Brother MFC-9120CN High Quality Digital Color All-in-One Printer with Fax and Networking

• Prints up to 17ppm in color and black
• High-quality output at up to 600 x 2400 dpi resolution using Brother''s Digital LED technology
• Built-in Ethernet network interface
• 33.6K bps fax modem with storage for up to 600 pages
• 35-page capacity auto document feeder

I bought this Brother printer to replace an HP 2840 color laser. I like the Brother. It''s smaller and quieter. It doesn''t have to calibrate a couple times a day either. Scans are way faster than the HP and the scan quality if far better than the HP. Copies and printing are great, as expected. I don''t ever fax so I can''t address it''s capabilities there.

I found one limitation with this printer that prevented me from giving it five stars. The printer can only be used as a network printer attached to the router via an Ethernet cable or it can be a workstation printer supporting one PC attached via a USB cable. If your using Windows networking to share the printer (i.e. it''s connected to one PC via USB and enabled for print sharing), it''s not supported. What? You got it. Brother won''t let you share the printer other than to have it setup as a network printer attached to the router.

This is an issue if, like me, the router is nowhere near the printer and you want to do a lot of scanning using the PC based utilities vs. the little screen on the printer. You can scan with it as a network printer but you can only do it using the function keys on the printer itself. You lose the benefits of the PC software based approach. If you do any volume of scanning, you want the PC utilities enabled.

I was able to work around the problem and get it working like I wanted but it took a couple days working on and off to sort out. I called Brother technical support. They kindly told me the printer doesn''t support what I wanted to do and I should return the product. What? Unbelievable!!

To get it to work as a shared USB attached printer, you have to go through the CD install process on each PC. That''s okay once you understand that''s the process.

The only remaining limitation is quickly setting up a temporary shared user. Say your brother-in-law is in town for the weekend and needs to print. He can''t use the Windows "Add a printer" function and get to your Brother printer. You have to go find the CD and do a full install for your brother-in-law to print his Mapquest directions home. It''s not a huge problem but Brother should not have designed it this way.

Hope it helps somebody.

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The Brother 9120CN has very limited adjustment for making copies you can''t lighten it enough to get a clean copy of a newspaper article something my old HP 2840MFP handled fine. Normal computer print is OK, as it would be from most any laser printer, but the manual feed slot is poor. It only folds out about an inch, so it won''t support your paper; you have to hold each sheet until it feeds very inconvenient. The first time I used manual feed, I experienced the problem that others have reported where the printer says it has a paper jam, even though it doesn''t. But, you go through a long process to reset the printer, only to have it repeat the error message. I sure wish I hadn''t bought this turkey, but Brother has refused to let me return it after I identified all these issues.

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So far I have had an excellent experience with the printer. My Brother MFC-9440CN broke down and I was looking for something comparable, but cheaper to operate. The MFC-9120CN has filled the bill perfectly.

Print quality is very good

Has the same features as much more expensive printers.

Prints quickly

Cost < $100 to replace all 4 toner cartridges.

I highly recommend the MFC-9120CN to anyone looking for a feature packed printer at a very reasonable price.

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Exactly as described. Setup was simple and straight-forward. It is a bit loud when it''s starting up, but once it goes back to sleep, it''s quiet again. For an office use this would be no problem. If you did a *lot* of printing at home, the noise might be a bit bothersome. But otherwise, this appears to be a great product.

I purchased this printer for a new start-up business.

I only needed the printer for text and simple graphics. Out of the box, it was easy to set up and worked perfectly. Everything was working well until suddenly a message appeared telling me to replace the toner in all 3 of the color cartridges.

I have used a number of printers in the past and am able to recognize when toner is low. The last page printed was perfectly fine...lots of color. The printer stopped at 9PM the evening before I had a big paper due; so I contacted the Brother support website (the phones were closed). After further research, it appears that there is a revolution counter used by the printer to indicate when the cartridges are empty. How on earth would all the cartridges empty at the same time?

Here is how the chat went:

John: Hello, Scott. Thank You for contacting Brother Chat Support. Just a moment while I review your issue.

John: Pushed Page:

John: If the problem continues after updating the firmware you''ll need to replace the empty toner cartridge(s) to clear the error. John: Is there anything else I can assist you with?

Scott: Yes, there is something else you can help me with. I tried the firmware update and it did not work. I have a paper due at 8AM tomorrow morning and need the printer to work. The last page printed perfectly, so I cannot imagine that the printer is so suddenly out of ink. Can you help me override this message so that I can print my paper?

John: If one of the color toner cartridges is empty you can print in grayscale mode using the instructions at the link I provided above. If the black toner cartridge is empty it will need to be replaced before you can continue printing.

Scott: Thanks John. But I need color urgently. Is there truly no way to override this? The cartridges are NOT EMPTY!

John: No, there''s not a way to override the error message.

Scott: John, may I speak with your supervisor or manager, because I will suffer greatly if I cannot print my paper by tomorrow morning.

John: I apologize, a supervisor isn''t available. If you''d like to pursue the issue further or feel that there may be a problem with the MFC itself you can contact us at 877-Brother (877-276-8437) between the hours of 9:00 am and 8:00 pm ET, Monday through Friday.

Scott: OK. Thanks for your help, but, One last time...The printer is perfectly capable of printing what I need to print. I need it to print now. The only problem is a software restriction. Can you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE see what you can do?

John: Thank you for contacting Brother. Notice: John exited session.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/SOLUTION

I found a solution that worked. Go to EBay and search for "flag gear" for your particular printer. I paid 13 dollars for a set of four flag gears. They are fairly simple to attach to the side of the cartridges and will allow you to continue printing as if you have new cartridges. I have already printed an entire additional ream of paper (albeit not demanding much ink). So Happy It Worked! Buy the printer, but also buy a set of flag gears so you can reset cartridges. I won''t change my rating though, as I feel this practice is still not acceptable (not transparent).