Brother MFC8840DN All-In-One Printer

Brother MFC-8840DN

MFC8840DN All-In-One Printer Review, by Lisa Cekan May 27, 2005

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• Reviewed by:

  Strengths: Duplex printing is nice

  Weaknesses: Scanner won't work with windows firewall.Unreliagble networking.

  Overall: After a few weeks the 8840DN started dropping off the network and requiring frequent reboots. Spent 2 days with tek support, exchanged net card and it still drops out. The only device on my network that does this. PS I have a MSEE and design electronic equipment and teach communications at college. Hope to exchange for HP multifucntion or this will be the expensive fax I ever owned.

• Reviewed by: zhuchok

  Strengths: *Fast printer speed*All-in-one convenience*Built-in duplexer (dual-side printing)*Built-in Ethernet network port*32MB of RAM for faster printing

  Weaknesses: *Not as quiet as some other laser printers*Software setup is a pain

  Overall: This elegant fast all-in-one device could be of great value to a home user or small business workgroup. Network connectivity option makes it easy to share this printer among multiple users or/and have the printer set up to service wireless network clients (using a standard access point or a wireless router). I only wish that this printer would be a bit quieter. Finally, the initial setup of the software is a real pain. I am a systems engineer, and this is not the first Brother MFC8840DN that I was setting up. Yet I had to run the install a few times, before it completed well.

• Reviewed by: CareyBe

  Strengths: Low Price, Fast printing at 21ppm, Up to 160mb memory, Duplex printing & fax reception, Fast ADF up to 50 pages, Simple network installation

  Weaknesses: No incoming faxes over network, Can't easily monitor outgoing faxes over network, Slow flatbed scans, Lousy fax switching, Mediocre Copies, Cover doesn't flip completely out of way while copying

  Overall: I purchased the brother mainly for its copying capabilities. I prefer crisp laser copies to inkjet copies that smudge and warp paper, especially on pages that contain large graphics. I also needed a flatbed copier that could handle legal sized copies. The duplexing feature works flawlessly, but copies are mediocre and appear a bit fuzzy. But really, copier print quality is low on my priority list. The biggest complaint I have is that scanning & copying is slow when using the flatbed instead of the auto-document feeder (ADF), which is in fact, very fast. In addition, the flatbed cover and ADF don't completely flip out of the way, so copying and scanning bulky or tall items is nearly impossible. You'll still need to run to Kinko's for those items. I was pleasantly surprised at the MFC-8840DN's print quality. Text is very crisp and graphics print well at blazing speed. I was so impressed that I have retired my tried-and-true HP 4M printer in favor of the Brother. In fact, this is the first non-HP printer I have ever purchased. Faxing is effortless although its fax switching capabilities are nearly worthless. Voice calls were not always released, and when they were, the caller ID wasn't passed through. I opted instead to get a distinctive ring feature from my telephone company for incoming faxes which has worked flawlessly. The ADF holds a respectable 50 pages and is very fast. Hundreds of pages can be stored in memory while they are sent so you can get back to work quickly. The unit can be upgraded to 160Mb from the standard 32mb. I am surprised by reviewers that have described the network setup as tedious or difficult. It couldn't have been easier. Period. I plugged the network cable in to a hub and ran the provided software on three different computers without a single issue. I was printing, faxing and administering the unit via the network within a few minutes. My only real complaint is that despite being able to fax out, the MFC-8840DN won't route incoming faxes to network users and networked faxes can't be monitored or cancelled easily. Overall, I would definitely recommend this multi-function printer to home and small workgroup users. This unit is all about practicality. It has a great set of features for a low price.

• Reviewed by: netman88

  Strengths: A great copy machine plus extras.

  Weaknesses: The networking pieces needs some better documentation, the toners can before quite expensive.

  Overall: After researching thru many printers: Sharp, Canon, HP, I found this printer is still the best value for the dollar and performance. Since I already have a few other printers, I have mainly used this all-in-one to copy paper. However, I will use this printer as a backup to my other printers and fax machines also. After a short pause after initializing during power-up(it seemed 1-2 mins), copying papers is very fast and doesn't skip over pages like some multi-functions do. I found it quite useful with the 4 page in one and 2 pages in one for copy jobs. I like page count feature also since it lets me know how many pages are copied. Like many laser printers, the machine is quite loud like a copy machine. The powerup/powersave mode power back to Fax mode by default. I wish it stayed at copy mode. It would be great if brother sold a color laser one. Bottom line, I would buy it.

• Reviewed by: jzchen

  Strengths: Fast, always clear prints, makes double sided copies/prints, no paper jam problems, easy setup and install onto network, never have trouble resetting computer printer port if network goes down

  Weaknesses: Making double sided copies is a little confusing until you figure out how. It automatically selects manual feed paper tray, (if you put paper there,) if printing, but not if copying

  Overall: I have the older MFC-8820DN model and this one works even faster! You have to figure out that it flips the page when copying double sided, so as to turn around the original to get the orientation you want. The manual is clear on how to make double sided copies though. Again, very easy to install, just plug into the network, put the CD-ROM into you computer and follow the instructions. Very happy with the price and features!!!