Brother HL-2140 Laser Printer

Comments about Brother HL-2140 Laser Printer:

Pick this as an emergency after my 2 yr old Samsung died. It was relatively cheap and the print quality is good. But... If you use recycled or cheap paper it jams on occasion (seems to work much between on high quality laser paper). The biggest issue is the short life of the toner cartridge AND when the printer detects low toner, it STOPS printing (vice letting you continue with progressively lighter print/images). It turns out there is a little clear plastic window (about the size of a pencil eraser head) on either side of the toner cartridge. It appears the printer shines a light on one side of the cartridge and, if the light is detected on the other side, it assumes there little to no toner left in the storage tank and then stops printing. In reality, there fair amount of toner left in the cartridge (15-20%?). I put a small piece of masking tape over the plastic window and was able to get a significant number of additional pages (200?) before replacing cartridge. Unfortunately, I discovered this on my third cartridge!

Comments about Brother HL-2140 Laser Printer:

The HL-2140 is intended for light-duty use, personal or home office. It is not intended for use in large office, where hundreds of pages are printed everyday. This printer is a laser printer that uses toner (graphite-colored powder) that is burned into the paper; it is not made to do photos, especially on photo papers. This Brother printer prints fast and is relatively quiet. You can control many of your user preferences from the printer's preferences. The print qualities at 600 dpi and 1200 dpi is simply outstanding. Read the directions. Also, download the newest drivers from the Brother website. To get every bit of toner powder out of the cartridge, first remove the toner unit from the drum assembly. Second, find the little circular window on the right-side of the toner cartridge. Third, place a piece of black electrical tape over the clear window, cannot be clear tape. Fourth, re-install the toner cartridge into the drum assembly. Last, put the complete unit back into your printer. This is a great little printer.

Comments about Brother HL-2140 Laser Printer:

The worst aspect of Brother's products in this category is the need to replace the drum cartridges on a regular basis. The cartridge for this unit costs more than I paid for the machine in the first place. Admittedly, the machine was heavily discounted, but then again the cartridges never are. Brother's estimates for the life of these drum units is very, shall we say, "conservative" if not downright untrue. The cost of operating this machine rises dramatically as you start replacing these units. I have a Brother copier and fax machine and will be phasing them out this year to more economical HP products which may have a higher purchase price but provide better value in the long run.

Comments about Brother HL-2140 Laser Printer:

I could have taken a few $20 bills and just threw them into the wind, and at least I wouldn't have had the aggravation of this annoying printer! Never again. This was my first Brother purchase and it will definitely be the last.

After only 3 weeks of use, I get a constant error message that prevents me from printing. The only fix is to take out the ink cartridge and drum, move a lever several times, wipe it down with a lint free cloth, and then put it back in the machine. That will allow me to print two more pages, and then the error message will appear again.

I have checked on-line and have found numerous complaints about this. Some people have replaced the toner cartridge, only to find the problem persists.

Oh, and just incase you are wondering, you can buy 2 of these lousy printers on sale at Staples for the price of 1 replacement toner cartridge! Yikes!

Comments about Brother HL-2140 Laser Printer:

Easy to setup Fast Printing! Printer sometimes when starting up gets really warm but the printer is really good.

Comments about Brother HL-2140 Laser Printer:

I print anywhere from 30 to 150 pages daily of just text and I'm going through a lot of cartridges. I previously owned the Brother 2040, which I feel was a better machine. The cartridge for this 2140 prints 1500 pages, where as the 2040 cartridge printed at least 2500 pages. Also the first day I set up the 2140, the paper jammed and has done so a few times since. I don't see this machine lasting as long as the 2040 did...