HL2240: The Brother Laser Printer For Every Home Office
Klagunk . . . klack-lack . . . klack-lack . . . k-k-k-kkk, klack . . . phfffffffff . . . hmmmmmmm. Those are the sounds of my old inkjet printer. And I can tell you. I don't miss it. I also don't miss those ink cartridges. The ones that cost so much and run out at the MOST inopportune moments. Well, all of that is over thanks to my Brother HL2240 laser printer!
I've already mentioned how much I love my Brother Project Runway sewing machine, but it's this awesome printer that gave me the confidence to trust the brand when I needed to buy that new sewing machine. Next to my computer and printer, my sewing machine is one of my most important, most used tools.
My husband and I are freelance writers, so we work at home and keep our office running all of the time. Both of us also sell products online. I sell quilts and quilted items and my husband sells his stuff, so we are always printing shipping labels. Because we depend on our printer for work and side income, we needed one that is both reliable and economical. This one certainly filled the bill.
In the past, we considered laser printers, but they always seemed at little bit too expensive, maybe $200 or $300 just to purchase the equipment, versus $40 or $60 for an inkjet. Sadly, competitively priced inkjets with super expensive ink cartridges always lured us in. But this printer has changed everything because it sells for $120 or less, and rebates are frequently available.
My favorite thing about this printer isn't that it's fast and reliable. It's that whenever I've had an issue, I've been able to check the manual and find a great solution. My absolute favorite feature is the toner override button that allows you to override the low-toner warning and print almost forever--or at least until your print quality actually starts to deteriorate and fade. Simply, press the go button quickly seven times and the printer will fire up. This is a feature that inkjets will never have!
Specifications, Recommendations and My Experience
Brother bills the HL2240 as a mid-capacity monochrome laser printer for small offices and home-based printing. Plus, this model gets high marks with consumers and experts. In 2012, this printer won an Editor's Choice award from PC Mag as well as a Reader's Choice award. Amazon customers give the product a solid 4 stars, and it has an online average of 4.5 stars based on 560 reviews. This printer is a solid choice that is recommended for anyone who prints less than 2,000 pages per month. Here are a few specs.
Prints up to 24 pages per minute.
High-capacity 250-page paper tray stays full.
There's a manual paper tray bypass for special documents
High-yield replacement cartridges are available.
Compatible with letter paper, envelopes and labels.
Comes with a 700-page starter cartridge.
Cartridge and drum units are consumable. The drum unit is rated for 12,000 pages.
Meets Energy Star requirements. I notice that the lights dim a little when the unit fires up to print, but that's just the bad electric in our old house!
In about a year of use, I've had to replaced the cartridge and had one issue with the paper feed that was corrected by wiping paper shards off of the uptake roller and mechanism.
