Stuck between two printers.

[thelongmorrow]

I am in the market for a color laser printer and am stuck between two printers. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with either. They both received mixed reviews. One of the main features I am looking for is duplex (two sided) printing.

The Brother HL-4070CDW Color Laser Printer with Built-In Duplex Printing and Wireless Interface:
http://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-4070CDW-Printing-Wireless-Interface/dp/B000TDXDTI

And the HP Color LaserJet CP2025dn CB495A:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828115250

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I print what I consider small jobs and this would be part of my home office, although I am also looking for good print quality (not necessary photo, thats what my ink jet is for).

 

[Scottsdale]

I have that exact Brother printer at my office, and I would NOT recommend it. The duplex printing is painfully slow. The B&W is far slower than it should be. Color prints require high quality paper or they just bleed and the images and text aren't sharp.

I use an HP printer on the other side of the building when I need to print color at all. I also go to the HP when I have a large print job (more than 20 pages) or require duplex. Basically, the Brother is worthless for me except for small B&W prints, but I can save time if I need to print

I recommend HP printers. The laser toners are ridiculously expensive, but the results can be seen with every print job and the time saved adds up quickly.

Good luck.

 

[boriscolombia]

hi I think they are both great, what I would do and this is only my two cents is I would look for which one is cheaper to buy ink for, I've realized that by doing this first I don't run into surprises so yea I would suggest that you look for those prices in new egg and monoprice and see which one would be cheaper to buy toner for in the future. based on that I found that the brother ones are way cheaper in both newegg and monoprice (oem) while the HP ones are almost twice more expensive, now the quality difference?? that remains to be seen. just my two cents

 

[js81]

While I don't use either model, we use nothing but HP at the school where I teach and (most) all of them are great.

That being said, my sister has used a cheapo Brother laser (one of the Black Friday specials a few years back - think it was like $79 or so) all through college and now grad school. It has been great for her needs with no problems at all...

 

[thelongmorrow]

Ive looked at the toner cost, HP has a much higher toner cost (about 25% more than Brother). It looks like it would almost be worth it to buy a new printer every time you need to replace the toners.

Also it seems that both these models are approximately 1-2 years old. I can't find any new models, guess they don't update/technology doesn't change as fast as other electronics. (but price is much lower then 2 years ago).

 

[j2048b]

i just got the mfc-885cw and even though some reviews say it sucks, i like it, hooked it up under about 20-30 min, both usb and wireless, it also allows lan, but not with wireless at the same time, has a phone and fax and everything, so far so good.

 

[thelongmorrow]

I went and tested both printers out today at staples, I think i am going to go with the Brother printer. Future Toner cost is a big factor, HP cost around $120 per toner, Brother cost about $65-80. Like I said, I need duplex, Its for my home office, speed is not a huge factor. Although a small curl does appear on the Brother prints, it is not that noticeable.

 

[Akhan]

HP all the way.
I own two of them and they work great.

 

[Scottsdale]

I went and tested both printers out today at staples, I think i am going to go with the Brother printer. Future Toner cost is a big factor, HP cost around $120 per toner, Brother cost about $65-80. Like I said, I need duplex, Its for my home office, speed is not a huge factor. Although a small curl does appear on the Brother prints, it is not that noticeable.

I think you need to factor in buying toner from a seller online. For my home printers, I buy ink from online sellers for about a 50% discount over the office retail or electronics stores. I would even recommend you learn how to put new ink in the cartridge, as that is super low costs and cuts the other price in half again. I have never had a problem with either brand new toners or refilling the cartridges at home. I just don't understand paying $100 when I can do it in less than five minutes and save $75. It's completely SIMPLE.

I believe in the long run you will benefit by picking a much better laser printer which is the HPs. HP is definitely the way to go when buying lasers. When you can save 75% and refill the cartridges yourself in five minutes, buying the HP is a no brainer.

I wish you the best of luck whichever route you go.

 

[Sun Baked]

Yay, chipped HP cartridges...