Customer Reviews

Brother MFC-5200c Multifunction

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I purchased the 5200 after plenty of research and comparison shopping. It is the big brother to the MFC-5100c which looks very much the same... but there are some big differences. The 5200 has the stand-alone digital media print capability (can read Compact Flash, Smart Media, Memory Stick) but also has more built-in memory and a print system that works almost twice the speed of the 5100. It was this speed that I was after, and so it was the speed that I will focus on here. Both models use the same ink cartridges, which separate the colors to save you money.

The advertised print speed of around 20 pages per minute black and 16 color should not be considered realistic. All advertised print speeds are basically fabrications that use "draft" print setting and low complexity document types to get best possible results... not the world I live in. That being said, the 5200 really is fast in two departments -- It can copy faster than any all-in-one inkjet I've ever seen, and it spits out faxes like a machine gun. I timed the copy speed using the cover of a children's book as the source (lots of color and about letter-size) and hit my stopwatch the moment I hit "copy"... I used the "normal" setting. A very nice quality copy was produced in 28 seconds. This is a far cry from the 12-16 pages per minute color copy speed advertised, but you will have to take my word for it when I say this is fast for a multifunction machine. The reason for the speed is a very wide print head that can cover nearly 3/4 of an inch on each pass over the paper.

As a comparison, the HP 6110 (nearly identical to the Brother in specifications and capabilities) took 56 seconds for the same copy job at the same settings. The HP print heads cover a much smaller path, requiring many more passes to get the job done.

The 5200 seems to love fax and copy jobs more than anything else, because the manual and software focus on these jobs to the near exclusion of everyday computer printing. In fact, the software was not very impressive and included an image management package that I didn't want, but couldn't elect not to install.

Now, on the the one problem that I encountered and don't want to live with -- Print speed for computer printing. I thought my old Lexmark z52 was slow printing in color, but the Brother was worse. Printing a 4x6 inch color picture (jpeg format) on plain paper in "normal" (one step above draft) print mode took about 4 minutes. After calling and e-mailing Brother support, I finally got a technician that said, "That's the way it is supposed to work... nothing's wrong." What is maddening about it is that it makes a sweep with the print heads, then stops for between 5 and 15 seconds waiting for data to stream in and get processed before sweeping across again. I know that the USB port is capable of sending large amounts of data very quickly, so it doesn't seem like there should be such a bottle-neck. Is it the speed of the printer's own processor? I don't know. I tried altering print spooling settings, I tried it on another computer, I tried using the parallel connection instead... all gave similar results. Printing a larger image at a somewhat higher print mode left me enought time to make a sandwich and catch a little t.v. I just expected faster printing.

Comparing to the HP 6110, the same picture took only slightly less time (about 25% faster) but the print heads of the HP never stop moving back and forth waiting for data.

A better printer driver might fix the speed issue, or maybe the machine I got was not performing properly... I can't say. Anyway, it is a really nice machine that is capable of some really nice output, but I wish the folks at Brother would spend as much time and energy on machine to computer interface as they have on stand-alone faxing and copying (which are very good).

If you're getting a multifunction, I personally think it's important to get one with a flatbed scanner. A copier that can't copy or fax pages from a bound book isn't of much use to me. I've tried quite a few multifunctions out there - lexmark, canon, HP, you name it. HP was the best of the lot in terms of speed, quality and life of the cartridges. I had almost made up my mind to get HP-2210 which was also appealing to me because it can print directly from a Sony memory stick.

Then I came across Brother MFC-5200 and it didn't take me much convincing to go with this one. Not only does this have great printing speed (I agree with the first reviewer that you can't go by the advertised speed, but that being said, it does print pages with text pretty fast), the copying and faxing is excellent. Moreover, this printer also has the PC-Fax feature that lets you fax a document directly from your PC rather than having to print it out first and then faxing it. That way, you save a lot of ink by not having to print pages you want to fax. The printer has a full-fledged photo-capture center that also accepts a Sony memory stick and a compact flash card as a direct input. What can beat this?

The installation was a breeze on my Win 2000 machine. The literature is extremely well documented and product packaging was very well organized. It comes with separate cartridges for each color - cyan, yellow, magenta and black. You can replace each cartridge separately as compared to some other cartridges where the colors are contained in one unit and you have to pretty much discard it when one color runs out.
I needed to hook this printer up on a LAN so it could be used by the other computers in my house too. This unit was advertized as being network enabled. But the problem was that the LAN board must be purchased separately and costs a fortune. So I connected it to one of my PCs and made it a print server. Serves the purpose.
The downside is that this printer is pretty big and shakes a little when printing, so make sure it's on a sturdy stand!!

I've noticed a few positive reviews for the MFC5200C, and all I have to say is - we'll talk in a few months and see if you still feel that way.

The machine was good for me for several reasons - multi-function, fair print quality (if you don't need photos), and moderate printing speed. However, after 21 months of low volume usage (5 print/copy per day), I got the dreaded "Machine Error 41". That is essentially the death dirge (the printer head needs replacing). The repair cost is $164, which when compared to the cost of the machine is a "no-brainer" solution -- don't!

I've talked to a couple of technicians in my area, and they said that I am not alone in my Brother problem. If you want my opinion about this particular Brother product, I say buy if you have the expectation to replace it every two years. If you are planning on keeping it longer, then go elsewhere.

Ok so here I was ready for my first multifunction printer. I did all the research, shopped around and decided on the Brother MFC-5200C, mainly because I previously had a brother fax machine that was a workhorse and lasted me years! I loved that fax machine and when my research came down to a few that included a brother I thought I'd go with what I knew but from day one I had problems with this printer. It was still under the manufacturers warranty so I called brother to fix it. They gave me such a run around and then finally sent out a replacement. The replacement lasted about 5 months and then the printer broke. We couldn't receive faxes or do anything that involved printing. I ended up just giving up and buying a whole new multifunction printer by a different maker.
All I can say about my whole Brother experience is I have never been so disappointed in a product or manufacturer before!
Do yourself a favor and save your money!!!!

This was a huge disappointment as this unit replaced a great model 9200c. The unit is tinny sound..squeaky belts..most difficult for single sheet feed, due to a rear entry where a compartment must be opened..ends up jamming most of the time. Fax feature is also not very good as it disconnects transmission without reason, then redials. I would not recommend this model

I have owned this MFC for 2 years and would NEVER purchase another Brother .. ever. I use my printer frequently but each time I use this "piece" I have to clean the ink heads or white lines appear in the print. Which of course, the cleaning uses an insane amount of ink.

I don't advise this product at all.

After 10 years of Home Computers...

I have to say I think Epson is the best deal for your money.

Thats what I will purchase soon.

From the get-go, this printer caused me nothing but problems. I had printed about 10 sheets when the print quality fell through the floor. Ran through the print head cleaning process numerous times, per the manual, with only marginal improvement. After burning through several ink cartridges trying to clean the sorry printer, God-forbid, I bought non-OEM ink cartridges. Eventually, the printer displayed the printer equivalent of the "Blue Screen of Death" Machine Error, and I was directed to take the printer to the Authorized Repair Center. Three months and many phone calls later, they finally told me that the print head was shot, and that it was going to cost 25% more to repair the printer than I paid for it. Additionally, it wasn't going to be covered by the warranty because I used non-OEM ink! I've used non-OEM ink for my Epson and HP for years with NO problems, and now this is the cause of my problems with the Brother?? I don't think so. I'll never own another Brother product again. Please contact me if you wish, for details. AVOID BROTHER LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!

I own a MFC 5200C. I replaced the print heads in the 5200C last months (2006) after approx 3 months and now today my 5200C has the dreaded ERROR 41 message. I called Brother, their advice, you need new print heads again. I realize that the print heads on Brother MFC's are only built to last two years of moderate use. In my opinion dont purchase this printer and save your money making another purchase.

I own a MFC 5200C and an MFC 7160C. I replaced the print heads in the 7160C last year (2005) after approx 2 years and now today my 5200C has the dreaded ERROR 41 message. I called Brother, their advice, you need new print heads. After reading many reviews; all stating they had the same problem (and all after approx 2 years of moderate use), I realize that the print heads on Brother MFC's are only built to last two years of moderate use. In my opinion save your money and research well before making your purchase. Spend a few bucks more and buy a better product, its cheaper in the long run.

Follow the advice of the others who purchased from Brother. Don't. It's not worth the money as you'll be replacing print heads and wasting time on the phone w/ "customer service." They'll replace it the first time only to have it continually happen. Buy HP. It's more expensive but more reliable. Don't believe me, go here & read on: www.fixyourownprinter.com/forums/inkjet/25785 and www.fixyourownprinter.com/forums/inkjet/23050 and www.fixyourownprinter.com/forums/inkjet/22817

Now you've been warned.