Brother HL-2140

Pros: Quality prints, low price under $100, laser printer, solid workmanship, fast warm up, quiet, automatic energy saver, on-off switch, and USB port. Low profile perfect for your desk.

Cons: Not recommended for large print jobs or photos.

Summary: Prints labels, envelops, letter and legal size documents and spreadsheets. Prints in monochrome (black not color) but still great for most all jobs. It slightly curls the top of each printed page/envelop (or bottom in reverse mode). Read the User Guide for suggestions on how to reduce paper curl.

The User Guide is located on the included CD; go to readme.html it's worth reading.

Memory is fixed at 8MB (not expandable) but enough to print quickly; on occasion large graphic files may take a few minutes to print.

Power consumption is high however when not-in-use the energy saver automatically switches the printer to standby mode after a few minutes (adjustable) to keep from continually using energy. At 9-amps the printer can easily trip a 15-amp breaker if another printer is on the same circuit. Your computer is fine.

No matter what the sales clerk says; it doesn't come with a USB cable in the box. Available at Fry's Electronics for $5.00 buy a USB 2.0 cable no longer than 6-feet.

The TN-330 toner cartridge costs $34 and prints 1000 pages (2 reams). The TN-360 costs $54 and prints 2000 pages (4 reams). Paper and toner together costs 5 cents a page. Toner is available on-line.

You can connect (network) your two home computers to this one printer through a hard wire router. If your second computer is in another room, recommend a wireless router and the HL-2170W wireless printer available for under $100. In either case, you will most likely need help to setup the network.