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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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Brother MFC-7840W Laser Multifunction Center
Customer Review: Huge disapointment
Summary: 2 Stars
For years I used a massive duplex HP that was built like a tank and the print quality was superb. The downsides were, it's size, it wasn't wireless and the print cylinders were very expensive. I have always been impressed with the value Brother products offered and so after much research and especially the comments of Amazon buyers, I purchased this model. The footprint is acceptable though not tiny, the construction seemed somewhat cheap but for the price reasonable, the multifunctions were promising but most of all was the promise of being wireless and without the need of being perched on the desk. After a few months of use I can say now that it was a monumental disappointment on almost all counts. The print quality is barely acceptable. The scanning seems to work only marginally well. To print an envelope you open a slot in the front the size of a toaster slot and the envelope is fed straight through and is spit out the back. Obviously not meant to set up in front of a wall. But by far the worst attribute is the functioning of the wireless feature. I have spent so many wasted hours trying to configure it but it has trouble even detecting the SSID signal, then it loses the connection almost immediately. I have changed to every possible security configuration including WEP, WPA. WPA2 and so on. Occasionally the setup accepts the settings and I feel like I discovered cold fusion. I print something only to be told a minute later the computer can't find the printer. I scream, "it's 3 feet away in clear view!". Many seem satisfied with this printer. But I've conceded it's time to drag the HP out of the attic and learn to live with a wired connection but great print quality and flawless functions.Customer Review: A defect in their software
Summary: 4 Stars
I received this printer in two days from Amazon. The wireless setup on this printer was pretty straightforward and it took me only 5 mins to get it connected, however, I did have problems during software installation on my laptop.
Initially, I installed the software on one of my laptops with Windows XP Home Edition. This software kept complaining that no device/printers were detected in my home network. As a result, I had to manually enter printer's IP address to continue the installation. Then I removed the software and installed it again--no lucks.
After that, I installed same software on another laptop with Windows XP Professional. This time, no complaints.
As you may know, IP address is dynamic, in other words, if you reboot this printer, it may get a brand new IP address that would cause disconnection to my first laptop since I manually input IP address there.
I called Brother's customer service regarding this issue. It appears that they were unable to help me out. Fortunately, I fount my NetGear wireless router has a feature called `IP address reservation' that can reserve a specific IP address for the device/Mac address, so I reserved an IP address for this printer.
Other than that, this printer works perfectly, so far.
Brother offers a lot of ways/applications to do the printer configurations, eg, web-based software, remote setup, Bdadmin light...... All of them have non-professional UIs and non-friendly designs that make me recall my high school programming projects. These software have almost same functionality and if Brother could toss some of them, it would probably reduce cost and retail price.
Customer Review: Impressed and relieved!
Summary: 4 Stars
Finding positive reviews on printers for more than home use has become a real challenge. I used to be an HP person but it was one bad review after another - especially for Mac users (which I am). So I went to Brother a while back - - I think it was the 5140dnl (?). It was a network ready model which I really needed.
It was relatively fast but there were a lot of little things that would always be an issue. There also seemed to be some driver issues that gradually became more and more of a serious problem. Eventually it just would not print anymore. I got tired of fighting with it and was reluctant to buy another Brother product. I stumbled across this model and no matter where I read reviews, they were largely positive. I was skeptical considering the long list of features... but so far, knock on wood, it's excellent. The print speed & quality is very good, the copier & fax features work just fine & I've used the auto document feeder to copy a couple of large packs of papers and it did a great job - fast, no fuss, very intuitive. My only complaints would be - it's loud. I have a small office and the thing is noisy - and after the print etc it remains a bit loud for a while; the other complaint is that the envelope feeder doesnt really seem to handle more than one at a time... I also print on 3x5 cards for work purposes (small pocket notes) and if I put more than one card in, it takes them all (usually 2 or 3). Now I do admit I have to check the manual on this - there may be something you can adjust. Other than these couple of issues I am really happy with this product - especially considering the price.
Overall for the cost and the list of features I think it's hard to go wrong with this product.
Customer Review: Wireless set up a little frustrating, but works beautifully
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this thinking I would keep it in the utility closet with the router (airport express) and modem. There is a USB port on the airport express, so I didn't think I needed wireless, but sprung for it anyway since with a trade in and a special at OfficeDepot it came in at under $200. I couldn't get the printer to work off the USB port on the airport express, even though my Mac Mini was clearly "seeing" the printer attached to the USB port. (I've never been able to get any printer to work off this USB port, but I thought that was a function of the antiquity of the old printers--I should have known better. I love Apple, but this port is a bad joke.) Wireless setup was a little prickly, since I can never remember what the password is called on an airport express (it's a WPA by the way). What drove me nuts was that if you entered the airport express password incorrectly (since you are using a telephone keypad, it's not that easy) instead of getting a nice clear message, like "wrong password", the error message was "enter & OK". WTH? I was entering a backward single quote, instead of an apostrophe, which was the problem. If you have a password with an apostrophe, make sure you hit * for a list of symbols, not #. But once the password was in, the thing worked like a charm. Nice printer image, good doc feeder and copier function, scanning ok. If this thing is sturdy, I will be quite happy. I still remember my old Apple laser fondly--gosh, those things were built like tanks, and the toner cartridges lasted forever. If the interface hadn't changed to USB, I'd be using it yet. I wish Apple still made printers--I'd pay the premium for an easy set up and durability.Customer Review: Solid laser printer for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the first laser printer that I have had extensive experience with, but I've used this printer for light office use in non-profit, and haven't had many complaints. I'll tell you up front that I have never used it to fax (I don't think anyone under the age of 30 faxes, haha), so I won't be able to give you more info about that part.
The toner cartridges in this printer last for a looong time. I recommend the high-yield brand name toner, Brother TN360 High Yield Black Toner Cartridge. The printer is only black and white, and for printing office documents, it is great. But if you want to print images on your documents, this printer isn't for you.
It's super easy to set up in Windows with it wired to the network. Windows' "Add Printer" function will recognize the printer as long as it's plugged into your networking device. Wireless connections aren't much harder if you know your router's settings or the basics of setting up an ad-hoc wireless network. As expected, setup via the USB cable is a snap.
I have trouble with jamming when I use much other than standard 20lb paper, but I suspect that paper I was using was designed for an inkjet and not a laser printer like this one.
Printing envelopes is a pain. It just doesn't feed or accept them right, so I had to resort to labels.
Copying works fine, and is easy: press copy, enter the number of copies, and push start. Copy quality is just as good as the print quality.