Brother HL-5250 DN - Good network, duplex, laser printer

Update June 1, 2009
Do not use the MP tray!  I made the mistake of using this to print some legal sized paper documents from my XP laptop and the next day when I tried to print to Tray 1 (default tray) it wouldn't print!!!  Instead I got a flashing Paper LED light and a steady Red LED light.  I thought it was a paper jam at first and couldn't find any.  I searched the net and found a recommendation to put the paper in the MP tray and press Go to see if it prints.  If it does, then it's stuck in the MP tray setting!  Brother has a fix for the problem http://www.brother-usa.com/FAQS/Solution.aspx?FAQID=100000001620&Sympt=How+do+I+clear+the+flashing+Paper+LED+(. 

Another problem I had was with my XP desktop losing contact with the printer.  I changed the network cable, then changed the port, but the printer couldn't be found.  The solution to this problem is to check your router connections info.  Write or print the printer name and IP address.  Go to Printers & Faxes, right click on the printer, then click on Properties.  In the Properties window, click on the Ports tab, then click on Add Port.  In the window that pops up, select Standard TCP/IP, then click the new port window.  In the TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard, enter the required info.  If the original port setting used the printer name, use the IP address, and vice versa.  Do a test print to see if the connection is working, then delete the original port.

I also found a solution for the envelope problem, but I haven't personally tried it since I use labels for envelopes.  It involves opening the back cover and gently pulling up the blue tabs/latches.  You're supposed to reset them to the original position after printing your envelopes, but I couldn't tell what the original position was, so I left them where they are.

Aside from the MP tray problems, the printer is very economical to operate.  It's on its second toner cartridge ($68, the first was the starter cartridge) and has printed over 4,200 pages.  Using an inkjet with only black ink, that would be over 11 cartridges at more than $30 each.  The only "extra" cost comes from using 24 lb paper since 20 lb paper tends to jam, especially when the humidity is high.

Original Review
I wanted a laser printer because I have to do a lot of printing and it was proving expensive with my HP inkjet printers - each cartridge prints approx. 400 pages only. After a lot of research, the only printer that suited my needs and budget was the Brother HL-5250DN. Other network, duplex laser printers cost about twice as much as this printer.

The printer was easily networked on a home LAN with computers using Windows XP (Pro and Home), Windows 2000 and a Linksys Wireless-G broadband router. When installing on the first computer, make sure the printer is not connected and follow directions for installing on a network. For all other computers, the printer can be left plugged into the router. Install as before. The software will automatically find the printer on the network. (For direct printing to the printer on the network use the default setting - peer to peer, unless you have a print server.)

The printer prints very quickly, I love the duplex capability. Full pages of text or graphics printed duplex take roughly 7 seconds per page. Pages tend to curl, when 20 lb laser printer paper is used, but if you put them under something heavy they will flatten out. I've found that 24 lb paper has much less page curling.

PDF documents do not print well, maybe they are seen as images. Printing with the 300 dpi setting and toner saver on gives poor quality prints but printing at 600 dpi produces much better prints.

Printing of full page photographs using the HQ 1200 dpi setting with toner saver off produced images with noticeable banding.

The printer doesn't seem to detect manually fed envelopes, however, if you press the "GO" button it will print on the envelope. Make sure to put the envelope with the face up and the flap to the left for no. 10 envelopes.

The toner cartridge that comes with the printer is supposed to last about 3000 pages at 5% coverage (I'll update when it finishes). I plan to buy the 7,000 page replacement toner - TN580, when this one finishes. Compared to other laser printers, this seems to be only one of a few printers that has a high capacity toner cartridge at a relatively inexpensive price - about $70.

CONS
The printer doesn't have an "ON" light so you might leave it on accidentally, especially when it goes into sleep mode. It seems to use a lot of power on start/wake up because when I plugged it into the battery back-up side of a 250 W UPS, it caused the UPS to shut down. In the surge protection side, it causes the UPS to beep but otherwise works fine.

When humidity is high, you tend to get creasiing of pages and occasional paper jams. However, once you clear the jam, the printer will re-print the spoiled page.

It is noisier than an inkjet, but so far the benefits outweigh the cons, especially when you consider the length of time it takes to print duplex on an inkjet and the cost of cartridges.

This is an especially good printer for college students, especially since most texts either include material on cd-rom or online and you read faster on paper than on screen.