Customer Reviews

Brother MFC-8480DN High-Performance Laser All-in-One with Networking and Duplex Printing

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

My wife is a middle grades teacher and the copiers at her school are always broken are in use by someone else, so we do all her printing and copying at home - LOTS of printing and copying. I really like the speed and the automatic duplexing. We expect to cut our paper cost by 30-40%. We also create a pdf of each assignment/worksheet to upload to her website so students can get any missed assignments. The scanner - scan to file - option allows you to specify pdf file type and is very fast.

The Automatic Document Feed is excellent with no jams so far even with large documents. We also print hall/bathroom passes on business card stock using the single sheet feeder with no jams. So far we have printed about 5,000 pages and have had no real problems. Setting up the network for sharing the printer was very easy. We expect to print about 5,000 pages per month - well under the 25,000 duty clcle. Our previous MFC 8220 is still being used by a colleague after 3 drum replacements - we just wanted the extra speed and auto duplex this machine provided.

The software provided for scanning is easy to use and very versatile. We haven't used the fax function yet. So far we are very pleased with the speed, auto duplex and scanning features and have had no driver issues using both XP and Vista.

It is a great machine for someone needing a heavy duty networked duplex capable machine.

I gave 4 stars instead of 5 for the following reasons:
1) Scanning from the ADF is slower than I expected once you get past the first page.
2) The printer memory can be easily upgraded with up to 512 MB. However, the memory module is a 144-pin PC100/133 SO-DIMM. This is very out of date memory. You would think that out of date memory would be dirt cheap but it is not. Compare prices and you will find that it costs about as much as 4 GB of the very latest memory because very few manufacturers still produce it and very few retailers stock it. Even if that memory is more than adequate for the printer's needs, Brother should still use something more modern to keep the costs down.

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I have a network with machines running Windows Vista, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and Ubuntu 9.04 Linux. This printer worked with all three operating systems with no tweaking at all. In fact, the only headache was that the Windows software provided by Brother required a reboot after installing (I thought we left Windows 95 far behind...). The Mac immediately recognized the printer via Rendezvous and was ready to print within seconds. What surprised me the most, however, was that Linux saw the printer and configured itself right away. Brother offers Linux drivers, but there is no point in even downloading the print drivers as CUPS handles it out of the box. For scanning, you should install the Brother "driver" which is actually just a very tiny daemon that the printer contacts when you press the scanning button. All the daemon does is kick off the appropriate shell script, which are located in /etc/local/Brother/sane. It is all very configurable and if you know your scripting, this printer is MORE capable on Linux than it is on Mac or Windows!

I owned the 1st gen. of the Brother MFC printer. This is my second Brother MFC. This one is generation 3. My original Brother MFC lasted about 5 years. I hope they worked out the bugs out of this one. It works just as good at the original one but it's one does 32ppm and have more built in memory. My 1st gen has scanner lock issues and ADF started giving me issues. The high yield toner is TN-650 (8000 pages). It's expensive toner but it lasts very long for the toner. It's toner is also bigger than many other printers. Check that out if the price is what you need in features before buying. I was hoping Amazon sold it when I was buying it so I could have purchased it from Amazon.

Pros:
- The best ADF that I have seen for a while.
- Doesn't jam much.
- Features. I looked at HP, Sharp, Canon, Lexmark, Minolta and can't find any printer that comes close to the features and abilities of this printer. Too features much to list, read Brother's website. Even supports Postscript, pdf.
- Legal size glass scanning is a big big plus. Many printer nowadays only does letter size or needs to the document to go thru the ADF (top feeder tray).
- Paper tray can adjust from Letter to Legal size
- fax is just a button away (Save phone number setup).
- Energy Star rated (not like gen 1 where your lights flicker when you turn it on). This issue appears to be fixed.
- DN = Duplex (2 sided printing) and network printing (if you have DHCP, just plug and play, no setup on printer really needed).
- Extremely fast printing (Thinking of replacing my other printers with is one).

Cons:
- Can't find how to copy 2 sided using Legal sized paper so I have to do 1 page at a time either with the ADF or glasstop.
- The date and time doesn't save at all and reverts to 1/1/2010 when power is turned off after use. *(fixed with new firmware update)*
- Duplex mode is confusing to use at times. Copying 1 -> 2 is not simple, needs time to read manual.
- Toner pricing for TN-650 is expensive but lasts a long time since it's bigger than some (good for 6,000 pages). It's around $83 at Amazon.com (best price also(
- Past experience with customer support is almost null. But all printer companies are similar.

We purchased this printer to replace the HP LaserJet we bought 10 years ago. We do a lot of project printing in our volunteer positions and for school, so our first priority was to buy a good laser printer. Next to that, we often have reason to fax or email documents in a tele-commuting capacity, so a quality scanner with document feed was desirable. We recently set our new printer up and were able to immediately put it to good use.

We have it plugged directly into the wireless router and have three computers networked in - two XP machines and a Win 7. Set up was straightforward using the quickstart manual and the enclosed software. (My laptop recognized the printer without the software, but I chose to do a full-install anyway.)

To date, have used the printer for basic printing, duplexing, envelopes and copying. So far, everything works as advertised and we're pleased with our choice. The print quality is excellent and looks very professional. When making copies, the only lag time is the machine waking from sleep mode: once it's on, the copies fed, scanned and printed quickly.

Many reviews stated that envelopes were impossible so I did a little research. In the passthrough (at the rear of the printer), there are two little blue levers that need to be released to decrease the pressure on the envelope as it feeds. The envelopes I've printed have been perfect. This extra step is one reason I didn't give 5 stars - just a minor inconvenience.

The other reason I left off one star is that the machine is by no means built to last forever - the body is relatively lightweight plastic and makes me suspicious about the internals, as well. The paper tray removes too easily, and I will drop it on the floor one of these times. Time will tell.

2nd Brother printer purchased for our small office - both working flawlessly - easy to setup and seem to be good on supplies as well - Be aware that the 8480 does NOT do duplex print copying or fax/scanning - it only does duplex printing from a print application.

Setup. For Mac users running Snow Leopard, setup of this printer couldn't be any easier. Specific drivers for the 8480DN are included in current versions of Snow Leopard. All we had to do was plug the printer into our ethernet+wireless network, and all of our networked Macs (wired and wireless) were able to detect and access it immediately, with full functionality. We never even had to touch the Brother software CD.

Network scanning. Mac Snow Leopard users will NOT need to install the Brother software to do network scanning. To perform network scanning in Snow Leopard, open Image Capture (a standard included application) from a Mac on the network. The 8480DN should automatically be detected and appear in the "devices" list as a network scanner. (We have our printer connected only to our network, not USB.) Just select the 8480DN icon from the list, and then you will be able to operate the scanner from within Image Capture, with the ability to remotely select document feeder or flatbed, change color/resolution options, scan to pdf/jpg/tiff, and scan to email. (Note: I believe, although I'm not certain, that Snow Leopard is required for network scanning. I say this because we were not able to get this to work on our MacBook running old Leopard.)

Single-sided print speed is very fast; duplex print speed is a little slower but still acceptable. Copy and scan speeds are good. We rarely use the fax capability of this device, so no opinion there. We are very satisfied with this product.

I have a small law office, we have used the 8480DN Brothers Copier for over year, we like it. After three unnecessary Brother replacements, we have solved Two glitches; Glitch One is how to properly print wrinkle-free envelopes, Glitch Two is getting Word Perfect to print from the main tray ("Tray 1").

Wrinkled Envelopes:

A. When printing from the computer, people pull their hair because the Brothers help assistants don't know the wrinkled envelope solution, so here is how to easily print wrinkle free envelopes from the Brothers 8480DN printer:

Load no more then three envelopes (three is the maximum or the envelopes jam on feeding, thus 4 stars instead of 5).

1. Open the fold-down, pass though, back door to the printer.
2. You will notice two blue levers, on the upper right and left inside of the door opening.
3. Pull down each lever and you will print 100% wrinkle free envelopes,labels etc.

Word Perfect: Bogus No Paper in the Tray Notices

B. When first printing in Word Perfect, you will receive a main tray (Tray 1") empty notice, even though Tray 1 has paper. Unless simple Word Perfect settings are changed, when you press "print" Word Perfect will automatically select the closed "Manual" Tray and thus show that tray as empty. This is a nasty problem, so here is the quick fix solution, to the bogus empty tray issue.

Status: Your document is on the screen and you are ready to print it. You select print and the Brother printer displays a "tray is empty" notice.

1. Go to "File", scroll down and open "Page Setup".
2. In the "Page Setup" window you will see "Standard Page Type"
3. Scroll down and select "Add" button
4. Add New Form page appears. . .select "Tray 1"
5. Select OK and you will return to "Page Setup"

6. At the Page Setup window, scroll down and select the "Edit" button, that is placed to the right of the "Add" button.
7. Edit Form page appears, select Tray 1, select OK and return to "Page Set Up"

You are half done:

1. On the "Page Set Up" page change your selection form "Standard Page Type" to "Printer Page Type"
3. Scroll down and select "Add" button
4. Add New Form page appears. . .select "Tray 1"
5. Select OK and you will return to "Page Setup"
6. Now scroll down and select the "Edit" button, that is next to the Add" button
7. Edit Form page appears, select Tray 1, select OK and return to "Page Set Up"

You now can print the Word Perfect document in Tray 1 ("Main Tray"). When you save that document it will save it in Tray 1 and it will print normally when you edit.

In the future, if you ever get a "tray empty" notice and the main tray is full, open Page Set up and repeat this procedure. Now Word Perfect can print envelopes and labels in the Brothers 8480.

I do not think MS Word users have this issue.

First I must say that my background with MFC or multifunction anything is relatively high compared to most. I have had over 20 units to date. Most are in the circular recycling bin or sitting in storage. I know, they are disposible. That does seem to be the overall sense most of us have regarding electronic in general. The manufactuers love that concept. Keep buying our stuff. Especially since it cost the almost the same to fix an older unit. Although if you are resourceful it usually is a lot less cost to figure out what is wrong and get the part yourself. Ebay is a good place to start for random parts.

I will keep this short since it is my initial impressions. This machine is excellent. Got it from another source when they had $100 off. Using a coupon $25, I had it delivered for less than $300. Software install was easy on my network. Paperport LE included. Relatively straight forward and not to bloated. Network scanning which is a weak point in many multifunctions is working without a hitch at better than expected scan time. Machine is fast in copying and printing. When the toner is needed, it has highcapacity to 8K unit at reasonable cost and many generics available. Nothing to complain about so far.

I have had many brother MFC and had given up on them. Usually I purchased because the cost vs. features was favorable. It turns out that You usually get what you pay for in the end. Let's just say I was not impressed with brother. Well this has changed my mind. I would recommend to someone looking for what it does.

What it doesnt do duplex scanning. I don't need it. Wireless, no need since it is on the network and I can access via my wireless router if necessary.

I will post an update if this review changes in either direction. Meaning into storage or MVP

I am very disappointed in this machine and would definitely not recommend it. The document feeder frequently grabs several sheets at a time so that I need to count all copies and scanned pages. Additionally, many of my pages have a line going down vertically due to a problem with the toner bar. This will cost more than $100 to replace and happened only a few months after I bought the machine. I also have a problem printing envelopes because the machine doesn't seem to like bond paper. Speed is great, but needs to be coupled with accuracy.

I have been working at home for nearly two years on a legal case involving my little grand-nephew. I've spent countless hours and way too much money at Kinkos, or I've been frustrated at home trying to copy, print and scan with my little Canon.

I finally (two years too late) wised up and purchased a bigger, better and much more user-friendly all-in-one machine.

I love it. I can scan or copy entire documents with the auto-feeder. The low-toner setting gives me about 3,000 copies per cartridge, about 2.5 cents per copy. And the software that came with it is great.

Why didn't I buy this years ago? If you don't want to spend a bundle, but want all the convenience and low cost of Kinkos (in your home), you can't beat this machine. And set up was easy, even for low-tech me!