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Brother HL-2040

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79

Good
  • Pros
  • Competitively priced
  • Cons
  • Modest output quality

Brother HL-2040 Review

by Paul Jasper

- The $150 (as of 2/2/06) Brother HL-2040 laser printer would fit comfortably in an office that's tight on space and on budget. Its footprint is slightly larger than that of similarly priced models, but it looks more like a scaled-down professional laser printer than a souped-up personal printer. For instance, a proper paper drawer built into the base of the printer can hold up to 250 sheets of paper.

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User Reviews for Brother HL-2040

  • Reviewed by: Toddster63

    Duration of ownership: 3 Months

    Strengths: Great Value and great design and great quality output. The manual paper feeder makes it easy to print envelopes and business cards in limited quantities for home users and very small offices.

    Weaknesses: Does curl paper a little, and though the manual paper feeder works well, it can print a little askew on envelopes (but not too terribly bad)

    Overall Evaluation: I bought this unit as most users rated it well on various Net sites, and I really liked the design--it looks like a miniaturized laser printer, and not a hybrid laser/inkjet with the feed paper jetting out (and getting exposed to dirt and dust). The integrated paper drawer was a big plus for me! I've found the text output fabulous--as good as any laser I've seen. Graphics and photos are okay for personal use, and since that's what this printer is made and marketed for, this unit should serve single users on a personal level quite well. The only problem is the paper curling, but it's not THAT big of an issue, particularly for letter and correspondence that will be folded in the end. I've found the manual paper feed very adequate and up for the job, though envelopes sometimes print out a little askew. Overall for around $100 I'm thrilled with this printer, and so happy to be free of the constant expense of pricey inkjet refills for text and letters I need to print.

  • Reviewed by: sueite

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: Cheap. Efficient. Regular printing is a snap.

    Weaknesses: Feed tray / manual feed has a weird design and feels cheap.Must manually feed envelopes and cardstock one at a time. Double sided / cardstock printing will often produce a ghost (double) image.

    Overall Evaluation: For the money, this machine gets the job done and does a fine job printing for most print jobs. However, the design is really strange when it comes to the way it feeds paper. You have to have paper in there permanently. The tray feels cheap, doesn't always grab the paper right, and it swirls the paper around like crazy through the machine before coming out. The paper comes out too curved and hot to flip right away. This design makes double sided printing a real pain. Manual feed is just a slot that doesn't always realize you're holding paper in there for it to take. It just keeps saying the printer doesn't have paper. Sometimes you get lucky if you jiggle it in there right. Cardstock must be manually fed one piece at a time. There are ambiguous printer settings for paper type and print options. I found that for double sided and cardstock printing, the machine would often jam and sometimes text would "ghost" giving you a double image. It didn't make my huge batch of cards and envelopes for my wedding guest list simple at all....However, I would say for most people that are just printing out essays for college or something, you won't even think about problems with this printer. It's great for simple, cheap, plain paper, single-sided jobs.

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