Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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116 of 121 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid Machine, March 30, 2007
I was hesitant to purchase this based on all the mediocre reviews, but I am extremely happy with the 240c. I think its about the best multi-function you can get for under a hundred bucks (with the possible exception of tha Canon Pixma). First, a few of these reviews contain critical errors about the unit. First: It IS possible to scan multiple documents into a single PDF file. One simple way is to load up your documents into the top paper feeder, then scan to PDF, and every page it scans will be put into the same file. Another way to do it is to use the Presto Pagemanager software that comes on the installation CD. Second: the 240c DOES have incoming fax capabilities...you have to enable it in the Fax options on the unit's menu setup (not on your computer). It does not have a handset so you cannot use it as a phone, but at least on the 240c that I have, it can indeed receive faxes. Third: the reason the unit will not print anything even if only one cartridge is blank is because it uses a suction type cart (different from most inkjets), and damage to the unit will occur if an empty cartridge is left in. That said, here's my review.
Build quality is overall very durable, with the possible exception of the paper tray. It won't turn any heads with its bland utilitarian appearance, but its compact and sturdy for home or home office usage. It also looks like an office machine, as opposed to the flimsy Fisher-Price looking offerings from HP and Lexmark. The controls are laid out sufficiently and you should be able to figure things out by surfing through the unit's menu, although there are alot of setup options so you may have to do some searching. The only complaints about the design are the small, non-backlit display and the paper tray. The paper tray is more like a paper container with a lid, that loads like a cartridge. If you only print on one type of paper its fine, but if you want to switch and print envelopes, 4X6, etc., it can do it but you have to take the tray out, take out all the paper, adjust the slider, then put in the new paper and re-insert.
Print and scan quality are just fine. In fact, the scanner is very impressive and scans are much better quality than the Canon it replaced. Print quality is just fine...I dont see any washed out colors or anything else others have noted. Its prints as good as any unit will under a hundred bucks. The copy and scan features work just great and fast. You can either use the computer to make copies or you can bypass your PC altogether and use it as a standalone copier. Most of the features can be run either from the software or the unit itself, which is great. The top-feeding document accepter is a huge time saver. Also, the lid on the scanner is hinged allowing you to scan thicker items, like books, easily.
As far as ink usage, some settings must be adjusted to get longer life. First, disable "bi-directional printing" as it uses alot of ink and wrinkles the paper. Set the paper-type to "plain." This is huge, because if you dont, even if you select grayscale printing, it will pull ink from the color cartidges. Also, if you print mostly text, set the print quality to the "fast" settings, and it looks just fine. You want to conserve ink, since these cartridges run about 20-25 bucks for black, and around 12-14 for each color. But, the cartridges are huge so they should last average users a while. For heavy office use, you may want to look at a a higher end or laser model.
The fax feature I dont use so I cant comment much on how that works. It also accepts most major memory cards for photo printing, but without a preview screen your better off printing pics from your computer. It is also worth noting that this unit IS Mac compatible (many of the sub-$100 machines aren't), although I had to update the drivers and software from Brother's website after installing the CD to get some scanning features to work. I'm assuming this has something to do with the whole Intel / PPC switch. I'd highly advise you to do the same...their site is just their name, and the update offerings fixed the few bugs I encountered.
Overall I am very impressed with this unit. I had returned an HP c3180 multi-function because it couldnt hold a handle to this as far as overall quality and value. Highly recommended for home and light home office use.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best in its class, March 16, 2007
One of my friend bought this printer and still using now over 6 months without any problem. Now I also bought this same printer. It is excellent for the price and printing quality.
I cannot understand why some people pay low price for this excellent value for money product and complaining about the speed. Well.. for that price you cannot expect a lightning fast printing speed. It is a reasonably fast enough unless you are in a very busy office environment. I used Brother Products even before and I was very satisfied. Spare parts, support and refilling are widely available. Unlike some other brand cartridges, they are not sky high price.
Brother is a well made Japanese brand and it never let me down before. Exaggerated negative comments keeps people away from this great value for money product. What I bet is go and see for your self it is working demonstration in one of the stores and compare with other products. And don't forget check the prices of the new cartridges and after sale support too.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the second product like it., January 31, 2007
Previously, I owned the Brother MFC unit that did not have fax and loved it so when this unit went on sale I grabbed it. All aspects work as expected which is great. The software tends to load a lot of stuff not needed (for us) so I removed the automatic loading functions from msconfig and simply call the printer or scanner as required. The adf feature (automatic doc feed) feature is a real time saver. Software is excellent too. No, I don't work for the company. It's just nice, for a change, to get a product that actually works. And if you need to call Brother, a human located in the USA actually answers the phone. Imagine that!
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