Trying to find time to write a review on www.cutpricables.co.uk - they are excellent!
Trying to find time to write a review on www.cutpricables.co.uk - they are excellent!
Member since:02.07.2003
Reviews:26
Members who trust:21
We run a small office, and originally bought two Kyocera FS-600laser printers for printing the small quantity of technical manuals that we produce. The Kyocera drums are supposed to be super-environment-friendly and last for 100,000 pages. Sadly, this proved not to be the case. After our fourth drum at a total of only 60,000 pages, the first printer was out of guarantee and we looked around for something else. Cost is of course important, but to us, print quality is a number one concern. After comparing lots of print-outs in PC World, we opted for a Brother HL-1250. This printer ran wonderfully for a year, but when the drum needed replacing it turned out that we could buy a brand new Brother HL-1440 for just £20 more than the cost of a new drum. Thus my computer now has a one-year old Brother HL-1440, and I thought I would tell you a little about it.
WEIGHT (or mass if I'm feeling pedantic) According to the packing sheet that came with my printer, the mass is just over 12 kilogrammes (that's nearly two stone).
INSTALLATION The printer was supplied in the usual polystyrene-packaging filled box, and arrived in perfect condition. Installation was incredibly easy. I chucked the CD in the drive, and followed the instructions. The CD autoruns when placed in the drive, and you are presented with a screen asking you to choose which printer you have (HL-1230, HL-1440, HL-1450, HL-1470N). From there, instructions were simple and the printer was going in less than ten minutes!
PRINT QUALITY The Brother HL-1440 is a black and white laser printer, and our main reason for buying it was the superb print quality. Text is very sharp, and graphics also print wonderfully. The only quibble I have is that if you print a large block area of black, then the black can look a little grainy when held up to the light. Most people would not notice this, however, and it is a minor quibble indeed. Also, if you tended to print a lot of large block areas of black, you would use the toner up very quickly indeed so there is not much call for it!
SPEED The HL-1440 has a stated speed of 14 pages per minute, which is realistically achievable. Both the Brother printers have been much quicker than the Kyoceras, though I haven't noticed much difference between the HL-1250
(with a stated 12 pages per minute) and the HL-1440.
SOUND LEVEL The Brothers are both very quiet machines. My telephone is right next to the printer, and I can easily hold a conversation with the machine going at full stretch.
PC & MAC COMPATIBLE I run the printer on a PC, though the machine is advertised as fully Mac-compatible, and there are instructions supplied for connecting to Macs.
CONNECTIONS I use a USB lead with no problems, although there is also an option to connect using a parallel lead if you prefer. This is in stark contrast to my Canon BJC-6200 which refuses to run properly with a USB lead, I was forced to use the parallel option.
PAPER TRAY The paper tray can comfortably hold 200 sheets of A4 90 gsm paper. It pulls straight out the front, so you need to leave plenty of space in front of the printer on your desk. It is very easy to refill (just grab half a ream of paper and put it straight in. It pushes shut with a satisfying click, so you know when it has shut properly.
MANUAL SHEET FEED There is a slot at the front of the machine to manually feed single sheets. When printing labels, the software automatically assumes you want to use this option unless you tell it otherwise. I have found that labels print perfectly from the sheet feeder, although it is adviseable to use the manual feed for thicker papers like card.
PAPER HANDLING This is the biggest improvement on the Kyocera. The Brothers' paper handling is superb. We have had one easily-sorted jam in 150,000 pages of printing on our two Brother printers. We frequently print double-sided, and even print labels straight from the paper tray, 20 sheets at a time. Occasionally the machine fails to pick up a sheet If this happens, it gives the "paper empty" warning - just open the paper tray, readjust the paper, close it again and press the grey button. It never misfeeds, so you don't get any of that horrid crunched up paper. Also, this machine is ideal for double sided printing because you rarely get an extra sheet fed through. (For those of you who don't do a lot of double-sided printing, if you get a blank sheet in the middle of your printouts, it throws all the page numbers out by one and you end up having to throw away half the pages and having to start again.)
MEMORY The machine comes with 2Mb standard memory, upgradeable to 32Mb. I believe that adding memory can increase the print speed in the case of printing large graphics files. personally, I have had no problem printing with the standard 2Mb. One of our manuals has 100 pages with a third of each page as a .jpeg image, and this prints in about ten minutes without any problems. A friend of mine once had a Hewlett-Packard laser printer that refused to print large graphics files until she upgraded the memory, but I have had no such problems with this machine.
DRUM The Drum life is quoted at 20,000 pages, but I have found that with proper care they last longer than this. My first drum lasted about 30,000 pages before replacement.
TONER CARTRIDGE We use the larger TN6600toner cartridges, which are supposed to last 6,000 pages at 5% print density. We find they last about 3,000 pages, although our pages may be more densely printed than the quoted 5%. The TN3300 cartridges are supposed to last 3,000 pages, and we find they last 1500 pages. If you do a lot of printing, the TN6600 work out substantially cheaper over the long term.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE HL-1440 AND HL-1230 The HL-1250 sitting in the corner of our office has now been superceded by the HL-1230, but there seems little difference between the two models. There are some small differences between the HL-1230 and HL-1440. The HL-1440 is slightly faster (a stated 14 pages per minute for the HL-1440 and 12 pages per minute for the HL-1230 and HL-1250), and has more memory. The paper trays, paper handling, manual sheet feed and overall look of the three printers are identical, and there is little difference in operation.
RELIABILITY & MAINTENANCE The main problem with our Kyocera printers was that after a few thousand pages, a line started to appear down one side of the page. The line gets bigger and more spread out the more printing you do. Often, if we were printing 100 pages, the first ten would be OK, then this line would appear. if you didn't notice, you would end up throwing away a lot of wasted paper. For a supposedly environment-friendly product, this defeated the purpose somewhat. The Kyocera printer drums are not meant to be cleaned, but I am happy to say that this isn't the case with the Brother printers.
The first problem I had with the Brother's drum was when I noticed a few tiny black dots running in a line down a series of pages. There were only 4 or 5 per page, but when you are selling your printouts you need to be extra careful about their quality. I rang Brother, who advised cleaning the drum. This is done with lens tissue and lens cleaning fluid, and works a treat, although you can only repeat the operation a few times before the print starts to fade a little. The black dots are caused by tiny specks of paper dust getting picked up by the drum and sticking. I have found that with all laser printers, this problem gets worse when the printer is hot. Thus I tend to run only 100 pages at a time through my laser printer, then allow it 20 minutes to cool down.
The Brothers all have internal cooling fans, but the fans on the HL-1250 and HL-1440 are not adequate for high levels of printing. Having said that, Brother recommend a higher spec printer than the one I use for the volume of printing that is done in our office, so I am happy enough with the results. As long as I keep to the above printing schedule, I don't seem to get much trouble with black dots. If I get busy and start churning out large volumes, then I sometimes get black dots. Whenever this happens, and whenever we need to change the drum or the toner unit, we remove the drum unit and give the inside of the printer a good hoover (with a dusting tool). This removes most of the paper dust and so helps preserve the print quality.
Every so often the Brother software prompts you to remove the drum unit and clean the "corona wire". This is a little wire on the drum unit that can pick up paper dust. You clean it by sliding a small plastic slider from one side to the other and back a few times. I'm not sure what the wire does though!
SOFTWARE We run Windows 98 Second Edition. The printer software has been very reliable and does not interfere with any other software on my machine. It is simple to use and I find it far superior to the Canon software which runs our inkjet printers. There are no annoying popup messages except when the printer has actually stopped printing, to prompt you to add some paper.
According to Brother, there are optimised drivers for Windows 95/98/Me/NT 4 and Windows 2000. There is also a Mac OS 8.6 or later driver included, and there is DOS compatibility. The CD came with printer drivers for Windows 95/98/Me/NT4.0/2000 and Mackintosh iMac/G3/G4. It also supports English, German, French, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Finnish (they must have some very talented linguists at Brother!).
There is also some troubleshooting software, which I have found very useful. Unfortunately, I'm usually just too darned lazy to turn it on and use it!
BROTHER'S HELPLINE On the one occasion I rang them, the Brother staff were very helpful. I found the number in the "Help and warranty Information" leaflet that came with the printer. It is in very large type and jumps out at you the minute you open the leaflet (I wish it was always that easy to find the number you want!). When I rang, I got straight through and spoke to someone who knew what they were talking about. You can't say fairer than that! The leaflet also says they are happy to provide advice even if your product is no longer covered by warranty.
The help line number is 0161-931-2354.
WARRANTY Brother provide a one year warranty with all their printers. This can be on-site (meaning that they will send out a technician to fix faults on-site), but is usually return-to-base (meaning that you have to send it back to be serviced). If you have a return-to-base warranty, it can be upgraded to on-site after purchase. When we bought ours a year ago, the cost of the upgrade was £42.28 including VAT. Full details are supplied in the "Help and warranty Information" leaflet that comes with the printer.
PRINTED INFORMATION Apart from the "Help and warranty Information" leaflet, the only printed information provided was a "Warranty Enquiries" postcard (for you to request warranty information), a "European guarantee" leaflet (printed in nine european languages), an A4 sheet with special instructions for installing the printer driver on Windows 2000 (in ten languages) and a "Safety Sheet" leaflet.
ONLINE GUIDE & FLASHING LIGHTS Apart from the printed information listed above, all the information is in an online user guide on the CD. Now the online guide is very good and has provided some useful information, but nothing can really replace the printed word. The first time I started getting flashing warning lights on the printer, I panicked. There was nothing written anywhere and it was ages before I realised I had to look it all up on the CD. Being a lazy person, I have found out most of what I know by trial and error. With a printed guide, you can flick through to find the pages you want, but this is not so easy with computer software. For anyone who buys one of these then, here's my quick guide to your flashing lights:
QUICK USER GUIDE Ready and Alarm flashing together - paper has run out In this case, fill up the paper tray then press the large grey button beneath all the flashing lights to start the printer going again. There is no need to click any of the on-screen warning messages, they will disappear in a few seconds. Alarm and data flashing together - toner is about to run out Ignore this one, though make sure you have a spare toner cartridge to hand. Alarm and Data on continuosly - toner has run out Pressing the grey button (as for when the paper has run out above) can give you a few extra pages. Eventually, the cartridge has to be relaced. After replacing, press the button as before. Ready, Alarm and data all flashing together - your paper has run out, and your toner is about to run out (treat as above for paper run out) Drum light on continuously - drum is reaching the end of its life (although the printer won't stop working, and I have found that the drums can last a lot longer than specified). No action required until the print quality deteriorates.
OFFICIAL BROTHER WEBSITE http://www.brother.co.uk
You can find all the technical specifications for the HL-1440 on the brother website on this page: http://www.brother.co.uk/our_products/html/printer_hl1440.html
They also have a pdf format downloadable leaflet on the same page, and links to information about other Brother printers on the left hand side.
http://www.solutions.brother.com has a support page dedicated to the HL-1440.
CONSUMABLES PARTS NUMBERS TN-6300 Standard Toner (up to 3,000 pages)
TN-6600 High Yield Toner (up to 6,000 pages)
DR-6000 Drum (up to 20,000 pages @ 5%)
COSTS (all prices include VAT and are quoted on 7th September 2003) Comet website: http://www.comet.co.uk (free delivery on this product) printer HL-1440 £175.06 (online price) printer HL-1440 £182.10 (store price) printer HL-1230
Dabs website: http://www.dabs.com (see http://www.dabs.com/support/faq-article.asp?article=205&m=b for delivery charges which vary according to weight and value of order but usually average at about £5 for most UK postcodes.) Printer HL-1430 £128.07 Printer HL-1230 £116.32 Toner TN-6600 £48.17 Toner TN-6300 £34.07 Drum DR-6000 £88.12
Viking website: http://www.viking-direct.co.uk (no delivery charge over £30 to UK addresses, but there is an annoying "insurance" charge of up to £1.95 + VAT per order. Next day delivery guaranteed - can be very useful if you're in a hurry!) Printer HL-1440 £258.48 Printer HL-1230 £176.23 Toner TN-6600 £54.03 Toner TN-6300 £37.58 Drum DR-6000 £99.86
Overall, I have been very pleased with this printer and would definitely buy another.
I am looking for a decent laser printer. Although I may not select this printer, I found the review extremely detailed, informatiive and a pleasure to read. The additional information regarding toner prices at different vendors was a real bonus. The obvious experience from a user perspective provided excellent insights into how the printer performs in a real working situation.
Overall - this is one of the best technical and business mixed reviews I have read. I may be going toward a colour laser - but if I go for monochrome only then this will be the animal I chose - and it will be based on this opinion.
Keep up the exceptional standard - looking forward to other such reviews by this Ciao member - good show.
g8ina 06.05.2004 16:50
I was seriously considering doing this review meself as I have used this beast for just over 2 years, but you dun said it all !! Couldn't have put it better myself.... great review... and all true, so true... David H
scampi1 25.10.2003 12:18
Good review of the Brother HL-1440. I am considering purchasing a new printer and Brother was a brand I was looking at, your information was more user friendly than Brother's own literature.
Black Drum Unit prints approximately 20,000 pages at 5% coverage For use with: Brother ... more
HL1030 HL1230 HL1250 HL1240 HL1270 HL1400 HL1440 HL1450 HL1470 HLP2500 Fax 4750 Fax 5750 Fax 8300J Fax 8350 Fax 8360P Fax 8750 MFC8500J MFC8600 MFC9600 MFC9600J MFC9650 MFC9660 MFC9660N MFC9750 MFC9760 MFC9850 MFC9860 MFC9870 MFC9880 MFC9880N HL1430 Ansa is a partner of Green Tech International&all toners will be dispatched from Green Tech's warehouse via next day delivery if orders received before 2PM Toners which are not in-stock with Green Tech International will be placed on back order Invoices will be posted via Royal Mail from Ansa
Postage & Packaging:£1.95 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Black laser toner cartridge prints approximately 3,000 pages at 5% coverage For use ... more
with:Brother HL1030 HL1230 HL1250 HL1240 HL1270 HL1400 HL1440 HL1450 HL1470 HLP2500 Fax 4750 Fax 5750 Fax 8300J Fax 8350 Fax 8360P Fax 8750 MFC8500J MFC8600 MFC9600 MFC9600J MFC9650 MFC9660 MFC9660N MFC9750 MFC9760 MFC9850 MFC9860 MFC9870 MFC9880 MFC9880N HL1430 Ansa is a partner of Green Tech International&all toners will be dispatched from Green Tech's warehouse via next day delivery if orders received before 2PM Toners which are not in-stock with Green Tech International will be placed on back order Invoices will be posted via Royal Mail from Ansa
Postage & Packaging:£1.95 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Black laser toner cartridge prints approximately 3,000 pages at 5% coverage For use ... more
with:Brother HL1030 HL1230 HL1250 HL1240 HL1270 HL1400 HL1440 HL1450 HL1470 HLP2500 Fax 4750 Fax 5750 Fax 8300J Fax 8350 Fax 8360P Fax 8750 MFC8500J MFC8600 MFC9600 MFC9600J MFC9650 MFC9660 MFC9660N MFC9750 MFC9760 MFC9850 MFC9860 MFC9870 MFC9880 MFC9880N HL1430 Ansa is a partner of Green Tech International&all toners will be dispatched from Green Tech's warehouse via next day delivery if orders received before 2PM Toners which are not in-stock with Green Tech International will be placed on back order Invoices will be posted via Royal Mail from Ansa
Postage & Packaging:£1.95 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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