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Brother DCP-7030 Laser MFP.
Brother has put its latest mono laser print engine into a number of different printers and multifunction machines in several product ranges. The DCP-7030 is at the lower end of its triple-function range, which provides colour scanning and mono copying, as well as mono laser print.

Although the flatbed scanner positioned on top of the print engine is a bit wider than the printer itself, Brother has engineered a gentle expansion in its lines, so the unit has a well-integrated look. It sits quite squat on the desktop, as well, so is unobtrusive in a home office or small business environment. Although there’s no automatic document feeder on this model, the flatbed includes a separate glass strip at the end of the flatbed, normally used when feeding paper for scanning. This makes the scanner section wider than it otherwise need be.

Coloured in pale grey and cream, the device looks a bit less severe than some of the black and silver units on offer and its control panel is commendably simple. Although the copy function panel includes enlargement and reduction, contrast adjustment and up to four pages per sheet, the single row of buttons is easy to understand and the large Start and Cancel buttons at the right end of the row are hard to miss.

The 2-line by 16-character LCD display is well used, but is sorely in need of a backlight. Even when standing directly over the machine, reflections can make it very difficult to read and if you have it on the desk beside you, characters can sometimes be impossible to make out. The whole of the scanner section hinges up to cope with papers jams, though we had no problems during testing. It doesn’t need to be lifted to get at the drum and toner cartridges, though, as these slide in from the front, once the front cover has been folded down. The only sockets at the rear of the machine are for mains power and USB 2.

The software bundle installs in one simple operation from a supplied CD and includes Nuance’s PaperPort document management and OmniPage optical character recognition applications. There’s a quick and simple Control Centre application from Brother itself, as well.

The drum and toner, although in separate cartridges, slide into place as one and you’ll be able to replace the toner roughly six times, before needing to swap out the drum cartridge as well.

Brother may not be the biggest name in printers – they tend to be overshadowed by some of the other manufacturers – but they do tend to produce some well-known and popular units. The question is whether or not you should add one to your home or office. Here is a look at some advantages and disadvantages of this brand.

Pros of Buying a Brother Printer

There are a number of advantages to purchasing a Brother inkjet or laser printer.

• Price. In comparison to the other brands, Brother’s models are quite reasonable in terms of their price tag. For example, you can find a laser printer with wireless capabilities for just over $100. You can also find an all-in-one inkjet unit for around $80 which is very inexpensive.
• Reputation. Brother has been around for a long time. Older users may remember learning how to type on Brother typewriters or using Brother word processors before computers hit the market in a big way.
• Reasonable operating costs. Unlike some brands, Brother does not have a reputation for charging a fortune for Brother ink cartridges and toner. In fact, operating one of the units can be very affordable.

Cons of Buying a Brother Printer

Everything isn’t rosy with Brother printers, of course. There are some problems that consumers have noticed and that might cause you to rethink your desire to buy one of these printers.

Poor customer service. As with Dell, Brother has had some major customer service complaints in recent years and consumers have been very vocal about these troubles on the Internet.

Not equal in performance. Brother does offer a wide selection of printer options but they are not all created equal. Customers seem to prefer the quality of the laser printers to the all-in-one units which seem to have more than their fair share of problems.

Automatic head cleaning. To maintain high quality printing, the heads of your printer need to be cleaned periodically and this uses up some of the ink. With some Brother units, the head cleaning is automatic and can even occur in the middle of a print job (or fax job if you’re using a multifunction unit). Other units allow you to schedule these cleanings. However, if the cleaning is being done too frequently you may be wasting ink.

Using All of the Ink

One complaint a few consumers seem to have with some of the Brother units is that they stop working before the ink is completely empty. That means you’d end up paying for ink that ends up thrown away.

Getting a Brother?

While there are some plusses and minuses to Brother printers in general, you’ll want to investigate some individual models on your own before making a final decision and picking the right printer for your specific needs.

Get ready to be blown away with the latest technology available to the printing industry incorporated in Brother’s latest printers. Added to the Brother UK store printer catalogue for release in the last quarter of 2007 are the Brother HL-4070CDW and the Brother HL-4050CDN laser printers.

The HL-4070CDW is Brother’s latest wireless duplex color laser printer. It features a built-in wireless network which gives the user a completely hassle-free set ups. There is no need for cables and wires in Brother’s flexible style of catering to your printing needs. Data sent over the wireless network is guaranteed to be completely safe and secure with SSL encryption.

Both the Brother printers are sure to give you speedy service providing you with your first print in less than 16 seconds. Fast is not fast enough with both printer’s maximum capability of up to 20ppm monochrome printing speed and up to 20ppm color printing speed.

Another common feature is the capability for duplex printing. Both Brother printers HL-4070CDW and HL-4050CDN can produce double sided outputs efficiently and quickly making these the best printers on the market for making professional booklets, reports, presentations, and the like. These Brother Printer models’ built-in duplex printing allows users to save on photo paper as well as on printer ink cartridges.

The latest Brother printers give up to 2400 x 600 dpi print resolutions on their outputs. Both also sport individual color toner cartridges, which have high capacity and high yields providing for less frequent replacements, and 300 megahertz processors. The HL-4070CDW and the HL-4050CDN have expandable 64 megabyte memory.

Brother HL-4070CDW and Brother HL-4050CND feature PCL6 and BR-script emulation. They are also outfitted with USB2 connections. This gives the client an option to print files and images directly from a flash memory drive without the effort of having to connect to a computer.

These hot new items in Brother’s printer collection have a 300 sheet paper input capacity. They also sport paper trays with up to 250 sheet paper capacity. The HL-4050CND and HL-4070CDW, on top of the 250 sheet paper capacity, also have up to 500 optional sheet paper capacities.

The latest innovations in the two Brother printers are not so different from each other in terms of features. The HL-4070CDW simply offers users with a wireless network that HL-4050CND cannot. The added bonus of having a wireless network can prove to be a big difference for some users, while for others it may not. Either way, both printers are exceptionally remarkable in design and are worth the standard retail prices of $492.77, for the HL-4070CDW, and $424.60, for the HL-4050CND.

The Brother MFC Inkjet Printer is a great buy. Not only do you end up with a printer that is multi-functional and performs all of the tasks an office would need, you also save money since these printers serve many purposes at once.

The Brother MFC Inkjet Printer is perfect for both office and home use. It’s easy to use and easy to maintain. All you need to know is that these printers use the Brother LC51 ink cartridges. Brother LC51 is a useful cartridge as well that works by serving all of the functions of the Brother inkjet printer. LC 51 ink is not only of high quality. It also is available at a reasonable price.

LC 51 ink prints in great quality and allows for the utmost professional end result. In fact, you can print professional looking brochures, reports and all sorts of documents by using LC51 cartridges.

Brother LC51 cartridges are the way to go when it comes to MFC printers. The best way to find out which specific cartridges you need is to go to the Brother website and locate your printer. In this case, the Brother MFC Inkjet Printer requires the LC51 cartridges in order to work properly. Once you obtain these cartridges your printer will work properly and print in only the highest quality.

Many people get caught up in the technicalities of electronic products like a printer. However, you don’t have to be a technological genius in order to understand why these Brother printers and accompanying LC 51 ink are such a great purchase option. You can accomplish just about anything with this printer and ink cartridge combo, so why look elsewhere?

LC51 cartridges have a long life and last for a good amount of time. With these ink cartridges, you can print up a storm and not worry. With high quality prints and a life expectancy that’s a must-have for large offices and corporate affairs, LC 51 ink is the right choice for your small to medium-sized company, whether you work in an office or make your office at home.

In the uptake of computer printing requirements, it is apparent that laser printer users value print speed, quality (output resolution) and yield (number of pages produced per minute) performance.   Given the laser printer’s yield and output reputation, users without a doubt expect only to get a good number of printouts for a particular gram load of toner; along with the delivery of clear, good-contrast and impressive quality prints.

Since output is largely dependent on toner quality and print capacity, the exclusive use of OEM toner cartridges is often recommended to sustain pertinent print standards. Nonetheless, OEM replacement cartridges are generally expensive and this has prevented many users from taking full advantage of their laser printer’s utility. But it did not take too long for more affordable options  to hit the printer accessories market; particularly with the emergence of toner refill kits.

Productivity is high for toner refill products such as the Brother TN-350 toner refill kit and output quality likewise matches with that of OEM replacement cartridges. Manufacturers of remanufactured toner cartridges and toner refill kits maintain an intimate focus on the yield capacities as well as quality of their toner products to sustain the following of loyal users. The use of modern manufacturing methods and efficient toner handling techniques put forth the production of high grade toner powder that is as reliable as its OEM counterpart.

In the use of a Brother Toner refill kit, the refill toner powder generated around 2400 to 2600 pages of impressive monochrome prints; producing rich black prints and subtle shades of gray that result to clear, legible and professional-looking outputs. The Brother TN-350 toner refill kit, meanwhile, is compatible for use on the cartridges of the following Brother laser printers: HL-2040, MFC-7220 and DCP-7020. In terms of costing, users can generate savings of up to 80% off the retail price of an OEM toner replacement cartridge and as much as 29% from the price of a remanufactured toner cartridge.

So how do we know if the toners need to be replaced? Laser printers are programmed to alert the user (through a flashing light) once the printer is low on toner supply. When that happens, then it’s time to refill the cartridge with a Brother TN-350 toner refill kit. Simply switch the printer off, pull out the cartridge from its bin and perform the quick refill. Once completed, position the cartridge back to its bin; turn on the printer and resume print jobs. It’s that easy! Why, the package even comes with an easy understand instructional material for your convenience. Moreover, you get over-the-phone customer service for after sales inquiries with every purchase of a Brother toner refill kit.