Dan LittmanPhotograph by: Rick RiznerBrother HL-5040 The HL-5040's strongest point is its 13.1-ppm text-printing speed--1.7-ppm faster than the average of the small-office units we've seen. In addition, this model generated very clean, even text and gray-scale graphics with reasonable detail and little graininess. Brother also deserves praise for its on-screen documentation (though not for its skimpy, disorganized printed documentation); the CD includes a thorough manual and a collection of videos that show how to operate and maintain the printer.The HL-5040's auxiliary feed takes only one sheet or envelope at a time and has no support tray, so you have to hold the media as it feeds in. Like most other inexpensive printers, the HL-5040 doesn't have an LCD on its control panel, so it indicates error conditions with flashing lights whose meaning you have to look up in the manual. Also, the stock configuration's mere 8MB of memory prevented the machine from printing one of our standard test files in high-quality mode.You probably wouldn't plan to put the HL-5040 on an office network, but if the need should arise, Brother sells an ethernet card for $300. A $200 optional paper feeder adds 250 sheets to the printer's capacity. The HL-5040's low price and fast performance make it a good match for a busy home office.
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