A good decision; Brother Compact Monochrome Laser Printer, HL-L2350DW,

[QuantumPulse]

I've owned Brother, HP LaserJet, and Samsung. Can't say enough about Brother laser printers, they last forever and rarely have issues for me. HP LaserJet was the last I owned, weighed an almost literal ton but had beautiful prints. I sent it to the recycler after HP raised the prices on toner, never went back but did get an HP Envy inkjet instead. Samsung laser printer was bought on a deal and it lasted only two years before I sent it to the recycler.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

My suggestion when buying a laser printer is to look for the deals available if you can, rather than insisting on one brand or model. All the printers have worked properly via basic WiFi for many years now, so buying discontinued models can be a very cost effective way to go (half price or less is not uncommon). Printing is relatively slow, so having the latest WiFi standard on board is irrelevant unless one needs it because the printer will be a physically long distance from the WiFi transmitter.

Personally I consider HP and Brother acceptable inexpensive choices but that is just me; there may be other good choices. And if one prints constantly or in color that would be a different thread; IMO Epson rules for higher quality color.

 

[transmaster]

One way to save a lot of money is to purchase factory-refurbished printers. These are units that businesses lease; at the end of the lease contract, they are changed out for the newest version. The old one is fixed and sold with a factory warranty as a refurbished unit.

Here is Bother's refurbished listing.

 

[Saturn007]

Color inkjets get a bad rap, deservedly so, save for one series! Yes, read on…

We've used Brother multi-function color inkjets and mono laser printers for years.

However, two things happened. The Brother inkjet proved too costly with repetitive cartridge buys (albeit not as costly as Canons) and the Brother lasers, a solid DCP-7020 then replaced by a L2740DW wireless, which worked well for a long stretch, no longer prints all that dark, even with a new drum and new cartridge. We were never that thrilled with it save for the first scores of pages witha fresh cartridge.

We still have and use the 2740, but we know the print will never be jet black, or dark as it once was. So, we use it for drafts, throwaway notes, etc.

We've switched our color inkjet to one of the Epson Eco-tank series. They are a marvel!

We've been using it for nearly 2 years now and are still on the original cartridges. They are refillable and inexpensive. The cost per page is incredibly low. In fact, we're often using it for black printing jobs now, too. Much darker than the Brother and, given the cost of Brother drums and cartridges, it could be even cheaper to operate!

The Epson is also faster than the Brother laser — the job will be printed before you can even walk a flight of stairs to get it.

The model is the ET-3830. Highly recommended.

 

[zapmymac]

I used to buy (many) Black Friday inkjet specials at $9.99 yearly. Horrible for the environment. Finally bought a M2020 Samsung bw laser printer, one toner lasted 4 years, through infrequent use. HP bought Samsung’s printer business, kinda bummed.


just buy the $99-$130 Brother bw lasers and be happy and stress-free.

Or Costco, with their warranty….double the price though, so budget may not be happy

 

[TechnoMonk]

My suggestion when buying a laser printer is to look for the deals available if you can, rather than insisting on one brand or model. All the printers have worked properly via basic WiFi for many years now, so buying discontinued models can be a very cost effective way to go (half price or less is not uncommon). Printing is relatively slow, so having the latest WiFi standard on board is irrelevant unless one needs it because the printer will be a physically long distance from the WiFi transmitter.

Personally I consider HP and Brother acceptable inexpensive choices but that is just me; there may be other good choices. And if one prints constantly or in color that would be a different thread; IMO Epson rules for higher quality color.

Yep. Got an HP laser jet in Costco for 120 off, which turned out cheaper than other brands.

 

[Aves]

I also have a HL-L2370DW, AirPrint compatible, 100% reliable, works like a charm.

The best part?

I bought it at Goodwill with only 200 copies on it for $4.99

 

[Unami]

I've had good experience with the cheapest canon inkjet I can get. Relatively cheap cadridges (around €35 for both), they don't dry out when I only print every few months, no cheap scanner that can go bust - but no airprint (printer too old, but it's connected to my router so I can print from my macbook).

Having said that, nothing beats a laser printer when it comes to speed, robustness and printing costs. I once found a laserjet2 sitting on the street, bought a parallel to usb adapter for €14 and printed I don't know how many pages with the remaining toner.

 

[escargot3]

One of the things I did was to finally update my Airport Extreme to an EERO 6E Pro router. It was the EERO that paired with the Brother, not the Mac Studio. At one time, I was hoping that Apple would get back into the router business, with Mesh routers like the EERO I don't care anymore.

Be very careful. The brother printers of that era have serious connectivity problems with both mesh wifi networks, and networks that use band steering (same network name for 2.4 and 5 GHz). The eero routers, while excellent, unfortunately use both (as do most decent or better wifi setups). Brother has gone so far as to state their printers aren’t compatible with Eero and that they can’t fix the issue, so just give up on wifi and plug in with Ethernet. Unfortunately, however, you chose the inferior 2350 printer model, so it does not have Ethernet. The 2370 would have been the better choice, as it is about the same price and has some significant enhancements (Ethernet, better page yield etc).

Here is Brothers official statement on the matter:

EERO Mesh Network Users: We have found a link between EERO routers and Brother devices, which may cause frequent wireless disconnection. Our technical support team has thoroughly researched the situation and found that due to the specifications of EERO routers, we do not have the ability to stabilize their wireless connection with the Brother device. For a better overall network connection, we recommend using your Brother device with an Ethernet cable connected to your router

Compatibility with 5 GHz, Dual Band wireless router or Mesh networks - Brother Canada

support.brother.ca

My printer was replaced by the Brother Wireless HL-L2460DW Compact Monochrome Laser Printer.

While those models finally fix the wifi connectivity problems, they have new firmware that there are mixed reports of them blocking third party toner, something Brother was previously lauded for not doing, unlike the dastardly HP. The model you got does work great with third party toner at least.

This is the real clincher is this. $85 USD for 3,000 pages in a printer that can sit for years between uses.

View attachment 2508167

These are not the right toners for your model, but I assume you were just posting an example. Your series uses the TN730, 760 and 770 toner. Unfortunately, the 2350 printer does not support thr 770 toner, which has the best price per page. That’s another thing only the 2370 does. But it is great OTOH that your printer should work really well with even cheaper 3rd party toner, since it doesn’t have the new design that allows Brother to block 3PP toner with firmware updates.

 

[gericb]

Indeed! I personally and recommended to my clients to ditch crappy built HP printers, even light usage seems to dies after 24-28 months. I had long ago used the monochrome Brother laser printer, with built-in duplexing and it still works today and it's from 2016 even. Back in 2021 I upgraded to and later directed clients to the Brother Color Laser AIO model, and never looked back or regretted it! Aside from a better build quality, the thing that really sold me, what that even to this day, I will get a Firmware update to both printers, showing they are actively maintaining these devices...and the HP's of the past...maybe 1 if we were lucky. Given the number of sheets that can be printed from the Brother devices compared to HP, their toner cost is very reasonable. We use to have some Samsung before - CRAP x2! 🤣

 

[Analog Kid]

My suggestion when buying a laser printer is to look for the deals available if you can, rather than insisting on one brand or model. All the printers have worked properly via basic WiFi for many years now, so buying discontinued models can be a very cost effective way to go (half price or less is not uncommon). Printing is relatively slow, so having the latest WiFi standard on board is irrelevant unless one needs it because the printer will be a physically long distance from the WiFi transmitter.

Personally I consider HP and Brother acceptable inexpensive choices but that is just me; there may be other good choices. And if one prints constantly or in color that would be a different thread; IMO Epson rules for higher quality color.

I dunno. These printers are pretty cheap, I'm guessing the difference in price among them is less than $50. That's not nothing, but for me the cost of a hassle consuming a few precious hours or forcing me to find a print shop for private documents can make me question the savings. I've had and seen enough HP problems over the years that I'll pay a premium for a different brand.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

I dunno. These printers are pretty cheap, I'm guessing the difference in price among them is less than $50. That's not nothing, but for me the cost of a hassle consuming a few precious hours or forcing me to find a print shop for private documents can make me question the savings. I've had and seen enough HP problems over the years that I'll pay a premium for a different brand.

Not my experience. I have not found HP laser printers to be substandard. Certainly there are a zillion HP printers out there, so no doubt there are some lame ones; also some rendered lame by third-party toners and the like.

Note I am not a proponent of HP, rather I suggest that on average they are about the equal of the Brother laser printers (actually the HPs have been a bit better for me personally, but mine is a tiny sample size). I am a proponent of Epson for color work.

 

[cjsuk]

Conversely I had three cursed Brother HL series duplex lasers crap out on me within 6 months light duty. Didn’t even get through a single toner each.

Replaced with a LaserJet Pro M148dw. Absolutely flawless for around 4/5 years now. The cartridges complain that they are empty but they tend to last a year before they actually run out of toner.

The “Pro” line HP stuff is pretty good. Just stay away from the consumer crap.

I won’t buy a colour inkjet. That’s the path to ruin and misery.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Conversely I had three cursed Brother HL series duplex lasers crap out on me within 6 months light duty. Didn’t even get through a single toner each.

Replaced with a LaserJet Pro M148dw. Absolutely flawless for around 4/5 years now. The cartridges complain that they are empty but they tend to last a year before they actually run out of toner.

The “Pro” line HP stuff is pretty good. Just stay away from the consumer crap.

I won’t buy a colour inkjet. That’s the path to ruin and misery.

Brother has gone down in reliability recently. Can’t beat their replacement cartridge pricing. Six months is terrible, my last brother laser jet lasted little over two years, had a replacement. Cartridge but died.

 

[ignatius345]

You are literally decades late. I am surprised that it took you until 2025 to figure out [...]

Wow, harsh.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

I have the same printer and love it. I can’t even imagine going back to inkjet now.

All I would say is that I wish Brother would update their Mac software, it’s looking a little behind the times.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

I'm not sure if I'd necessarily blame HP for that limitation. I've always had Epson inkjets and they suffered from the same issues.

Somewhere in the user's manual it tells you that you need to print at least once a week to keep the ink heads working or turn it on so it can perform a self-clean cycle. Inkjets should actually work fine if you print regularly.

That's not most of us though. It's not me either. I switched to a laser printer a over a decade ago and never looked back. I do not miss setting money and time on fire every time I needed something in hard copy.

My only issue with laser printers is that consumer level color lasers aren't great and color toner is too expensive for such mediocre quality. I hung onto my color inkjet for a few years because of this. Now, I just send my color print jobs to a local print shop. Their color laser printers are far better and the cost is very reasonable these days.

I agree with you about HP not being the only one about the limitations of inkjet printers. I have had several Epson inkjet printers and lots of dry-ink or clog-head moments (it could get quite expensive). But I have never had those issues with an older Canon PRO 9000 Mark II photo printer. The cartridges are expensive, specially if printing high quality photos since id does use a lots of ink (8 cartridges), but for the average photo to give away or just frame at home I have been using cheaper third-party ink cartridges. Sometimes I don't use this printer for weeks, even months (the heads in this printer don't clog-up)

Now, for monochrome printing nothing beats a Brother or HP laser printer. I had a cheap HP laser printer that I used for over ten years (maybe Model 1122dw?), and always with the cheap third-party toner sold at Amazon. I only printed via USB with this one. A very compact laser printer is what I liked quite a lot, but I just replaced it with a relatively cheap Brother TN830/XL/V that is only available in the US. It is a little larger than the old HP, but it works quite well.

I am still using an old HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M2777dw, a do-all printer (scan, FAX, print). I set it up so it does not perform "self updates" and disable third-party toners, but every now and then it develops toner leaks which leave color streaks on some of the pages, regardless if I use HP or other toners. Some other times it it just stores the "print the page (s) command" in its electronic brain for quite a long time before it decides to print the document, or just "decides" that it won't print it. Some times when I get up in the morning I find that it has printed some of the documents I can only give this printer a thumbs 👎 for dependability.

 

[Analog Kid]

Brother has gone down in reliability recently.

I imagine I'll have the same experience with manufacturers of $100 laser printers as I have with airlines. Refuse to do business with each in turn after unacceptable customer experiences until I run out of options, then reset the list and start avoiding each in turn again.

 

[Rychiar]

I ditched HPs for the black and white brother years ago and never looked back. I had it like 7 years before having to change the starter toner cartridge it came with and I just bought a super cheap 2 pack on Amazon that will prob last 20 years at this rate lol

 

[TechnoMonk]

I imagine I'll have the same experience with manufacturers or $100 laser printers as I have with airlines. Refuse to do business with each in turn after unacceptable customer experiences until I run out of options, then reset the list and start avoiding each in turn again.

I trust Costco to do the right thing. Costco store manager told me if they can find it in the system, return any time. Surprised I could return my dead Brother printer after 2 years. I just look out for better deal.

 

[Hajj.david]

An often slept on product is the Epson ECOTank printers. Not only do they print in color and B/W but the ink is like 60% cheaper than Laser printers (especially if you factor in drum replacements).

We switched all of our laser printers (with how ridiculously expensive brother's toner was) to it and it saved us thousands a year. To give context each one of our 3 ecotanks had 50k-100k prints in like 2 years. Best printer ever and it comes with like 20k pages worth of ink. It is the only printer that could make me move away from laser. If you have a family and/or want to print out photos get the photo version you can print out photos on actual photo paper for pennies and they will be color correct

 

[escargot3]

I have the same printer and love it. I can’t even imagine going back to inkjet now.

All I would say is that I wish Brother would update their Mac software, it’s looking a little behind the times.

Which software are you referring to specifically? For printing as you know it’s mostly handled by the OS. If you are talking about scanning, you might like Not Another PDF Scanner. Also many newer brother printers can scan directly to the cloud, email, or a computer (even with OCR now!) directly on the printer without a computer needed if you prefer to do it that way.

NAPS2 - Scan documents to PDF and more

NAPS2 is free scanner software made easy. Scan to PDF, edit your documents, and use advanced features like OCR. Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

www.naps2.com

 

[redcarian]

Another very satisfied Brother owner here. I have the DCP-L2530DW model because the scanner is one of those things that you don’t use often, but when you do, good lord it’s useful. Ditto the duplexer. It’s a very reasonably-priced device. Works well with my PC and Mac computers, and AirPrint is fine too.

Inkjet? Never again.

 

[redcarian]

All I would say is that I wish Brother would update their Mac software, it’s looking a little behind the times.

There’s Brother Mac Software? I just let the OS handle everything on both Windows and macOS.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

There’s Brother Mac Software? I just let the OS handle everything on both Windows and macOS.

I do the same since the OS can handle it.

An often slept on product is the Epson ECOTank printers. Not only do they print in color and B/W but the ink is like 60% cheaper than Laser printers (especially if you factor in drum replacements).

We switched all of our laser printers (with how ridiculously expensive brother's toner was) to it and it saved us thousands a year. To give context each one of our 3 ecotanks had 50k-100k prints in like 2 years. Best printer ever and it comes with like 20k pages worth of ink. It is the only printer that could make me move away from laser. If you have a family and/or want to print out photos get the photo version you can print out photos on actual photo paper for pennies and they will be color correct

View attachment 2508336

Does a water droplet or moisture, for example, not ruin the documents you are printing? I have no idea if the new inks are waterproof, thus my asking. Otherwise it seems like a great idea.