Brother HL-5250DN Network Ready Laser Printer with Duplex

• Network-ready monochrome printer ideal for small workgroups
• Built-in duplex feature easily prints 2-sided documents
• Up to 30 ppm with a resolution of up to 1200 x 1200 dpi
• Built-in Ethernet network interface brings workgroup together
• Dimensions: 14.6 x 9.7 x 15.1 in. (WxHxD); weighs 21.6 pounds
• Dimensions: 14.6 x 9.7 x 15.1 in. (WxHxD), weighs 21.6 pounds

I purchased this printer because I wanted something cheaper to run than my HP Deskjet (toner is much cheaper than ink), I wanted to be able to print from multiple computers and put the printer anywhere I wanted (instead of being tethered to a specific computer), I wanted the printer to be Mac-compatible, and I wanted the printer to have a duplexer to save on paper (it prints on both sides of the page). This was the only printer in its price class I could find that had all of these features. I bought the printer on sale locally and got it for a good price.

I ran into one problem, which is why I''m only giving this printer only 4 stars. After I hooked it up and installed the software, I noticed that as soon as it went to sleep, it would no longer print. It''s supposed to wake up when it gets a print job, but it wouldn''t. I finally figured out that I needed to upgrade the network firmware from the Internet. For someone like me with experience as a PC technician, this was no problem, but I think the installation software should guide you through checking to see if everything is up to date, and help you upgrade the firmware.

The paper tray only holds 300 pages, which is less than a ream of paper. At 30 pages per minute, you could run out of paper in only 10 minutes! So it may not be the ideal printer for all but the smallest office settings (but still better than an inkjet for b&w printing). However, I believe you can add an additional paper tray, and there are other models with extra paper capacity built-in.

When I ran into my problem with sleep mode interfering with printing, I e-mailed Brother''s technical support (they don''t give you a number you can call), but I don''t think a human actually reads your e-mail. It was pretty frustrating. Next time I''ll try calling their customer service line and see if they can transfer me to tech support.

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I have this printer and I am very happy with it. It performs exactly as advertised, and it is very fast.

I''d like to clarify the power supply issue that so many reviewers have commented on.

First of all, this problem is NOT limited to users who plug their printer into the UPS. Many UPSes will detect the line voltage drop caused by this printer as a brownout and go online to protect the attached equipment. This happens even when the printer is plugged directly into the wall (as it should be). This is not just a matter of reading the instructions, it is a real problem.

Whether or not you see this problem in practice depends on a number of factors, including whether the printer is plugged into the same circuit as your UPS, whether you have 15 or 20A service, how far the printer is from the breaker panel, how old your wiring is, whether your UPS has undervoltage regulation or not, etc.

When this printer is heating up and printing, I have seen power draws of 900+ watts and voltages around 104 volts on recent 15A residential wiring. This did not cause my UPS to go online, however it is equipped with undervoltage regulation. Many UPSes would go online at this voltage. In any case, your mileage may vary.

On a completely different note, one small drawback compared with the model it replaces (HL-5140) is that it no longer has a straight through paper path for thicker paper or envelopes to prevent curling.

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I first saw this printer at the MacWorld Expo and I was impressed by its output, its networkability, and its price. I literally bought one the next day to replace my old HP Laserjet 4M which was finally becoming erratic.

I''ve been very pleased in almost all respects, with just a few minor criticisms. On the one hand, it is quiet and unobtrusive in energy-saver mode. On the other, when it is sleeping there is no indication that it is still on, short of looking at the on/off button. See what I mean by minor? I didn''t run into the power supply issues that another reviewer had complained about.

The duplex function is handy and works well, which is something I can''t say about my other printer, an HP Officejet 7310xi All-in-one, which came with a duplexer and a little notice saying that you have to do duplexing manually. The Brother''s duplex function can be set as the default, which may have inadvertantly been the case where another reviewer griped about it doing the duplex shuffle, even for a single page. I''ve not had that problem.

The only aspect that has given me a bit of trouble has been trying to print files directly from Adobe InDesign CS with clear (not screened) type. Whether it is the Brother''s emulation of Postscript or its PPD or some mismatch between it and InDesign, I''ve not yet figured out, but I''ve had to do a workaround of exporting a PDF and printing from that. (And then only after turning off the "Brother Photo" mode in the Print Settings which seems to be the default for some reason.) For printing from MS Word or the Web, the printer has been speedy and flawless.

So, the InDesign matter aside (for which I dock it one star), it is nifty printer for the price.

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I spent a few months looking at laser printers and I was convinced that HP was the way to go... However, after comparing the features and the price I was totally sold on the Brother 5250DN. For 250$ you get networking, duplexing, almost instant-on printing, and 30 pages a minute. With HP printers you would pay a whole lot more to get the same features.

My first impression of the printer was that it was utilitarian at best. There is no LCD display, only two simple buttons and a few LED lights on the control panel. Since I''m a gadgety-kinda-guy I wanted a printer with an LCD screen and some other cool things on it. I quickly ignored the lack of the LCD screen when I saw how nicely the printer worked. After printing just a few documents I was totally sold on the quality of this machine. Everything that I print looks flawless and razor-sharp. I started to enjoy the way the printer was designed even more... don''t let the outward simplicity deceive you! Also, since the printer is almost cube-like, there aren''t any protruding paper-trays or other pieces to make placement awkward.

One of my favorite features is a button combination that you can press (I think you have to hold down the ''Go'' button for 3 seconds-check the manual) to re-print whatever you had just printed. This has come in handy a few times since the printer is downstairs and, if I suddenly realize that I need another copy, I can print it without having to walk upstairs to my computer and resend the print job. Also, if you want to print more than one copy you can, you hold ''Go,'' release it, then press it the number of times that you want reprints made. It''s a handy little feature that I found while reading the manual.

Also, while I haven''t done this yet, the printer uses common SDRAM for its memory upgrade module, not some expensive, proprietary memory. I''m not sure if this is a common practice but it definately made sense and I applaud Brother for choosing to use something generic and consumer friendly.

The network sharing took me a little to figure out, but after installing the Brother network manager the printer worked much better. At first it would totally drop print jobs since I had Windows interfacing with the printer directly. Now, after installing the Brother network software and printing to the BNT port, every print job is handled successfully.

I''ve had the printer since January (so coming up on six months), and 780 pages later this printer is still performing wonderfully. I''ve never had a paper jam or a bad quality print. The 5250DN just sits there patiently waiting for me to give it something to do, and I never have to worry about clogged nozzles or poor quality output. I have noticed that it draws quite a bit of power initially (I can tell when the printing starts because the lights in my house flicker ever so slightly). The printer is quiet overall, it just makes a nice humming noise as it is working and it spits out pages like you wouldn''t believe.

The Brother 5250DN is the perfect low-maintenance printing solution and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a laser printer. I would definately buy from Brother again.

I ordered this printer to print double-sided reports which were 150 sheets. I used a heavier paper (24/60lb txt) but not what I would consider unusual paper for a report. The duplexer has to turn the paper so tightly that it curls it. Add the heat of the machine, the paper becomes permanently bowed. Even after weighing the paper down with heavy books, the paper flattened a bit but was wavy. This might not be noticeable on a small report, but when you stack over 100 pages, it looks like the report got watersoaked! It was also impossible to tamp the pages to get them even on the edge.

Otherwise the printer worked fine right out of the box. The print quality was nice and it was fast. You just have to keep the duplexing to a minimum or perhaps only 20 lb text.