Brother MFC-7840W Laser Multifunction Center
by Brother Printer
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List Price: Our Price: $309.99 You Save: $140.00 (31%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $150.00 (click here) Category: Office Product See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Brother MFC-7840W Laser Multifunction Center
Customer Review: Perfect For A Home-Office
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this as a home-office printer. I was using my Canon MP780 All-In-One, but realized that the print quality of my letters was not as crisp as I would like for a professional output. So, after two days of online research, I bought this printer.
Install was a breeze with my LinkSys Wireless Router, even with WPA2 encryption, I had no problem. Since I do have my wireless router with MAC filter enabled, I had to disable the MAC filter first, let the printer connect, get its MAC address from my router, and then re-enable all my security. Worked great from two rooms away (maybe 100 feet?).
Printing is sharp. Very nice indeed. And the software setup was non-problematic. Scanning is quick and easy, the hardware and software buttons are programmable. I'm not using the fax, so I can't comment on that feature.
The only complaints I have (and the first is not really a complaint because I knew before purchase) is that you have to manually feed your envelopes one at a time. If you market a printer for home-office use (or even small office use) it would be nice to allow for a multiple envelope feed. Again, I knew that before purchasing, but as your using it, this becomes annoying.
My main complaint is with the manual feed slot. There really is nothing but a one-inch ledge to hold your paper. This becomes awkward when feeding anything longer than 4 inches. Envelopes kind of flop down, as does paper, and sometimes causes the auto feed to jam (the minute you insert the paper it pulls it in a little). Then, you have to open the front and remove the whole drum and toner before it will stop registering a jam. In the beginning, this was happening 4 or 5 times a day (I print ~10-20 envelopes a day). Now, it hardly ever james because I've gotten used to the angle to feed it.
Other than those very minor annoyances, this is quite the printer. It's not so big, pretty light to move around, the wireless is very quick in my setup, and the output is nice. Text is sharp. And for the price, you can't go wrong for a laser printer (replacement toner, high-yield, goes for like $45 with approx. 2600-page output).
I would recommend this printer. I print 10-20 pages a day, photocopy the same, add the same amount of envelopes and all is nice and smooth.
Customer Review: Whole Experience Review
Summary: 4 Stars
The price was the best online for the specific printer!
The purchase of the item was easy!
I would have used this company again UNTIL....
Myself and my associates have been being "harassed" for a review on here so... I am giving one in hopes that "they" will now leave me alone?
What I said above is accurate & true... best price for a similar printer we had purchased for another associate and their company.
Another truth, is that I have never seen, set-up or used this product so, for me to give a "review" on any thing other than the price or purchase would be "misleading" at best? But now, I can offer up a review of my "morning after" experience with this company...
I have been emailed MULTIPLE times from this company for a product review. I have not responded to the requests for the above reasons, not much to review past the obvious? Then, on top of the emails, someone bothered to call my office to personally asked for me for a review but since I was out sick, this "guy," then proceeded to ask my receptionist for a review? My receptionist, who hadn't any knowledge that there even was a printer purchased because the transaction happened off-site & delivered to a completely different office?!? and even after she explained the situation, he still asked her for the review? What is that?
SOooo... here's the deal I haven't heard any complaints from the other office about the product. I guess the all-in-one is doing it's job? It took 5-7 business days to receive. The people we bought is from offered it at great price. If it doesn't bother you that they might "harass" you for a review by emailing you A LOT of even call your office/ home for a review OR that they were willing to ask & have someone who had no knowledge of the product post a review of it, then this is the place to purchase the printer! Especially if you like to "review" things you've purchased online... from this company... like this product... having a review prepared at the time of purchase?!?
Not sure this is the review "they" wanted but this is ALL of my experience with them. Purchase with your eyes WIDE open here folks!
And Have A Nice Day!
Customer Review: An improvement but still some very irritating features.
Summary: 3 Stars
The printer is supposed to offer four major features. Printing, Scanning, Copying and Faxing.
Let's start with the good. The scanning is a great process, the speed depends on the dpi you're scanning it and the whole process is fairly simple. You can scan a seven page document in poor-yet-readable quality in about less than a minute. I find this phenomenal. Faxes usually come in worse quality so it's fair to say I'd give the scanner a full five because there are a thousand options there. One ethernet cable, one phone line cable and one power cable plugs to the back.
The process of installing a cartridge for the printer's ink is particularly cumbersome. The plastic in the front can be difficult to close especially if your printer doesn't have a lot of space around it and is fitted into a compartment. At my work, they promote usage of generic ink cartridge which really only worsens things. A strong recommendation is to buy original toner etc and pay $10 more.
Copying is fair, it could be faster and a little more accurate. The build quality of this printer is rather good when you compare it with the older Brother.
Printing is not fast at all. Often pages come out half printed and the printer jumbles stuff up. This mostly happen if the printer is connected with three computers and you are printing eight sheets each on every single computer. The printing aspect is this printer's low point. While good for home-office use, this printer is not good for use in an office that requires constant printing. Say 200 pages a day, this printer doesn't meet the demand. The sleep feature is a headache. Let me not even explain that.
Sending faxes is a dying art so it really doesn't matter that much but I always close my eyes and cross my fingers when I'm supposed to send a fax to our other offices.
Overall, while this printer is an improvement I wish it was a more efficient, a more faster printer. We have two of these at our work place and the one which is used less, never gives a problem while the one in constant use is really bothersome.
Consider your options before purchasing. Good value for money but the printer's far from perfect.
Customer Review: the only MF I know that can be used as a fax/email gateway
Summary: 5 Stars
1. install the latest firmware
2. get an e-mail address for your machine ([...])
3. configure the iFax options
4. voila! you (and your friends) can now send free pstn faxes from any computer via e-mail, or receive pstn faxes at any e-mail address!
can your HP do this? I know $10k ricohs and oce network machines can do this, but a $200 mfc ???(249.99 at office depot minus $50 for trading in your old junk)
i had my previous brother mfc, the 8500, for 5 years, and printed almost 100k pages (3 drums and countless refilled cartridges), and it's still running like a champ. only reason for upgrade is my dlink printserver crapped out (literally) and the network and ifax gateway features on this one (bye-bye $3/fax page hotel charges, or wasted paper for incoming junkfaxes).
There's nothing better. (Except maybe the pricier brothers on the market which I assume use the same opensource linux-based firmware. or a community-based firmware update with even cooler features).
Suck this HP (and MS).
disclaimer: haven't used this w/ a voip line yet. would be a big disappointment if the fax doesn't work as good on a voip line as it does on my copper.
the tape over the toner sensor hole hack works great on this one too. google it, you won't regret it.
cartridges are 75 or so in the store, 20 on e-bay no name but just as good. or $10 if you buy the toner in a bottle and refill yourself (big nasty mess if you're not careful and you can only do this a couple times per cartridge)
my last mfc drum lasted 30k pages instead of the 12k advertised, so i expect this one to do too.
also, i remember the last one I printed 2000 pages in a day for a job, and it had no issue, worked great and fast. this one is twice as fast, we'll see about reliability, but worst case, the only wear item is the paper pick up roller (other than toner and drum), and is cheap to replace.
oh, did i mention this model is energy-star rated too? pretty important for a fax machine - on all the time. 1.5watt when in sleep mode, compared to ~50 for my old mfc8500, or the 1200w (!!!) my hp800dn sucks out of the wall..
Customer Review: Very nice and compact.
Summary: 5 Stars
When I ordered this machine, the primary rationale was its wireless capability. With 6 computers in the household, I wanted it to serve as the main fax/printer for common day-to-day needs while reserving the expensive color printers for more special tasks. My first choice for its location was one of the few rooms in the house without an Ethernet outlet, so a wireless connection to our pre-N router seemed to make sense.
Well, it turned out that the room had no phone jack either and I was too lazy to wire one. So the machine ended up at the same spot as the one it replaced and was plugged into a wired Ethernet outlet. Therefore, I don't really know how well its wireless reception works.
Overall, I am quite satisfied with the purchase nonetheless. The price is reasonable and its software works well with both Windows and Mac. The machine is very compact for a multi-function laser printer, about 1/3 shorter than the MFC-8000 series, and yet does everything equally well. Another plus is its total silence while in stand-by mode. I have an old high-end Xerox that sounds like a jet engine even without an active job. I have no choice but to leave its power at the off position most of the time. This is not a concern with the Brother. It stays quiet all day, wakes up within a minute after a job arrives, and goes back to silence quickly. This makes it a unobtrusive and convenient presence.
My old machine is an MFC-8820D, which served faithfully for nearly 3 years without requiring new drums or toners. Unfortunately, the hinge on the auto-feeder broke recently under normal usage. I liked the overall experience of ownership enough to go with another Brother, but the hinge on this machine looks to be of identical design to its big brother, so I am somewhat concerned. On the other hand, all printer makers squeeze the customers on parts, so once a printer reaches 3 years of age and begins to require expensive consumables, the economics tilts toward outright replacement anyway. Taking into account the disposable nature of these printers, the $200+ price tag of the MFC-7000 series makes a lot more sense to me than those of the MFC-8000s and 9000s.