Brother MFC-9700 Flatbed Laser Multifunction

• Monochrome laser printing, copying, and plain-paper and PC faxing; color scanning
• Compatible with Mac and Windows systems
• USB and parallel connectivity, parallel cable included
• Provides 15 pages per minute laser printing and digital copying
• Optional Print/Fax Server board gives 10/100Mbit Ethernet connectivity

I tested both the Brother MFC 9700 and MFC 9800 before buying a Brother flatbed machine. I have owned a Brother MFC 1950MC for many years and had been very happy with its performance. The only reasons I was changing machines was because the MFC 1950MC was not compatible with Windows XP. I ended up with the MFC 9700 because the differences between the two units was not enough to pay the extra cost of the MFC 9800. After installing the unit which I found quite easy I started trying out its different features. I found they all worked with clarity and quality in reproduction of copies, scans and printing. I have yet to find any quirks or problems with the machine that I can''t resolve myself without having to go to Brother technical services. One thing I do suggest if you have Windows XP is to use the USB port rather than the parrallel port. I tried it with both and found the transmission of data when printing from the computer was faster with USB. I hope this helps in making a decision whether to buy this unit.

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I needed to replace my HP OfficeJet 710 that was loud and aging. I didn''t plan on spending quite this much, but the features that you get with the Brother MFC 9700 makes it a bargain. Yes, the laser printer is quiet and fast. The sheetfeeder operation is smooth. No jams anywhere so far. The flatbed cover hinges raise over 1 inch for book scanning. Stand-alone fax is fast and sends very legible docs. Copier is one-touch and output looks great.

It''s little bonuses that please me too like the caller-id display, print driver options for manual two-sided printing and watermarks, fast warm-up time and one-touch fax receive mode selection.

I miss color printing, but I wouldn''t return to InkJet for it. Laser is sharper than InkJet, more professional looking and doesn''t ever smear. Another bonus: though the laser is b&w, the scanner is 24bit color up to 9600x9600 also has grayscale and b&w scan settings. Color scanning from photos is accurate to my eye.

My laptop connects to work over VPN from my home office, so there is no way to setup network printing that lets my laptop print after VPN disconnects it from my home LAN. The big bonus for me is that I can have my home Win98 system print to the MFC 9700 over USB at the same time as my WinNT laptop prints using its Parallel Port. Perfect solution.

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I bought this MFC about 2-3 months ago. It is without a doubt the best home printer that I have ever owned! I absolutely love it. It was very simple to set up and start using with Windows 98. The print and scan qualities are excellent. The only negative thing that I have to say is that it originally came without drivers for Windows XP. My brand new laptop wouldn''t work with my brand new printer. However, after bitching to Brother, they have provided XP drivers. Using it with Windows 98 was a piece of cake. I strongly recommend this product to anyone who is considering a purchase.

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I purchased the MFC-9700 because I needed a second multifunction device and I really like the MFC-9600 which I already own.

Unfortunately, the MFC-9700 is disappointing for several reasons.

First the user interface is significantly more difficult to use than on the MFC-9600 or on the new Brother MFC-8xxx series (which I highly recommend: See my review of the MFC-8820DN).

Second, the individual sheet feeder is flawed such that individual small sheets (labels and envelopes) simply cannot be fed straight. I exchanged mine at Amazon.com once, but it still has the same problem.

Third, as someone else noted in another review, Brother printers and MFC devices are power hogs. They make the lights dim and will trip your uninterruptible power supply if you are on a 15 amp circuit (20 amp circuits don''t have the problem). This is actually a problem with most Brother printers and MFC devices, so its not unique to this problem. The real problem is that Brother gives no indication in the user manual of the real power draw involved with this product and the published specifications are highly dubious given what my electrician has told me.

Fourth, although I previously found Brother support to be very helpful, they were useless when I was trying to find out why the lights dimmed and, as a result, I ended up spending $$ on electricians that I could have avoided if I had known that the printer was the problem.

These last two issues alone wouldn''t keep me from making a good recommendation, because the same issues exist with the MFC-8820DN. Every product has its flaws. But, given these issues in combination with the poor interface and the sheet-fed problem, pass on this and go with one of the new MFC-8820 or 8402 models.

I recently bought the MFC-9700 after having two years of great service from the earlier MFC-9600. In that time and approx 18,000 pages later without a single problem I bought the second unit (9700) which is Windows ME friendly whereas the (9600) was not and have no regret except the price has come down since I purchased. If you are a small business owner or for home use this is a real workhorse and the cost of operation is incredibly low, 6000 copy''s on a toner that costs less than $70.00 is amazing. It is not color capable however... I could not be happier with this product unless Brother would happen to read this review and send me a free toner.