Summary: I actually bought and tested both the Brother HL 4070CDW and the HP 2605dn for about a week. These seemed to be the best printers for my requirements. Both performed very well in many common areas like print quality, duplexing, and ease of installation and use. The differences were in the details of these jobs.
For my testing, I printed a variety of documents so I could test the printers in the areas of use that I need. I printed black text documents, text documents with color text, web pages, full-color flyers, address labels, business cards, and photos. I used plain paper, glossy paper, photo paper, card stock, and business card stock. I started each test using the default printer driver settings and then explored all of the advanced settings that might enhance the final product.
For single-sided straight text printing, I found the 4070 to be the faster machine. This was true on all paper stocks except labels. On labels, the 2605 was considerably faster. I don’t know why. For double-sided text, the 2605 was faster. When I did a bulk printing of 25 single-sided full color flyers, the 4070 took 1:48 compared to the 2605’s 2:50 from the click of the [Print] button to the last page out. But when duplex printing 3 copies of a 5 page black and color text document, the 2605 won with 1:45 compared to the 4070’s 2:13 time.
General print quality on both printers was very good, but the 4070 had a tendency to have a slight color shadow on most black text if there was any color near it or even on the same page. I could not find a setting to correct this, and I did not find this problem with the 2605. However, on a particular text effect in the color flyer, I found the 2605 color was slightly out of alignment. For both of these situations, the problem was only seen upon close examination.
When printing in color, I created a color chart that had solid and pastel colors. Using the driver’s default mode, the difference between the two printers was obvious. The 4070’s colors were faded compared to the 2605. Even after trying most of the 4070’s driver settings to correct the color difference, I was not able to match the default colors of the 2605. I saw the same thing when printing the color flyer, photos and even colored text or graphics in text documents and web pages.
Printing double-sided business cards on the 2605 was faster but it had more trouble dealing with the thicker stock when duplexing. Printing envelopes was a different matter. The 4070 tended to crumple the envelopes while the 2605 printed them correctly.
Printing from the sheet feeder was very different between printers. The 4070 has a multipurpose feeder tray that can handle several sheets at a time, whereas the 2605 has a single-sheet feeder. While both worked pretty well, the 4070 was more reliable at printing the pages straight.
As far as printer noise goes, the 2605 was quieter than the 4070, but both were considerably quieter than the Lexmark C510 that I was replacing. Both printers give you the option of telling them how long to stay in ready mode before going to standby.
The printer drivers each had different strengths and weaknesses. The 4070 has more settings for color and the front page has quick access to many different common settings. The 2605, on the other hand has more settings for different types of paper, you can adjust how black text is printed (with or without color toner) and you can order toner online from the driver. Speaking of toner, by going online, I found 4070 toner to cost less than 2605 toner by up to $15.
There was a striking difference between the printer manuals. Both are online and PDF, but the 2605 manual was much more thorough and more helpful. In addition, the 2605 software includes a great Toolbox utility that gives you all the info you could ever want about the status of the printer including toner levels, number of pages printed in each color, reports on paper jams, and much much more. There was no such utility for the 4070.
One interesting feature that I had not counted on was who each printer tells you which way the paper goes into the paper tray or the sheet feeder. The 4070 has icons for paper and envelopes but they do not give a clear indication of which way to put the paper or the envelopes. The 2605 has icons for paper and envelopes on both the paper tray and the sheet feeder and they are more clear. I found this very helpful in determining which way to position the paper or the envelopes.
The last thing I tested for, and it almost changed my mind, was the foot print and height space needed to accommodate the printers. The 4070 has a large foot print, but it is not as high as the 2605 which has a smaller foot print. But because the 2605 has the output tray at the back, it makes it harder to reach the printed pages and it takes up more space that you think because the pages go beyond the end of the tray. The 4070’s output tray feeds the pages toward you but even with the little pop up paper supporter, I found it harder to pick up the pages from the output tray.
My final decision was based mostly upon the color and text quality because that is what is more important for my usage. I think both are very good printers, and if the 4070 had better color and didn’t eat envelopes, I probably would have chosen it. It is easier to use, even without a good manual.
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