*** I am editing this previous review due to the fact this printer has become complete junk within two years. To confirm what everyone else is saying, this printer has a very limited shelf-life and prints grey pages after a certain period of time. The toner cartridge is still half-full, and cleaning the drum unit has no effect. In essence, this is not a product you should be spending your hard-earned money on.To reaffirm this opinion, please look at the other Amazon reviews and pay attention to who has posted a review after six months of use. While I have not contacted Brothers Technical Support, I dont feel this would be useful anyway since everyone else is affirming they are no help at all. Please look elsewhere and avoid the modest reviews for this printer because it deserves nothing but harsh criticism.
(My old review is below:)
****
After my new archaic (and plain pathetic) HP inkjet printers died, I knew I had to move on to laser. This is my first laser printer and I can proudly say I made a wise choice with this purchase. Everything about this product is amazing!
The HL-1440 model and the Samsung ML1210 are probably the two most popular newly-released models, after all the research Ive done. I suggest checking out reviews from zdnet.com, pcworld.com, and cnet.com if youre choosing between these two models. I saw both at CompUSA but the Brother to me had a more appealing design and sharper, crisper pictures and texts at low fonts. I definitely suggest test printing out a local retailer before committing to any model.
As for specifics, the Brother model was EXTREMELY easy to install and setup. However (and this is becoming more commonplace with the computer stuff I buy), there were no cords!
The AC adapter was there, but no parallel cable or USB cable to connect to the PC. I wished I could have been saved the hassle of going out and buying a USB cable myself.
The specs say that the printer is guaranteed to work with Windows 2000, and then when you open up the software CD inside, it says "final drivers for Windows 2000 are available at brother.com" so I was really uncertain if this would work well for my home setup. Fortunately, the printer works absolutely perfectly under Windows 2000 with the provided drivers so I didnt have to go to the manufacturer website.
One caveat that may not be apparent in pictures (which is why I recommend checking the printer out at a store before you buy). Unlike the Samsung ML-1210, the Brother printer has its own tray that handles up to 250 sheets. However, the tray is oversized and sticks out from the back of the printer! Hence, the tray is so big that dust and sunlight can get in from behind to sneak into the paper supply and possibly fade or diminish the paper quality through time. Ive solved this by taping a sheet of plastic over the opening, but I think customers should know about this anyway, especially considering the pictures you find on the net wont reveal this design flaw.
But in terms of raw performance, Im more than pleased with the product. Various test prints show that resolution is indeed super sharp at 1200dpi, and it spits out sheets at 15 ppm! There is no manual included with the printer; other than a simple quick installation guide, all of the documentation and in-depth installation procedures are included on a CD-ROM that includes drivers for all versions of Windows and the Mac!
..., as for another very minute design flaw, the bottom of the printer came a little warped, because I can slightly rock the printer from side to side (its extremely minor and wont affect printing at all). Just something I figured people might want to know.
