D-Link DPR-1260 RangeBooster G Multifunction Print Server Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Okay. It isn't perfect. Installation isn't as easy as it should be. Instructions aren't as good as they should be. Some printers work with it, and apparently some don't.
But go look at the ratings on all the other print servers. You'll see the same problems. I tried at least three others, and couldn't get any of them to work. I've been able to successfully get this print server to work with an Epson R300 (USB 1.1), a Canon MP830 all-in-one(USB 2, print only), and even a Lexmark Optra T610 laser printer(parallel, with a USB-to-parallel adapter from Belkin).
Printer manufacturers have gone nuts with bi-directional information going back and forth between the printer and the computer. The result: really pretty printer drivers that give you loads of information and options, but depend on the printer being physically connected to the computer. But when you want to easily share that printer with a bunch of other people (especially a bunch of people with laptops), it's much more difficult. Either everybody has to swap cables, or you buy a print server--and give up the pretty driver screens that pop up to tell you to buy more ink.
The D-Link DPR-1260 is the only one I could find that actually listed compatible printers on the box. They say that they tested with 100 different printers. I believe it. Their competitors don't seem to have done nearly as much testing.
If you aren't comfortable setting up a wireless router on your own, or if you needed help installing your printer the first time, don't buy this. If you can figure out what the d-link is doing by setting ports on your printers to print to an IP address, give it a try.
If the market had some better entries, I probably wouldn't rate this with 5 stars. But it appears to me to be the cream of the crop.
Update (12/2007): We've had it for about a year, and we've had trouble a number of times. It repeatedly loses settings. If I could reduce the number of stars, I'd give it two or three.


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Canon PIXMA MX340 Wireless Office All-in-One Printer (4204B019) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Got this printer couple of weeks ago and it has been performing up to my expectation. I still cannot believe the price of this AIO printer. Even at the MSRP of $99 from Canon, it is still very well below a comparable unit from other brands. I like a good bargain, so originally I had 2nd thought on getting this because it was only $10 cheaper at Amazon than list price. However, after comparing other AIO printers with similar features like wireless, fax, auto-document feeder, this became a no-brainer.
Pros:
- AIO with fax.
- Mac friendly software
- Price point
- Sleek symmetric design vs. other brands (i.e. all trays are closable to create a neat look)
- Self opening output tray if tray is closed. I had other printers where if I forgot to open the output tray, the paper would just cumple up.
- Easy Wi-Fi setup
- reasonable replacement OEM ink cartridge prices.
- iPhone/iPod touch app for printing photos from your iPhone or iPod touch.
- USB cable included, useful and a must for initial setup
Cons:
- so far I have not been able to fax from my MacBook wirelessly, though faxing from PC wirelessly works.
- slow start-up like most other users have experienced
I have owned AIO printers from HP, Lexmark, and Epson before. This model by far has been the best price performance for me.

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Wireless All-in-One Home Office Printer with Auto Document Feeder

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HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-in-One Printer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Recent reviews of the HP OfficeJet Pro 8500 Wireless were critical of noise, vibration, and ink usage. Here are what I have discovered since installing this printer.
1. On most surfaces the noise from the printer is minimal. Movement of the plastic gears on HP, Canon, and Epson are not silent. Perhaps newer versions of the 8500 by HP will address this minor concern.
2. The printer vibrates slightly compared to a laser printer, but not to the extent that it is objectionable. Perhaps HP can reduce or eliminate this in future models but probably by increasing the weight of the printer. Most users, I suggest, would not want a heavier printer.
3. Ink usage is part of the printer expense "game" but with HP you can continue to print in B&W even if any or all of the color cartridges are empty [Verified by HP Support] That may not be the case with some recent offerings from Epson or Canon, although I personally prefer Espon and Canon printers for color prints.
4. The ink cartridges are dated, but they will continue to function even after the "expiration" date. HP prints a date on the ink package, but it does not prevent the cartridge from working. As a matter of fact, ink will remain usable in a SEALED packet for an extended period without concern. This date code is not a rip-off by HP anymore than other companies who print a freshness date.
5. It is certainly less expensive to order color prints online than to purchase OEM ink and paper. For those with a digital camera who need a quick print now and then the quality of the HP is excellent.
6. Setup is easy. I would only add a note to the directions for Step 7 to input your choice of language and then follow the touch screen directions as the printer processes alignment. The directions are not clear on that one point, and you could wait for 30 minutes wondering why it hasn't competed alignment of the print heads. Check this out if you purchase this printer.
7. I am punctilious concerning most purchases and, at least in this case, I feel that this printer is an outstanding VALUE even when other offerings from Canon, Brother, and Epson may be less expensive. I have seen printers on sale for less than $50, but the thin plastic housing and the print quality reflect the price. We wanted Print / Copy / Scan / Fax, although we will seldom use the FAX function. (I will only connect the FAX as needed).
8. Follow the directions CAREFULLY and install precisely and you will enjoy owning this printer.

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USB to IEEE 1284 Parallel Port Adapter Cable Review

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(More customer reviews)I figured I'd give the cheapest solution a try, and it worked perfectly in connecting to my old HP LaserJet 6L. Plugged it into the printer. Plugged it into the laptop. Immediately recognized printer, downloaded driver & said "Ready To Use." Done. I was printing sample sheets in about 2 minutes, start to finish, and I ain't no friggin' genius.

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USB to Parallel IEEE 1284 Printer Adapter Cable PC (Connect your old parallel printer to a USB port) Review

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(More customer reviews)This product is not recognized in XP and the drivers (which are buried in a subdirectory on the mini CD) do not work even when manually added via add new hardware/ports/have disk -> mini CD drivers. XP sees there's a new USB device but is unable to locate any driver, nor asks where one is (as the documentation claims should happen). There is no company or support information, and the seller cable4less / cable4pc only has email. don't buy it

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HP Photosmart Premium Wireless e-All-in-One (CN503A#B1H) Review

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(More customer reviews)There are many qualities that should be considered when rating a printer. This printer is nearly perfect in all of them. First is ease of setup. Setting up this printer was a breeze. I put it on the table, plugged it in, turned it on and the printer took over from there. The screen told me what to do and when to do it. Installing the cartridges was simple. It hooked up to my Wi-Fi system easily (no cables needed) and was ready to go in a few minutes. Wi-Fi is great, letting you carry the printer around the house so it's always near you and your laptop as you go from the kitchen to the family room. Quality of prints? The prints were as good as the prints professionally developed that are sitting in my photo albums. (I did use the HP glossy paper supplied with the printer.) And the scanner works quickly and with excellent quality.
The printer has some cool features that let you perform some functions without using a computer. Need a last minute greeting card? Bored and want a quick game of Sudoku? Planning a trip and need a map? (MapQuest, not google maps, though.) The printer has a small screen that lets you pick a nice selection of applications and when HP releases their API to write apps I'm sure there will be plenty more available.
There were a couple of odd little problems. When I moved the printer the first time, the apps were having trouble accessing some websites until I ran through the setup again. The touchscreen takes a little getting used to and I found myself starting apps when I was trying to scroll past them. But this was a minor issue and after a little getting used to I had no further problem.
What it comes down to is that this is the best printer I have ever owned. The print quality is amazing and really that is what any printer comes down to in the end. For a home printer, it would be hard to find anything better.

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HP Photosmart Premium C310A Multifunction Printer CN503A#B1H 74

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HP Pavilion dv6-3250us 15.6-Inch Entertainment Notebook PC (Silver) Review

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(More customer reviews)An awesome laptop. Very good looking design (argento on brushed aluminum). Feels sturdy in hand. All the bells and whistles as per the specifications including a backlit keyboard (which was really the selling point for me). Only problem and I mean the ONLY problem for me is the click/touch pad... to click on an item and/or drag and drop is kind of cumbersome to execute...the click part of the pad feels a bit stiff or too far down from tyhe location I'm used to it being in on other laptops...but I figure I'll get used to it after a while. What I think would have been great to just make this the ideal compact and economical merge of hardware vs. price would be integrated bluetooth. But no sweat for me I already had an IOgear bluetooth dongle to connect....Again, awesome laptop!

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Enjoy life without limits and get entertainment that moves you. Access the music and movies you love using the HP Pavilion dv6-3250us Entertainment Notebook PC. Watch DVDs on the 15.6-inch diagonal High-Definition LED display, plus stream content wirelessly from the display to an HDTV using a WiDi adapter (sold separately). The keyboard on this HP laptop is backlit, so you can control movie playback and type easily in the dark. Video chat in low-light environments using the integrated HP webcam and log in to secure websites effortlessly using the integrated fingerprint reader. The sleek HP Pavilion dv6-3250us Entertainment Notebook PC has the perfect balance of style and substance. It's finished in brushed aluminum with the stream design in argento. Burn custom labels onto CDs and DVDs using LightScribe Technology and transfer photos from a memory card directly to your HP laptop. Expect great performance with a powerful Intel processor and get amazing sound with Dolby Advanced Audio. Browse the Web from any room using built-in Wi-Fi, plus enjoy online gaming with Intel HD video graphics with up to 1696MB total graphics memory. 4 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, 4th port shared with eSATA

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VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand Portable Scanner (PDS ST415 WM) Review

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(More customer reviews)I wish I could tell you if this scanner works. Unfortunately, the Amazon description says it comes with a FREE 4G card but it was not included in the package. And I have not been able to find a card that fits yet. So much for scanning on the go.

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Planon Docupen R700 B&W Pen Scanner (DPENR700) Review

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(More customer reviews)Bottom line first: DocuPen is a very good device if you do not have too high expectations and use it only for what it was designed for. You have to realize: this is neither a copier, nor a scanner; this is a fax machine inside out. You will get exactly the same quality as from a conventional fax. If that's what you need, than DocuPen is a perfect device for you. Otherwise - don't bother.
The images scanned with DocuPen look almost exactly as if they came out of a conventional fax machine. The pictures looked pretty bad (if heavy graphics/pictures are what you need don't even think about DocuPen) and some of the text lines were stretched in a way a fax machine does when the paper gets a bit jammed. I am sure, with some practice it will get better but not too much as it's humanly impossible to keep moving the hand up to 8 seconds with precisely the same speed.
However, if the text and some light drawings are what you need than this device is for you. I, personally, do historical research and need to copy some articles from old newspapers. DocuPen works great with text. Just make sure you always use 200 DPI even if you don't really need to. The reason is that if you mess something a bit (say, your hand shakes or so) with 200 DPI there is a chance to fix the image later on or at least to be able to read it. At 100 DPI it's pretty much dead end.
The two major drawbacks of the DocuPen (at least for me) are the small memory and inability to work with a PDA. DocuPen's internal memory is only 2 Mb which in my opinion is ridiculously small. And there is no way to increase/upgrade it. Don't believe the ad that says you can store up to a 100 pages. You don't want to scan at 100 DPI, and with 200 DPI 50 pages is the max. What they don't tell you in the ad, is that if any of those pages contain heavy graphics the number could go as low as 12 (!) at 200 DPI (that's what the manual says). That sounds like almost nothing to me.
The small memory issue would not be that bad if the DocuPen was compartable with any of the PDAs. As long as I could download those few pages and start scanning again I would have being OK with that. However, I don't always carry my laptop with me and it is sort of a hassle to bring it to the library every time. On the other hand, my PDA is always in my pocket. If I download those scanned pages to my PDA not only to clear the memory but also to check how they turned out (and re-scan any if necessary) that would have been great. But the DocuPen DOES NOT work with any of the PDAs !!!
I actually made a call to DocuPen's tech support (BTW the guy who works down there was very nice) and talked about this issue. Apparently the problem was not the compartibility but the lack of drivers. The company supports Windows 98/2000/NT/XP (and, I've heard, some of the MAC's OSs) but not Windows Mobile or Palm OS. So, they simply don't know what's going to happen if I connect the DocuPen to my PDA (provided I find the correct cable or make one myself). So if anybody out there feels like writting a driver for the DocuPen to work with Windows Mobile please let me know :-)
They also told me that in six months (Spring 2006) they plan to launch a new model of DocuPen which would have a slot for SD card (yes-s-s !!!) and would scan in full color. Personally, I don't think that DocuPen's upgrade to color scanning is such a good idea. The quality of its images is low enough in b/w and the addition of color would just make things worse. It will also enlarge the size of the device and, of course, the price will go up.
For now, your choice is either to buy the DocuPen R-700 and deal with its small memory or wait six months (at least) and pay more for pretty much the same device (again, I don't believe in color on the "world's smallest scanner") to be able to save your scans on a SD card.
Two other things that I would have changed about DocuPen are fairly minor and are really more inconveniences than major issues. The button that turns the device on is very hard to press. Every time I do that it feels like I am going to break the whole thing. Also the carrying case that comes with the DocuPen does not provide the adequate protection. I wish they made some sturdy metallic tube/box instead of this fluffy pouch. But may be that was the point. The sooner your DocuPen breaks, the sooner you get another one :-)
Overall, I did like the DocuPen and I would recommend it to anybody as long as you clearly understand what you need it for. If you plan to use it for copying a few book articles at your library, class notes from your friend's copy-book or some simple hand-drawings it will work great for you. But if you need quality graphic images of pictures or complicated blueprints and/or plan to scan a large number of documents at once DocuPen is NOT for you. Try to get HP's CapShare 920 instead.

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SCANNER, DOCUPEN R700 B&W PEN SCANNER, RECHARGEABLE BATTERY THROUGH USB

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Canon imageCLASS D1150 Laser Multifunction Copier (3478B005AA) Review

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(More customer reviews)for a non-commercial grade machine, it definitely meets my expectations. it prints and copies quickly enough and the quality is absolutely fine. the energy saver mode keeps the machine quiet when not in use. it's easy to use, and it's nice having all the multifunctions in one unit. fyi, i initially had problems because my usb cable was ten feet long. the user manual does not warn of problems with long cables, but canon's fast and knowledgeable tech support folks solved that for me quickly. i'm a little annoyed that i must specify in the print dialogue box each time i want to use the manual feeder (aka multi purpose tray); the machine does not automatically detect paper in the manual feeder and print from it unless i first specify manual paper tray in my print dialogue box. it's nice to have the printer and fax available to my entire network via the cat 5 cable, but unless i'm mistaken, the only way to scan to your computer is through the usb cable, which meant that after installing the network drivers i installed the usb drivers and now have a confusing number of drivers in my print dialogue box drop down menu. i probably can remove the network drivers from the one computer that's connected via the usb, but i haven't tried that yet, and i wish the setup instructions made that clearer. also, the scans initially were coming out unacceptably faint until (again with the help of tech support) i lowered the scan resolution setting and changed from black-and-white to grayscale. the fax interface is a little annoying in that i can't access fax numbers from my outlook contacts and if i add an address to the canon fax address book there does not appear to be a way to delete it. overall, the machine is easy to use and performs with excellent quality. i am not disappointed.

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OBD2 OBD II Diagnostic USB Cable For KKL409.1 VAG-COM 409 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I ordered this to communicate with my late model Triumph motorcycle ECU. This is the same model as is sold on eBay from various Chinese retailers but I chose Amazon because of the improved return policy over eBay sellers. The item is fulfilled by Amazon which means I received it promptly and in secure packaging.
While the picture shows a translucent blue device, the one I received is solid black plastic, I can only assume this is due to variations in suppliers or manufacturing.
It worked on my first attempt to connect using the free TuneECU software (when using the recommended FTDI drivers not the ones supplied with the device). What can I say more than that? I haven't tested it with a hundred different vehicles, but I do know for my one application it worked perfectly on my first attempt.
EDIT: To those wishing to purchase this who are dissuaded by the negative reviews, please note: This does NOT come with any software. In fact, the driver CD it does come with is worthless. Just download the correct drivers from the internet (FTDI Serial-USB OBD drivers[...] which are direct from the manufacturer. You will still need some sort of software to interface with your car. Do a quick Google search and I can guarantee you'll find something.
Seriously, don't rate something down because you can't figure out how to use it.

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Konica Minolta magicolor 1690MF - Multifunction ( fax / copier / printer / scanner ) - color - laser - copying (up to): 21 ppm (mono) / 3.5 ppm (color) - printing (up to): 20 ppm (mono) / 5 ppm (color) - 200 sheets - 33.6 Kbps - Hi-Speed USB, 10/100 Base-TX Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)On the positive side, it prints very quickly in black, a little slower in color (it's a four-pass CMYK printer, meaning it prints Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black in individual runs or passes) but the quality of the color images are fantastic and are only limited by the quality of paper used. It scans acceptably well, not spectacular, but more than well enough for my needs. Haven't tried the fax portion and don't foresee doing so.
There are only two negatives that I've found: the machine is noisy even when not in use; it has a loud cooling fan that will run for a long time (more than 20 minutes); and it's shipped with what seems like only a few drops of black toner. If you buy this printer and plan to do any amount of printing right away, you need to get more black toner, pronto. The toner cartridge that came with it lasted less than a week with moderate usage.
So far I like it and would recommend it. The printer part of it gets five stars, the scanner four stars. The other qualities--noise, set up, features--bring the overall rating to four stars.

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HP CM2320NF Color LaserJet Multifunction Printer Review

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(More customer reviews)I've had this unit for a little over 2 weeks now and have given it a full, and I mean FULL workout. I've printed a whole ream of 28lb paper with various text, graphics, etc, along with 20 or so color photos on laserjet photo paper and continue to be impressed with the output. I have made all sorts of copies and sent/received probably 10 faxes (through MagicJack, no less!), as well. All with only one issue....
That dang annoying paper curl. This thing just loves to curl the paper, no matter what type of paper, no matter what type of printing. There is even a setting in the setup menu on the unit, called "Reduce Paper Curl", which supposedly reduces the fuser heat, but it makes no difference.
The GOOD news is, it's replaceable under warranty! I spent a bit on the phone with HP Business Support (VERY IMPORTANT! You MUST call Business Support@800-334-5144! HP "Total Care" knows nothing about this printer and will just keep transferring you back into their same queue over and over); and was informed that there were an early batch of these units sent out with fusers that were out of spec. The way to tell which fuser you have is to open the back access panel and look at the foam rollers. Supposedly the "new" fusers have orange rollers, and the bad ones(like mine) have black foam rollers.
Another good piece of news is, these come with a standard next day, on-site warranty. I have a tech coming out tomorrow to replace said bad fuser assembly. The Business Support agent I spoke with, while clearly not American, was MUCH more knowledgeable and willing to help than the standard Total Care agents. I could also understand him better. In the end, an extremely frustrating experience with the non-business support group, ended up morphing into a somewhat pleasant resolution.
I will update the review notes with the outcome tomorrow once I have the unit replaced. I know I won't be able to change the star rating, but even with the curl issue, it's still a solid 3.5-4 stars. Especially considering there are later models released without the curl issue.
***UPDATE #1***
They are over-nighting the fuser assembly to me and the tech will be here between 10 and 4 to install it. The on-site tech just called and said that if I was so inclined, I could try the swap myself, or if it's more than I care to delve into, then he'd be happy to come do the swap. I'll check and see once it gets here tomorrow.
***FINAL UPDATE***
Unfortunately, the new fuser did not completely rectify the paper curl problem. It did appear to lessen the curl a bit, however. But, I guess Ill live with it. I will note, the on-site HP tech was wonderful! He was friendly, knowledgeable and very professional and was very apologetic that the fuser swap did not fix the problem. We even spent a bit, looking into the paper path, to see if the rollers were causing the curl issue and not so much the fuser. It wasnt, by the way. If it were the paper path, the curl would be in the opposite direction. He gave me his cell and said to give him a call if there's anything he can do to help out in the future. Short of the agonizing experience I spent initally with the Total Care helpdesk, this has been a very good experience.
***The FINAL, FINAL UPDATE***
ON a whim, I decided to go back into the menu and re-enable "Less Paper Curl" and that with the combination of the fuser replacement, has netted usable results. The page is still curled, but it's definitely not as bad as it was, pre-fuser change.

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Brother HL-2140 Personal Laser Printer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)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 (2,500-page) toner from Staples for $61 including tax. Drum replacement looks to be about $100 every 12,000 pages (every 4 toner cartridges). That says it will cost about $350 every 12,000 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).

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Ideal for both home and office use, the affordable Brother HL-2140 personal laser printer features a space-saving ergonomic design that won't take up valuable workspace and prints up to 23 pages per minute at a high-quality resolution. This efficient high performance printer will give your work and personal documents a polished finish colleagues and friends are sure to envy.
Versatile and Professional This monochrome laser printer not only warms up in less than 10 seconds and prints up to 23 pages per minute to give you near-instant access to important reports, documents, and annual family letters when you need them, it also includes a manual bypass feeder for professional printing on envelopes and letterhead. The high-quality resolution (up to 2400 x 600 dpi) of this black-and-white laser printer will give you professional results with each job while saving you printing costs. The printer also includes 8 MB of memory, and a 250-sheet capacity tray that can conveniently accommodate both standard and legal paper.
Ergonomic and Energy Efficient The Brother HL-2140 14.5-by-14.2-by-6.7-inch design is compact enough to free up valuable work space on your desk or shelf. The unit's efficient design also features a toner save mode for extended toner life as well as a sleep mode. Easy to set up and a breeze to use, this printer is compatible with both Mac and Windows operating systems, and includes an animated user-friendly tutorial to help answer common support and maintenance questions.
Environmentally Friendly Design For added peace of mind, this machine is Energy Star compliant, which means it helps save the environment while saving you money. (Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy promoting energy efficiency).
This personal laser printer is backed by a one-year limited manufacturer's warranty.
What's in the Box HL-2140 laser printer, starter toner cartridge, DR360 drum unit and instruction kit.

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Canon imageCLASS D480 Laser All-in-One Printer (2711B054AA) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This device is basically identical to the MF4370dn which is heavily (and positively) reviewed. As near as I can tell there are three differences between the two units:
1) The D480 is beige, the MF4370 black
2) The D480 has am improved document feeder
3) The D480 has more complete duplexing than the MF4370.
I was actually alerted to #3 by an Amazon review. You can put a stack of two-sided documents into the feeder and produce a set of two-sided duplicates. According to the Amazon reviewer the MF4370 will take two-sided docs in the feeder but can only produce single-sided docs in response.
I haven't tried this with a thick stack of documents but onesie/twosie stuff seems to work great, at least with plain copy paper. I tried duplex-copying a mortgage statement printed on thick paper and the feeder choked on it.
Copying is fast, quiet and sharp. I'm delighted by it, actually. Duplexing is really simple. Manually scanning two different sheets onto one two-sided document or just copying a two-sided document are both very easy. The biggest limitation is the size of the platen. I didn't think I'd even notice this but if you're used to throwing down a book or something of a full-size copy machine you'll feel a bit cramped. If you want to scan oversized stuff you're of out of luck, but that's true of every machine in this price range.
The D480 seems to be a perfectly capable printer and supports full duplexing right from software. I do most of my printing to an HP 3600dn and don't see that changing except for printing music, where duplexing will be really nice to have. Network printing was really easy to set up.
Scanning is where this device falls a bit flat, and that's due almost entirely to the software, not the hardware. Even thought it has a Vista logo on the box it still relies on TWAIN drivers so it doesn't integrate with "Scanners and Cameras" under Vista. The software they ship to scan with is hokey but seems to work. I guess I can hope that Canon will ship updated drivers but I won't hold my breath. I am a little peeved at MSFT for letting Canon put a Vista logo on the box.
Network scanning is a joke on this device (same as with MF4370). The process for doing this is just stupid, and the file transfer is ungodly slow. I was hoping to just pop some docs into the ADF and press a button and have them show up but you can't really do it in the backgrond and the file transfer times are godawful slow. This is partly due to the size of the data but not completely - it's REALLY REALLY SLOW. To give you an idea it took something like a minute or two to transfer an 88KB image. That's KILOBYTES. I think the scanner must send a raw dump over the network which is processed on the host machine. In any case, it's tricky to set up and basically unusable. Note to Canon: "Scan to USB Flash Drive" would be a far better feature.
On the bright side there is support for scanning several pages from the ADF into a single (or multiple) PDFs. There is some sort of OCR software but I haven't tried to use it yet. We hope to scan bills and whatnot and toss the originals - I guess I'll see how well that works out.
I haven't tried the faxing capability. Having a halfway decent ADF will be a godsend for sending contracts or NDAs around, but I'll probably rely more on scanning to PDF than actually faxing. I never receive faxes - I use online services like eFax.
Finally I have to ding the awful documentation. It's really quite bad - I had to call tech support to try to figure out network scanning and found out that even though I didn't want to use USB scanning I still had to do a USB install. Oops. If you want to do anything non-trivial you're going to be experimenting and cursing a bit. Canon's tech support was actually quite good, but better docs would have saved them the cost of the call.
So, as the title says, the hardware is quite good for $250 but the software side is a little lacking. Even though I poo-poo the device a lot I am pretty pleased with it. Based on what I've seen so far I can recommend it for SOHO use if network scanning or tight Vista integration is not going to be a high-priority item for you. I wouldn't recommend using it as a primary departmental printer because the input tray is dinky, but I don't think you'll find a better device under $500.


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Laser All-in-One with Duplex Versatility, Built-in Networking, and cost saving Single Cartrodge System

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Brother HL-2170W 23ppm Laser Printer with Wireless and Wired Network Interfaces Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought the HL-2170W from Amazon at the beginning of 2008. I found it very easy to configure for both wired and wireless networks, although I use mine on a wired connection out of convenience. I print mostly plain text, and the quality is very good.
I have but two complaints:
First, the paper comes out slightly curled, but this is a fact of life for a printer this size.
Second, Brother has programmed the printer such that when its thinks the toner is empty, it stops working. This happened to me when I was printing some important documents. I did some internet searches and examined the toner cartridge. There is a clear plastic circle at each end of the toner cartridge. The printer shines a light through to see how full the toner is. Simply cover one of them with a piece of opaque tape, and the printer will think that the toner is full. I've already gotten 1500+ pages out of the starter toner that was "empty" at 983, with no difference in printed quality.

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Ideal for both home and office use, the affordable Brother HL-2170W Laser Printer features network connectivity via wireless/wired interfaces, and prints up to 23 pages per minute at a high-quality resolution, giving your work and personal documents a polished finish colleagues and friends are sure to envy.
Versatile and Professional This monochrome laser printer not only warms up in less than 10 seconds and prints up to 23 pages per minute to give you near-instant access to important reports, documents, and annual family letters when you need them, it also includes a manual bypass feeder for professional printing on envelopes and letterhead. The high-quality resolution (up to 2400 x 600 dpi) of this personal black-and-white laser printer reflects the time and care that you put into each document, while giving you the benefits of low cost per page laser output. The printer also includes 32 MB memory, and a 250-sheet capacity tray that can conveniently accommodate standard, legal, and custom-sized paper.
Built-In Wired and Wireless Networking Perfect for family or home offices, the HL-2170W gives you the option to connect the printer via USB, Ethernet, or 802.11b/g wireless networking. Brother makes wireless setup a snap; for users with wireless access points that support SecureEasySetup, Wi-Fi Protected Setup, or AOSS, you can automatically configure your wireless settings by simply pressing a button on your router.
Ergonomic and Energy Efficient The Brother HL-2140 17.9-by-18.7-by-14.2-inch efficient design features a toner save mode for extended toner life as well as sleep mode. Easy to set up and a breeze to use, this printer is compatible with both Mac and Windows operating systems, and includes an animated user-friendly tutorial to help answer common support and maintenance questions.
Environmentally Friendly Design For added peace of mind, this machine is Energy Star compliant, which means it helps save the environment while saving you money. (Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy promoting energy efficiency).
This personal laser printer is backed by a one-year limited manufacturer's warranty.
What's in the Box HL-2170W laser printer, starter toner cartridge and instruction kit.

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HP Officejet 6500 All-in-One Printer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had this printer driver installed twice.. first time on computer #1, driver on the CD took forever to load! For computer #2, I went to the HP site (per one reviewer's suggestion) and installed the smallest "for IT professionals only" version and found I could not use the scan function with that slimmed-down driver.
I finally figured out I had to load the full-feature English only 191MB driver, using the custom install option (left out the Photosmart, HP Purchasing). To disable the incessant looping Update nag message window on machine after reboot, I deleted the HP Update application (via Add/Remove utility) afterwards. I agree HP software is rather crappy and bloated but the HP printers have been more reliable than other brands I've used. I bought the 6500 to replace my 6 year old HP PSC 1210 that died after years of heavy use. Before that, I bought the HP Deskjet 500 that still works after 20 years. I hope this machine lasts awhile, as well.
I'm surprised this newer-model printer isn't faster than my old printer (equally noisy to my 1210) but the scanner is improved - more adjustment options, decent resolution. I wanted the flatbed copying and sheet feeder capabilities for my next multi-function machine and this one does the job adequately.
Had a power outage recently and was concerned that since I didn't power off via the button on the printer, it might screw up the settings.. but there was no issue. It worked fine after power was restored, without me having to make any adjustments.
Now, if I can only figure out how to avoid paying an arm and two legs for those ink refills! For most documents, I set the print resolution to "Fast Draft" to make the ink cartridge last longer.
Addendum (5/16/10): Ignore the "empty cartridge" alert on the machine. The final warning will stop the print jobs from proceeding. Just take that ink cartridge out and re-install it back into the machine. This will override the "out of ink" status. You'll get at least another 20 pages before the ink cartridge is actually empty.
Found out Walgreens cannot refill the ink cartridges for this HP model. I could try my luck with ink refill kits.


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Boost productivity with this fast, networked all-in-one—save up to 40% per color page over lasers. Maximum print speeds of 32 ppm black, 31 ppm color. Speeds equivalent to a laser printer with up to 7 ppm black, 7 ppm color. Easily share this all-in-one and efficiently use resources with embedded wired Ethernet networking. Easy-to-use workflow tools let you scan to PC or memory cards plus digital fax options. Up to 40 percent lower cost per color page vs. lasers. Print color for up to 40% less cost per page than competitive lasers using HP Officejet inks. Save money by replacing only the individual ink cartridge that runs out. Get more pages and fewer cartridge replacements with available high capacity cartridges. Get professional quality black text, and vivid color graphics and photos with HP Officejet ink. Save money and energy with this efficient ENERGY STAR qualified all in one. Cut energy use by as much as 40% when using this HP All-in-One instead of four separate products. This HP Officejet All-in-One consumes up to 40% less energy than color laser all-in-ones. Enjoy free, easy recycling—cartridges returned via HP Planet Partners are recycled responsibly.

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