Brother MFC-5100c Multifunction

Deals for Brother MFC-5100c Multifunction


Product Details and FeaturesProduct MPNMPNMFC5100CKey FeaturesTechnology (Detailed)  InkjetBlack Print Speed10 ppmColor Print Speed8 ppmTotal Media Capacity100 SheetsMax Resolution (BW)2400 x 1200 dpiMax Resolution (Color)2400 x 1200 dpiTechnical FeaturesConnectivity TechnologyCableMediaMedia TypeEnvelopes • Plain Paper • TransparenciesMax Media Size  A4 (210 x 297 mm) • Legal (216 x 356 mm, 8.5 x 14"")Multifunction FeaturesCopying Speed (Black)7 ppmScanning FeaturesScanner TypeFlatbed...

• All-in-one print, scan, copy, fax solution for your office
• Prints 10 pages per minute in monochrome, 8 ppm color
• 2,400 x 1,200 dpi print resolution
• 9,600 x 9,600 dpi scan resolution
• Quick Scan function scans page in 3 seconds

This Fax Machines give to us some advantages, like this :
1. Great functionality with acceptable compromises
3.5 stars.

I just picked up one of these Brother units almost on a whim, as the several that I played with in the stores were unacceptable with extremely poor print quality, for both text and graphics, color and B&W. I was worried that the description given by the one-star reviewer below was accurate. However, I gambled (well, not too much - the store has a 14 day return policy) that the demo units in the stores did not have anything close to the optimum settings, clean print heads or full ink cartridges. My gamble paid off, as the contrast between the well-used-if-not-abused store demos and my new machine is huge.

First, as a frame of reference, I had an old HP Deskjet 500 (the original inkjet printer) and currently own a five year old HP Deskjet 712 I use for text printing, and a two year old Epson Stylus Photo 780 that I have yet to master and attempt to use for photo printing.

I thought the 5100's set up and software install went about as quickly and well as I could expect...

2. Works well, great price, good MacOS X support
I recieved the MFC-5100C this afternoon, with some trepidation about MacOS X support. I'm happy to report that it works without a hitch in OS X, both for printing and scanning. No USB cable in the box, but that seems to have become standard practice for printer manufacturers.

Print quality is decent. Not on par with the latest/best inkjets, but they cost more than this machine, and don't have scanner/fax capabilities. And inkjet printing has come so far in the last few years that this 'ok' modern printer is far better than the standard a few years ago.

Scan quality (via the TWAIN driver) is good as well. Again, not as good as more expensive scanners, but quite acceptable for an economical multifunction machine. Scanning speed is good as well. Minor gripe, that may not be Brother's fault - i can scan with no problems into Adobe Photoshop and some other apps, but Image Capture.app goes haywire with this TWAIN driver. Might be Apple's fault though, since the driver works fine with...

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can't print black only
After using this machine for several months, it flashed the need for all three color cartridges. It still had black ink, but (as I discovered at their website) this machine will not print if ANY one ink cartridge needs replacement. It appears that cartridges have a microchip that prevents refill and reuse, and "knows" when you re-insert old cartridge.
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