Rating  - Quick, cheap printer & awesome install
Installation was like eating cake :9~~ (even my idiot friends & relatives could do it)
Purchased unit in spring 2008. Install disc actually well executed, w/ 3 install options (give these guys some cake and ice cream). No problems installing onto the following OS X, win2k, XP Pro, Vista. Made a .img of the install disc and used that for a desktop w/o CD drives. Wireless printing that works. No problems w/ curling (as mentioned for the HL-2040) or anything.
Rating - Everything works flawlessly in OS X
I'm a 19 year old male, attending college for graphic design.
I was in the market for a new printer and there were five things I was looking for: 1) Monochromatic Laser because I didn't want to worry about replacing multiple ink tanks and I wanted sharp text output. 2) Flat paper tray, so nothing would be sticking out of the back, getting bent etc. 3) Flat paper output tray on top of the printer so pages wouldn't end up on the floor or take up space in the front. 4) <$200 because I'm a student... 5) WiFi that works on a Mac. The brother 2170W has all of that. In fact, I have been using this printer with Mac OS 10.5 Leopard for three days, and everything about the printer works flawlessly. It's a great printer and it's a great value.
At first, I was skeptical about the printer because so many reviews made it sound impossible to set up wirelessly, but that was not the case at all. If you can follow the directions found on the brother support website, you can do it in about 15 or 20 minutes. They are specifically written for Leopard and there are pictures that walk you through exactly what to do. It's not exactly "easy" because there are a lot of steps, but it's the kind of thing anyone can do. All I had to know was my network name, network password, security type (WEP...), and other basic things like that.
It prints quickly and everything looks great. I'm not, by any means, a printer expert, but all the grays look good, text is fantastic, images and graphics aren't bad at all, and I can't even see the dithering from a normal page viewing distance. The footprint is very reasonable and it looks pretty stylish for a printer. It's not exactly quiet when it's printing, but I don't think it's loud enough to bother anyone. It's very quite when idle.
I couldn't really ask for more in a printer. The WiFi might be worth more than you think; it's already proven itself a lot more convenient than I thought it would be. I hadn't realized how often I wanted to print something out from the laptop while it's in another room.
Rating - Excellent Printer
I've been using this printer for about a month. Set up with USB cable (I haven't tried wireless yet) took about 2 minutes and was flawless. I use this printer at home for general printing, and for work I bring home. I print many schedules on Microsoft Project, and there is no lag at all with this printer. With several of the enterprise class HP printers at work it takes minutes to crank through. No issues with paper feed, botched graphics, bugs, nothing. This printer seems solid, and works flawlessly. Look around for a sale- I bought this at Best Buy for $99. Extremely satisfied. I'm using it with an XP laptop, but plan to use it with a Mac as well.
Rating  - Great printer, may be hard to set up
This printer works great, but may be hard to set up. I had no difficulty with one laptop, and great difficulty with another that was very similar in all respects. My advice, coming from experience and reading other reviews:
- have all network settings on hand
- have the printer's MAC address on hand (see manual for how to obtain it)
- for wireless setup, follow the manual's instructions which involve a wired connection first, then remove it
- disable your antivirus/firewall software before installing the software
- be ready to tell your firewall to "trust" the printer's MAC or IP address (look in your firewall settings)
- if you have issues, go to the relevant customer support page on Brother's site - it's actually quite helpful and immediately solved an issue I had
Otherwise, the range is great - we can print wirelessly from a laptop in the bedroom to the printer in the family room at the other end of our 2-bedroom apartment.
Rating - Excellent Printer for Home / Home Office Use - Mac OS/X User
First, I would have to say this is the best little monochrome on the market and worth its weight in gold. I purchased the printer new, off of Amazon, and from boxed, installation and final test page it took about 20 minutes on two different Mac OS/X 10.5 systems to get set up.
Second, I configured the printer using a wireless connection and had no difficulties at all. I really didn't consult with the setup documentation -- if you know a little about wireless networking you shouldn't have any trouble. I'm in a remote location and have WEP/WPA turned off -- so I didn't have to get into those issues.
Third, I had an Epson all in wonder. With individual ink cartridges, I always just selected print in black and white only. I recently bought a new cartridge and the chipset changed, and couldn't print in just black -- it began telling me to replace my color cartridges. I knew it was time to quit diddling around with inkjets just for printing in black.
In conclusion, I have always told people that I only need black and white printing for envelopes and documents. If I need a photo, I'll send it to a pro lab and have an 8x10 done for under $4 -- a real photo. The only features that I would like to see in the next model is the capability to add more memory and maybe a small tray for loading multiple envelopes.
Hands down, this is an overall winner for home and home/office use.
Last note : As a computer consultant, the worse printers that I have came across are the Xerox color Phasers (constant jams, burned out drums etc) -- Just saving you some grief if your possibly considering a color laser.
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Customer Reviews for BROTHER,HL-2170w,012502619468,0012502619468,B0010Z3LGO, |
