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(More customer reviews)Recently I bought a Brother All-In-One Inkjet and have been very happy with it. Since it had all the controls on the printer itself, I was able to set up the wireless connection quickly and without any problem. Plus, all the other features worked well. I needed a laser printer to replace my very old NEC. Based on my experience with the Brother Inkjet I decided to buy this Brother 2170W.
The Brother laser printer is very small, yet holds 250 pages which is far more than my old one. It wakes up in less than 10 seconds then prints pages lightening fast. The print quality is sharp and clear. I have the printer in my office and connected it directly to my PC with the USB cable. However, I also have a laptop about 10 feet away that I wanted to setup wireless to the laser printer. Well, that is where the problems began.
I tried for several hours to connect the laser printer to my laptop and never could get it right. I was able to connect wirelessly directly between the printer and laptop without going through the router. However, doing it this way I could not be on the internet and printer at the same time. Also, the connection would keep dropping. Try as I may, I could not connect the printer through the router like my other Brother Inkjet. I am convinced that I am simply doing some little something wrong. Therefore, I can not blame the printer for something that is my fault. Since I do have the printer wired to the other printer in the office and that printer is connected to the router, then I can still access the laser printer through the other computer.
I am still giving the Brother 2170W printer high marks because, except for the connection problems, it is an excellent printer.
UPDATE: I was trying to setup the printer wirelessly, without plugging the cable in. Bad idea! I finally decided to wire the printer to the router as recommended in the manual. After setting it up I unplugged the wired connection and now the printer works wirelessly from both of my computers. The whole thing took less than 3 minutes. Lesson for today: Read the manual and do what it Recommends.
It would benefit most people to have a laser printer in addition to their inkjet printer. And this is why. Keep track of just how many documents and letters you print that do not require color. If you print more than ten percent in black and white then you can save a lot of money on ink by using a laser printer. Here are some figures to consider. The cost of toner (ink) for a laser printer is higher than inkjet, but a laser can print many more pages. The cost per page on a laser printer can be as low as 3 cents. Whereas, the cost of ink for an inkjet can be 11 cents or more per page, and that cost can be ten times more for photos. Therefore, if you only print a few things that do not require color then you may only save ten to twenty percent on ink. However, if you do a lot of black and white printing then you could save fifty to seventy percent on ink using a laser printer. And if you decide to buy a laser, then this Brother is one of the best because of the speed and print quality.
ANOTHER UPDATE: After using this printer for several months I must give it 5 stars. It has worked all this time with no problems at all and I love it. However, I still give the overall rating 4 stars because of the install problem. I even contacted Brother several times and followed their directions on how to set up the printer without using a cable. Both Brother and myself finally gave up because it just would not work unless I used a cable, even though Brother said it would. Brother never did figure out why it wouldn't work that way. But, it doesn't matter. When I want to change my WiFi key, I just use a cable.
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Brother HL-2170W 23ppm Laser Printer with Wireless and Wired Network InterfacesProduct Description
The HL-2170W is a network, monochrome laser printer that is ideal for home or home office printer sharing. It features network connectivity via Ethernet and wireless interfaces, a fast print speed of up to 23ppm, HQ resolution (up to 2400 x 600 dpi) for high-quality output, and quick processing with 32MB memory. The HL-2170W provides flexible paper handling via an enclosed 250-sheet capacity tray and a manual by-pass slot for printing envelopes and letterhead. It also offers a Toner Save mode to extend toner life and wide compatibility with support for Windows and Mac and PCL6 emulation.
Product Details
- Color: GRAY
- Brand: Brother
- Model: HL-2170w
- Platform: Windows 2003 Server
- Format: CD
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 14.50" h x 6.70" w x 14.20" l, 14.99 pounds
- Memory: 128000MB DRAM
- Hard Disk: 1GB
- Graphics: This is the description of the PC Graphics 256MB
- Processors: 1
- Native resolution: 640x480
- Display size: 669.2913385827
Features
- Monochrome laser printer prints up to 23 ppm, perfect for home or office use
- High-quality 2400 x 600 dpi resolution
- Features network connectivity via wireless/wired interfaces
- 250-sheet capacity tray, Starter Toner Cartridge
- One-year limited manufacturer's warranty
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