Great Wireless Multi-Function!

I spent about a week researching for just the right multi-function printer for my needs. I own a small business with about 30 employees so I needed more than an inkjet but didn't require a 'corporate' $1000+ version either. I needed fax scan copy and print capability with laser printing and built-in wireless capability. Suprisingly there are not that many printers on the market that can give you all of these in one package. Originally I was going to purchase the Brother's MFC-8870 for around $500 which all the reviews on the internet recommend but I found this while browsing around and realized that it had just come out a few weeks ago. Although there were no reviews out yet for this new printer it was considerably less expensive than the 8870 and the only thing I seemed to be losing was auto-duplexing so I made the purchase. It took about 15 minutes total for me to set up an ad-hoc wireless printer setup and everything works great. The scans are nice the printing is very crisp and clear even in very small fonts. The only thing I haven't tried yet is the fax which I won't be using much. I really can't say anything bad about this product. Sure it would be nice to have a legal-size flatbed auto-duplex and 64mb memory (instead of the default 32mb) but for the money this can't be beat. Overall this seems to be a really great product at a great price. I highly recommend this if you need a 4-in-1 with wireless capability. Definitely the best on the market for this niche.More detail ...

Excellent printer overall

This little boy is excellent. And you can't beat it for the price too. Also extremely easy to set up.



I am coming from an HP LaserJet also 30 papers per minute. So I was comparing it to the HP when I shopped.



My HP while it served me good was not as sharp black as the Brother is. I like the print results from the Brother much better. Plus the Brother have settings whether you're printing text only graphics general or office documents in addition you can choose "manual" and tweak the settings yourself to your liking. I also like that the size of the printer is pretty small.



The HP was a little faster from sleep mode (like 8 seconds) while the Brother 5370 takes approx. 14 seconds. Not a biggie. The processor was faster in the HP but 99% of the time you won't notice the difference. Once it starts printing it spits out papers like crazy. Very fast. One important note though: The fast 32 ppm is only if you are printing in 600 dpi mode. If you need the higher quality 1200 dpi mode print speed will be down by half! But there again 99% of the time the 600 dpi is more than enough. Some higher quality graphics may require 1200 dpi though.



Printing envelopes thru the multi-purpose paper tray is very good and they're not getting curled (like many old Brothers did) as long as you open the rear output tray. It can not print thru the regular printing area (if you do it will still print but envelopes will get wrinkled). I miss the HP in that area. It's much less cumbersome.



The printer is quite noisy. But most fast laser printers are noisy.



The duplexer worked beautifully. You just select "Duplex" or "Booklet" and the printer does the rest. Very good job with that.



I did not use the wireless networking but from the manual it seems to be a little complicated. Also from the manual is the following: "...Although the printer can be used in both wired & wireless network only ONE of the connections methods can be used at a time..." So keep that in mind if you want to use both.



I would suggest the following improvements if Brother is interested to listen:



- Make it quieter;

- Add a little high-quality display instead of all the lamps (also miss from my HP - all cheap inkjet have'em today!);

- If out of paper it should beep so I know to add paper (optional - not everyone will like beeps);

- Enable the multi-purpose paper tray to be opened with one hand (like my HP) not force me to use both hands.



Overall though it is a pleasure to use. Highly recommended.



**UPDATE**



I contacted Brother to help me setup wireless network. I must say I am amazed at the support I got. I can't recall if I ever had such a good experience with any other company! No waiting knowledgeable staff and helped me in less than minutes! And it works like a charm!More detail ...

Very fast easy to set up with Mac OS X and cheap.

I had considered purchasing a laser printer in the past but my little inkjet seemed more cost-efficient. Now that I'm into my dissertation and need to print 20+-page articles every few days - sometimes 9 or 10 at a time - the inkjet is no longer useful for my purposes. I saw this printer for very cheap at Staples and decided to go for it.



I am unsure about real-life cost-effectiveness since I've only had the printer for a few days. I am still using the starter toner that came with the printer. It has lasted through about 250 pages of full text so far. I ordered the high-yield (2500-page) toner from Staples for $61 including tax. Drum replacement looks to be about $100 every 12000 pages (every 4 toner cartridges). That says it will cost about $350 every 12000 pages or so if the printer lasts that long.



This printer is small and light and very simple. When it runs out of paper it gives the red error message. You add paper press the single button and it works again. Startup-to-print time is very quick - less than 10 seconds after flipping the power switch. I was stunned at how fast pages came out of this little thing (quicker even than the HP 2300 I have in my office). And yes the lights in my apartment dim when it prints.



I use this with a Macbook Pro over Airport Extreme (it worked! first try!)



I am confident in my purchase. (But not so confident that I waived the $15 warranty option when I purchased from Staples for $69 after rebates!)



2 caveats: this printer does not come with a USB cable (but my $3 USB 2.0 cable worked just fine.) As I said it only comes with a starter toner which is supposed to last only 250 pages (mine has lasted exactly that and no fading yet).More detail ...