Which Laser Printer - Brother HL-2140 or Samsung ML-2240?

[Shaun.P]

I'm looking to buy a relatively cheap laser printer in a day or so. I have narrowed it down to the following:



Brother HL-2140

Pro's:

• 2400x600 resolution as opposed to only 1200x600 on the Samsung. Will this make much of a difference for general text printing?
  
  
• Looks nicer

Con's:

• This printer is a bit more expensive than the Samsung.
• Consumables are slightly cheaper however a new drum is required approx every 12,000 pages.

Samsung ML-2240

Pro's:

• Cheaper, and when you replace the toner, you are also replacing the drum.

Cons:

• Doesn't look as nice as the Brother (IMO) and the printing resolution isn't as good.

Can someone tell me their first hand experiences with these printers, and what printer they would pick out of the two?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Shaun.

 

[techound1]

I can't speak to those particular models, however, I've got an HL-1440 that's about 3 years old. Despite a lot of volume abuse, it's been a rock and is still chugging along well.

 

[miles01110]

I've never used the Samsung but the 2140 is a good printer. Fast, quiet, reliable.

 

[js81]

I had a Samsung ML-2010 that lasted all of 1 whole year before it died (just out of warranty, BTW). Can't speak for the model mentioned, but mine was great while it lasted - but it didn't even last through its original cartridge (for me).

 

[Fishrrman]

My vote goes to Brother.

The primary reason: support for the Mac.

Brother seems committed to supporting the Mac with drivers. Samsung - from what I've read - far less so.

I do have a Brother HL-5250DN and it's a good printer.

TIP for all Brother laser owners:
Don't run out and buy a new cartridge the first time the printer alerts you that the toner is low! Take out the toner cartridge, you will see a small circular "window" on one side. The printer uses some kind of light beam directed at this window to give you that alert. Only problem is - it's a "phony" indication. That is, there is still a good amount of toner left in the cartridge when it falls below the level in the window. The solution is to take a piece of tape and COVER UP the window. You will then get considerably more use out of the old cartridge!

 

[hajime]

I am using the Brother HL-2140. It is a good printer. The only complain I have is that the output tray (on top of the printer) is too shallow. If you print a document with many pages and the printer is underneath a desk in close distance, the papers get messed up.

 

[cube]

Did you look at Oki? They are LED printers, which have fewer moving parts.

 

[Shaun.P]

I ended up going for the Brother HL-2035 as the HL-2140 was a bit more difficult to find in-stock.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[pfjellman]

I have the Brother HL-2140 laser printer and I love it, but having it for only a week, I have one stupid question: how in the world do you check the toner level in this thing? The Supply Levels section of Mac OS X's printer control panel says "Information Not Available". Seems silly there's no way to check how much ink is left in the printer...

 

[bluskale]

I have a 2140, and it works pretty well. It does flicker the lights when we turn it on. Wish we had the wireless version though : /

btw, if you go with brother, you can dramatically extend the life of the toner cartridges with a black sharpie mark where it reads the ink levels.

 

[1rottenapple]

Love my brother hl2140. It helped me survived two years of grad school and thousand of pages printed. And best of all, ive changed the cartridge 2 times in two years lol.

 

[1rottenapple]

I have the Brother HL-2140 laser printer and I love it, but having it for only a week, I have one stupid question: how in the world do you check the toner level in this thing? The Supply Levels section of Mac OS X's printer control panel says "Information Not Available". Seems silly there's no way to check how much ink is left in the printer...

Don't know how to check it but being an owner of two years of the exact same model, It last long and when you need to change it, you can buy another replacement, then just keep it in your drawer and change it when the ink starts to show decreased printing quality.

 

[shoppy]

I use the samsung for word documents only as I have a separate photo printing machine. Love it, it was cheap an works really well.