paper sheet feeder. There's also an additional 250-sheet paper input tray. Compared to what the Canon iP3000 is offering, however, these aren't cheap, costing another ?40 each.
If you're looking for a cheap workhorse inkjet, the basic model is a good choice. Its photo printing is respectable for a printer at this price, and when you add to this smart styling, low running costs, and superb build quality, the Deskjet 6540 deserves a PC Pro Recommended accolade. For sheer flexibility and value for money, though, the Canon is a better choice.
By Christopher PhinHope this helps you out.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP DeskJet 6540 Color Inkjet Printer

The HP DeskJet 6540 color inkjet printer offers versatile performance and connectivity and a sleek-looking low-profile design. Get fast 30 ppm black printing or up to 20 ppm in color or sharp resolutions that are fine enough even for detailed photos.
The 6540 produces crisp 1,200 dpi resolution in black, up to 4,800 optimized dpi in color. The standard four-color printing yields high-quality prints, or for your finest creations you can choose six-color printing (requires HP 99 photo print cartridge, sold separately). The 6540 also offers the choice of printing photos with or without borders on a variety of media types and sizes, and includes HP photo printing software for easy task management and image editing. An optional duplexing accessory is available for two-sided documents.
The HP 6540 offers versatile connectivity. It features two USB ports, one in the back and one in the front. An optional external print server and optional 802.11b wireless accessory are supported for further expansion. The unit is backed by a one-year warranty.
What's in the BoxHP Deskjet 6540 printer, HP 96 black ink cartridge (C8767W), HP 97 tri-color ink cartridge (C9363W), HP Photo Printing software (Windows only), Printer software (Windows and Macintosh), User's guide on CD-ROM, setup poster, reference guide, power supply, power cord; printer cable not included; HP 99 photo inkjet cartridge not included
See for Yourself this printer in action

Click here for more information about HP DeskJet 6540 Color Inkjet Printer

Read More...

Lexmark Prevail Pro705 Small Office Wireless Multifunction Inkjet Printer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have primarily owned HP printers for the last 15 years, but was having sporadic problems with my main printer, an HP D360 photo printer. I was tired of troubleshooting with HP, so I decided to give in and go with the Lexmark Prevail Pro705. I shopped around and didn't really do much research prior to buying. I knew I wanted to try a new manufacturer and was hoping to get a multi-function unit. I was in an office supply store and asked if Lexmark was comparable to HP quality, and saw for myself that there wasn't a lot of difference in quality.
The Prevail Pro705 was the new model at the time of purchase (Oct 14th, 2009). This is my first purchase from Lexmark and I am very pleased. The most appealing things to me about this particular model were the number of features (Fax, Scanner, Copier, Printer), the 5 year warranty, and the slightly lower costs per print than the HP model. The color cartridge claims to get about 200 prints more than the HP 02 color cartridges, so that (ideally) means more prints for less.
After unboxing the printer, I first tried to set it up on Windows Vista Ultimate PC, connecting via USB cable (included). I was able to print a test page, but had difficulty printing pictures- the progress bar would only go to about 30% or so. I contacted tech support help troubleshoot my issue. They spent 4 hours trying to tweak things while remotely connected to my computer, with no luck. At the end of the first support session I was worse off- the printer was struggling to print a complete test page. Fortunately, my issue was escalated to second level support whom I was able to get in touch with the next day. After another two hours of trouble shooting, I was told this was an issue that may need to be submitted to the software engineering team. I was getting ready to pack up the printer to return it, but I decided to mention to the technician that I had another computer (a netbook) that had Windows XP on it and if that would make any difference. The tech recommended that I try to install the printer on that using the USB cable. I followed his instructions later that night and was able to get the printer installed and it printed everything, including pictures, perfectly. After that, I thought I'd try printing using wireless (instead of the USB) from my Vista computer and everything worked perfectly. Apparently, there are still some bugs that need to be worked out for Vista, or it is possible that my Vista computer has other issues that prevent the printer from functioning properly over USB. Since I also had issues with HP printer, I think it is possible that my computer settings are the culprit. The Lexmark support technician said the issues seemed to be related to a firewall on my computer, though we disabled that and still had the problem. The tech support people were very helpful and spoke good English, despite being in another country.
Had it not been for the trouble that I ran into while installing the printer on Vista and the lengthy tech support calls, I would have given a 5 star review. There are many pro's: the photo prints are very comparable in quality to my HP D360. The printer makes some noise when printing, but a lot less than my old printer. The wireless capability of this printer was a life saver and it was very easy to get set up with the software included (I am using a dlink wireless N router, with WPA security). It seems that it is also possible to set up the wireless capability from the printer, but I didn't try that.
The copy functionality of the printer works well. It took less than 30 seconds to make a copy and it looks very clean, though some colors (like light grays) seemed to be a little darker on the copy. There is also an "eco" setting that will automatically make copies on two sides of the page. This is a nice feature and saves paper, which I like. The eco mode also puts the printer into sleep mode after a certain amount of time.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a solid multi-function printer. It seems to have similar quality and capability to the more expensive HP printers.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Lexmark Prevail Pro705 Small Office Wireless Multifunction Inkjet Printer

Put the robust Lexmark Prevail Pro705 Wireless All-in-One with Fax to work for your home or small office.Experience greater freedom with WiFi-n (3X better wireless coverage and faster transfer speeds) or connect via Ethernet. Be more productive with built-in full feature fax, and a large, 50-page auto document feeder to easily handle printing, scanning, copying and faxing jobs.Installation is fast and easy – requiring approximately 10 minutes, while WiFi Protected Setup allows you to sync the printer to a WPS-enabled router with the touch of a button.The Prevail Pro705 also features a 2.4” color LCD to easily view and enhance photos.The Eco Mode feature includes an energy-saving feature and automatic two-sided printing, which can cut paper consumption in half.Print fast with document speeds up to 33ppm and 4”x6” photo printing in as little as 24 seconds.This robust All-in-One ships with XL high-yield ink cartridges which use Lexmark’s own Vizix ink technology to produce clear and consistent results.The Vizix ink system uses individual cartridges which can be replaced one color at a time.The Prevail Pro705 also ships with Business Card Scanning software which lets you scan up to eight cards at once, parcel the information, and synchronize it with many popular contact management solutions. All of this functionality is backed by an industry leading 5-year warranty and lifetime, priority phone support!

Get 36% OFF

Click here for more information about Lexmark Prevail Pro705 Small Office Wireless Multifunction Inkjet Printer

Read More...

HP Officejet 6000 Color Inkjet Printer (CB051A#B1H) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am a very short time user of this printer, however, this is at least 16th printer I have had at since my first Centronics in 1979, and I have installed many more at work.
The printer is very well packed. The print head comes un-installed. I had a little apprehension putting in the print head. The gray bar that is raised has a stiff spring. It would not be the first time I have pulled something too hard, but there are no locks or catches. It just lifts up. The head went in smooth as did ink installation. The next step is to put power on and wait for the printer to align. This takes some time. The printer werrs, pops, grinds, sounds like it is trying to load paper, but eventually prints, JUST WAIT.
After plugging in the Ethernet cable, the network light came on, and pressing the light got me a network printout. (However, it was not necessary). From here you put the disk in the computer and follow instructions. I installed the printer on three computers, a desktop wired to network, and Asus EEEpc, wireless (copy all files to a usb and run setup from the usb), and a laptop also wireless. The desktop with Vista required me to except port 427, the Asus running XP required nothing, and the Laptop running Vista and Zone Alarm required reconfiguring Zone Alarm. The good thing is the firewall changes required were somewhat explained by the software. The Zone Alarm instructions were better than the Windows FireAlarm instructions.
I have read many of the 'professional' reviews on this printer. Now that I have it installed and have printed several test prints, some thoughts. Print speed, is well within acceptable limits. In fact I read one review that said it was too slow. I disagree with that. I also read that the 'Photo' quality was not good. Well it is certainly good enough. It does make noise, however, it is no worse that most other HP ink jets I have dealt with. It is not a factor for me, but it it were I would pick the Wireless model and stick the thing in a closet somewhere.
I would highly recommend this printer to anyone looking for no frills printing. I particularly like the cost of ink! While I have refilled carts before, at $9.99 for color carts, for 300 pages and $14.99 for 700 pages, I don't think I will mess with it. The black XL cart is suppose to print 1,200 pages that is almost 5 reams of paper!

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Officejet 6000 Color Inkjet Printer (CB051A#B1H)

If you want fast, affordable, wired Ethernet printing, plus direct photo printing, check out the HP Officejet 6000 Color Inkjet Printer. Make you printer available on a small home or office wired Ethernet network that mixes PCs and notebooks Set up fast - there's no need for additional hardware or software with the built-in Ethernet Enjoy the convenience of wireless printing when you plug the printer networking cable into a wireless router (sold separately). What's in the Box: HP Officejet 6000 Printer; Print Head Assembly; HP 920 Black Officejet Ink Cartridge (approx. 420 pages); HP 920 Cyan Officejet Ink Cartridge, HP 920 Magenta Officejet Ink Cartridge, HP 920 Magenta Officejet Ink Cartridge: composite yield (approx. 300 pages); power supply; power cord; setup poster; Firewall booklet; safety and warranty guide; CD-ROMs (for software). [Average based on ISO/IEC 24711 or HP testing methodology and continuous printing. Actual yield varies considerably based on content of printed pages and other factors. Some ink from included cartridge is used to start up the printer. For details see http://www.hp.com/go/learnaboutsupplies]

Click here for more information about HP Officejet 6000 Color Inkjet Printer (CB051A#B1H)

Read More...