Go to Windows 7 Insider GuideBrother HL-4040cn
Manufacturer: Brother International Part number: HL-4040CN
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Despite its lagging black print speeds, the Brother HL-4040CN does a lot of things right and makes a compelling color laser printer for small offices or workgroups.
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Where to buy
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| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
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| All Time Deals | | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 Refurbished |
CNET editors' review
Brother HL-4040cn price range: $249.79 - $421.09
- Reviewed by: Felisa Yang
- Edited by: Matthew Elliott
- Reviewed on: 05/21/2007
- Released on: 05/02/2007
The good: Great print quality; USB port for cameras and flash drives; network-ready; reprint, direct-print, and secure print features are useful.
The bad: Black print speeds are on the slow side; input paper capacity is not expandable; no optional duplexer available.
The bottom line: Despite its lagging black print speeds, the Brother HL-4040CN does a lot of things right and makes a compelling color laser printer for small offices or workgroups.
Design
The Brother HL-4040CN is a boxy and standard-looking color laser printer. The navy-and-gray unit sits 16.5 inches wide, 18.7 inches deep, and 12.5 inches tall, and weighs a hefty 64 pounds. All the connector ports (USB and Ethernet) and the power port sit on the rear of the printer. There's also a front-mounted USB port for connecting PictBridge cameras or USB flash storage drives for PC-free printing.
The HL-4040CN's paper tray holds as many as 250 sheets of plain paper and can be configured to handle a variety of media sizes, including legal. (Brother doesn't offer an optional second input tray for the HL-4040CN.) The navy front panel folds down to serve as a 50-sheet manual input tray with adjustable paper guides and a pull-out flap to support long pages. The well in the top of the printer is the output tray and another flap folds out to corral long prints.
The control panel on this printer is basic, befitting the printer's basic functionality. Four multidirectional buttons let you navigate the menu, while the Reprint and Direct Print buttons let you make prints without touching your PC (more on this in the Features section). Rounding out the control panel is a backlit, two-line text LCD. Surprisingly, the LCD is mounted on a swiveling plate, which lets you flip it up for easy viewing. This type of feature is normally limited to graphical LCDs on photo-oriented inkjet printers. The LCD displays four bars that inform you of the toner levels.
The HL-4040CN's toner cartridges can be found by flipping open the printer's entire front panel. A pull-out tray reveals the four cartridges, lined up in a horizontal row. It ships with standard cartridges; the black is good for about 2,500 prints and each of the three color cartridges will last for about 1,500 prints. The cost to replace these is $60 and $70 (per color), respectively. Brother also offers high-capacity versions: the black one prints about 5,000 pages ($93) and the color ones print about 4,000 pages ($130 each). Using the high-capacity cartridges, per-page costs work out to about 1.9 cents for a black-only page and 11.7 cents for a full-color page--inexpensive for black prints and about average for color prints. The recommended monthly duty cycle (that is, the suggested monthly print volume) is 35,000 pages, making it better suited for busy workgroups or small offices than for home users. The printer's driver also has a Toner Save mode, which helps reduce your print costs by using less toner; obviously, the print quality will take a hit.
Features
As a single-function color laser printer, the HL-4040CN doesn't feature much to discuss, but what it does offer is novel and interesting. It ships with a 300MHz processor and 64MB of onboard memory. You can upgrade the memory to a maximum of 576MB. It's network-ready, with a built-in Ethernet port, but you can also connect via USB. The HL-4040CN lacks a duplexer, and Brother doesn't offer one as an add-on. The HL-4040CN's driver helps you with manual duplex tasks, though.
You can make N-up prints (as many as 25 pages on one sheet) and poster prints (of as large as 5x5 size). Using the front-mounted USB port, you can connect a PictBridge-enabled camera to print images or connect a USB flash drive to print TIFFs, JPEGs, and PDFs without using your PC. When you connect a USB drive, the contents will pop up on the text LCD and you can scroll through the folders to choose the file you want to print. Here's where it gets interesting. Another feature is the Reprint option: the last print job is held in the printer's memory. By pressing the Reprint button, you can print that file without using your PC, up to 999 copies of it. You can even make secure prints. When you print from your PC, the driver gives you the option of setting a four-digit numerical passcode for the file. It sends the file to the printer, which holds the data in memory. When you're ready to print, just press the Reprint button, choose your username, enter the four-digit passcode, and the HL-4040CN will finish the print job. This is a great feature for information-sensitive environments.
Performance
Relative to similarly priced color laser printers, the Brother HL-4040CN fell in the middle of the pack: it was among the slowest at black text and graphics, but among the fastest with color text and graphics. It scored 15.66 pages per minute (ppm) for black text, just edging out the $400 Oki C3400n, but was the slowest at black graphics, with a score of 15.79ppm. On the other hand, it was the second fastest with color text (13.77ppm) and color graphics (14.83ppm), behind only the $500 Xerox Phaser 6180/N.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Black text |
The HL-4040CN gave a more consistently good performance with print quality, however. It tied with the Lexmark C500n in our assessments. Black text was everything we expect from a laser printer: dark, sharp, and clean. The mono graphics print showed excellent handling of the grayscale, smooth blocks of black color, and excellent handling of photo elements. The color text was nearly as good as the black text, though the edges weren't quite as clean. The color graphics print showed smooth color blending, but we saw some banding in a graduated grayscale and the colors tended toward the ruddy. Overall, the text speed and quality present a compelling performance package for work groups that need great quality and don't mind not having the speediest printer.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Black graphics | |
Black text |
Service and support
Brother backs the HL-4040CN with a one-year limited warranty. Toll-free phone support is available weekdays from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET. You can also send an e-mail or a fax to tech support. Brother's Web site has an FAQ database, downloads, and manuals.
User reviews
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Very Happy
by krumpy34 on August 22, 2007
Pros: Excellent Quality, Low Cost Per Print, Fast
Cons: Black Text look fuzzier than a laser but cripser than an inkjet
Summary: I am an outside saleman who basicaly works out of my home. For about the last 2 years my company has drifted towards just sending us PDF's to print ...
Summary: I am an outside saleman who basicaly works out of my home. For about the last 2 years my company has drifted towards just sending us PDF's to print out for customer handouts and brochures vs. sending us the hardcopy handouts. While more convenient and much easier to store since I unlike most of my counterparts didnt' have an office to work out of with high end printing equipment. So my trusty HP7310 officejet was doing the job. I upgraded to Vista and there wasn't a a driver for my HP1200 I decided to invest in a color laser rather than just a B&W. After about a month I am very very happy. No longer do I need to preplan and print out proposals and all the stuff along with them the nite before. A typical customer proposal used to take me over an hour to print everything out on the best setting on my HP7310. I can now print it out in about 10 minutes. In addition the quality is much better especially if you are printing out things that have a combination text and pictures. Simply pictures the HP held its own. In addition because of all the ink the HP laid down to the higher quality I wasn't able to do 2 sided printing even though the printer could. Now with the Brother I have been able to. The printing with the USB is useless unless you upgrade the memory because you can't print out a file that is much more than 2-3 MB with the standard memory. In addition pay attention to the file you are printing. My company offers the low res files that we post on the web or high res file that are Postscript. On the HP the reality there wasn't much difference between either. On the Brother the High Res files look incredible while the low res files look muddled. Also if you are handing these out to prospective customers spend the extra money on decent paper. I was using a 24lb laser paper and the first few handouts I gave customer they said great print but why are you using such crappy paper. The increased image quality of the printing upgraded their expecations for better paper. Overall great quality and fast printing. The worst thing about this printer is it is big. Make sure you go to the store and see it's size and that you have room before you purchase. Also Staples was running a $70 rebate so for $329 with a full set if toner you can't go wrong.
15 out of 15 users found this user opinion helpful.
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In love with it!
by tunnelboy2 on June 26, 2008
Pros: Fast, sharp, good color, no jams, large paper tray
Cons: Heavy, flimsy bypass tray
Summary: I'm thrilled with this thing! For starters it had a very robust start CD that quickly had me on my home network and working flawlessly. The printer seems really ...
Summary: I'm thrilled with this thing! For starters it had a very robust start CD that quickly had me on my home network and working flawlessly. The printer seems really quick and the color and sharpness is outstanding. The only negatives I can give it are 1) It's very heavy 2) The bypass paper tray seems very flimsy although it works great and nothing has broken yet 3) Seems like an energy hog when warming up. First time I started out, I noticed my desk light dimming a little. When I looked at the rating tag, I was floored to read that it's rated at 500 watts! That's like a small space heater. When you combine that and your computer and other gizmos on the same circuit.. well you get the picture. Now in all fairness, I should say that after the initial warm-up, it settles down to low power consumption mode. And it's also quite possible that other color lasers use a similar amount (if not more).
But it's really a fantastic printer. One of the best purchases I've ever made and if I was to go out again, I would definitely pick up the same exact one without a doubt.
As far as toner consumption, I'm still on the first set. When we went to buy it, the store guy said I would definitely need to get new toner quickly as the set supplied is only a "starter" set. While that may be true, it's still holding up. I've been pounding it with work (heavy toner usage... dark pages with color) and it's still running fine.5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great Choice!
by kmeintjes on December 31, 2007
Pros: Ease of setup. Price.
Cons: Noisy when working!
Summary: Bought this to replace a 10+ year-old Epson 1500, plus a pile of semi-dysfunctional HP inkjets.
Rated only 8 out of 10 because I have only had it a day. ...Summary: Bought this to replace a 10+ year-old Epson 1500, plus a pile of semi-dysfunctional HP inkjets.
Rated only 8 out of 10 because I have only had it a day. Except that it is very noisy (only when actually printing) I have nothing negative to say.
Plus: Appears to come with full toner cartridges. One reason I would not buy HP is some of their their machines come with partially filled cartridges.
I am a low-volume home user. Cost per copy is important to me. This printer should be good for 2,500 black and 1,500 color copies. Since it cost $320 at PCConnection (plus $10 for a 6 foot Cat6 cable at my local MicroCenter), this looks to be less than 10 cents a page.
The cost of the color cartridges is 3x$70 (1500 pages) and the black is $60 (2500 pages). Given that you can also need to replace the drum ($200), belts ($130) and waste toner box ($25), I suspect I will replace the printer when the supplies run out. In at least a couple of years.
But, for now, I am very happy. Print quality is great. Setup as a peer with a wireless laptop and a wired desktop was no problem at all.
$320 at PCConnection. Ordered on Friday, here at 9 am Monday, with free shipping.
Go for it!4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Trying Very Hard to Love This Printer?BUT !
by Manuel Tan on January 18, 2009
Pros: Easy to install and network.
Flip up LCD minimized glare
Fast wake up from sleep or energy saver mode, I
Easy front access.
Noise level is comparable.
Well Built
USB interface on the frontCons: Color prints are warmer and slightly purple & green.
On the Green side, I think Brother packaging is too big,Summary: Got this printer due to my 2 other very positive Brother Laser printers, HL5240 & MFC7840W, both excellent, fast and very reliable, the second reason is my old favorite, Konica ...
Summary: Got this printer due to my 2 other very positive Brother Laser printers, HL5240 & MFC7840W, both excellent, fast and very reliable, the second reason is my old favorite, Konica Minolta 2300DL (Color Laser) is dying and hoping to combine the function with my still working Brother HL5240 to save space.
Involved with design and illustrations, I print 80% of my work & documents in full color or combination text & color images, in short, I'm very color sensitive.
Brother HL 4040CN is very easy to network even with Multi Window OS desktops, my home office got 2 Vista, 2 XP pro & a XP Media Center PC. Very fast and good text printing quality, actually the color is not even that bad, if I'm not that sensitive.
Pros:
Easy to install and network.
Flip up LCD minimized glare and makes it easy to read the text and ink monitoring.
Fast wake up from sleep or energy saver mode, I really like the light blinking when the machine it in progress or warming up.
Easy front access both for toner replacement, paper tray & bypass paper slot, kind of idiot proof.
Noise level when printing and warm up is comparable to my other laser printers, probably less.
Heavy and looks like it's very well built.
USB interface on the front is a plus.
Cons:
Color prints are warmer and slightly purple & green compared to the output from my Epson Inkjet & Magicolor prints.
On the Green side, I think Brother should redesign their packaging, the unit is almost the same size as HP but the box is 100% more, it's so big that I can't even fit it in regular NYC yellow cab, I probably need to rent a UHAL van the next time I buy one of this.
I was trying hard to love this printer and keep it even though the color prints are a little off, not until when my nephew drops by, look at the print and said to me, "nice terrazzo floor with beige field and gray border", with that comment, I realized it's time to return the printer, since the actually floor have white field and green borders.
In fairness, I replaced this with a HP CP1518ni, Hp is even worst, prints much darker than any of my color laser, slower than Brother, slightly prints more red & orange, not as sharp and very muddy. I end up getting another Konica Minolta, Magicolor 2550, it's the closes match of a laser print that you could get to a decent ink jet print. But if I have to pick between Brother and HP from this experience, I'll take Brother without hesitation. And finally.....Thank you Staples, you are the best.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great printer for your money
by rwoodhicksnation on November 24, 2008
Pros: Print quality, speed and price. High yield color toner replacements is the only affordable way to go.
Cons: Machine is slow when using manual duplexer funtion. Standard color toner replacements are pricey.
Summary: Prints better than our Canon 9100i inkjet which really surprised me since the canon printer is made for photo printing. HL-4040cn is extremely fast. I can print our marketing sheets ...
Summary: Prints better than our Canon 9100i inkjet which really surprised me since the canon printer is made for photo printing. HL-4040cn is extremely fast. I can print our marketing sheets and not have to wait around for hours as I did in the past with the Canon. Great price for the quality prints that it produces. Highly recommended!
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Decent printer, if you don't care about color accuracy!
by ru4real2 on October 1, 2008
Pros: For its price range the speed, paper capacity and black printing are in line with what you would expect.
Cons: Useless for quality color printing! Pictures come out with too much black, colors do not come out as expected.
Summary: For most users this printer and it's quality may be acceptable. I am comfortable with the speed that pages come out, it's not instantaneous, but definitely fast enough. ...
Summary: For most users this printer and it's quality may be acceptable. I am comfortable with the speed that pages come out, it's not instantaneous, but definitely fast enough. The quality of black printed pages is also adequate.
My BIG problem with this printer is that the quality of it's color printed images is total garbage. I do design work in CMYK for professional printing, and since I'm working in CMYK, and the printer is printing in CMYK, I expect colors to come out fairly close to how they are designed. I accept that this isn't a pricey, high end printer, so I would accept some quality degradation, but the results from this printer are totally unacceptable. Reds come out pink and pictures come out extremely dark.
Bottom line: if you need your printouts to look even close to what they do on screen, or as they would from an ink jet in terms of color accuracy, this printer is not the one for you!2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Bad experience
by sc0ttr0 on January 9, 2009
Pros: Fast technical support.
Cons: Color was faded.
Summary: The first unit I received was faulty. The technical support was VERY good in getting a replacement. The second unit provided very light colors. I adjusted settings for hours trying ...
Summary: The first unit I received was faulty. The technical support was VERY good in getting a replacement. The second unit provided very light colors. I adjusted settings for hours trying to get more vivid color but to no avail. It just looks faded.
After changing one color toner the first time, ALL the colors are begining to look smeared and blotchy. I'll be talking with tech support about it today. I'll post again with my results.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Delighted!
by Beau_Martin on December 31, 2008
Pros: Full rather than starter toner cartridges, excellent printing, effective coverage of solid print fields without banding, very fast, availability of high capacity toner cartridges, attractive controls and case, sleep mode, start-up documentation.
Cons: Truthfully, I haven't found any yet. I am really delighted with this printer.
Summary: We bought this printer for our new business.
While we were initally concerned about the possibility that the printer might leave bands when printing solid color fields there was absolutely ...Summary: We bought this printer for our new business.
While we were initally concerned about the possibility that the printer might leave bands when printing solid color fields there was absolutely no banding.
The printing was also as good as, or possibly better than, the quality from Kinko?s.
The printer was also far faster than I had anticipated, enabling me to open and print a six page document with either accent color or graphics on every single page in under 30 seconds, including waking the printer from its sleep mode.
The output colors appeared exceptionally true and the text was crisp. It even differentiated between two close colors of blue on the cover page. The document printed will clearly be acceptable as client output.
From an aesthetic perspective, I find the printer attractive. The LCD screen turns up to make the status clear. The LCD also displays the status of the toner cartridges.
From a toner cartridge perspective, the inclusion of full standard cartridges, as well as the availability of high capacity cartridges, is a huge advantage, especially when compared with printers from HP and other firms, which often come nearly empty, adding hundreds of dollars to the price of many other manufacturer's machines. The cartridges were also quite easy to install. Apparently a draft mode also exists, though I have not used it yet.
We are currently considering the purchase of a second Brother HL-4040cn so that one of our partners may keep it at home. All in all, hats off to brother for this excellent printer.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Suits my purpose very well.
by Bdublewe on December 30, 2008
Pros: The price and connectivity features were deciding factors concerning this purchase.
Cons: The printer isn't crazy about envelopes, and I haven't found a glossy paper that will let my graphics look quite as well as the demo. The weight of the paper you can use is also limited.
Summary: I print about 2-300 pages of mixed content per month for my organization. My Canon IP6700D wasn't cost effective. I've had this printer for a year and had ...
Summary: I print about 2-300 pages of mixed content per month for my organization. My Canon IP6700D wasn't cost effective. I've had this printer for a year and had few problems with the color. Tweaking the settings got the graphics tolerable. Also made sure the drum gears are correctly aligned when you clean the drum or change toner cartridges. It took me about 8 sheets of paper to figure that one out. I'm pretty pleased with the result though. I would recommend this printer to my friends if asked. I would also recommend reading the users guide at least a little to take advantage of the features. Also keep an eye out for toner sales
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Unhappy with this printer!!!
by sppon52 on December 29, 2008
Pros: Rarely ever jam
Cons: The printer will not work when it recognizes that one of the color cartridges are low.
There is no way to bypass the cartridge when you really do not need the color. It cost 74.99 to change the color cartridges, there are 3.Summary: The cost of replacing all three of the color cartridges are as much as the cost of the printer itself. I changed out my C cartridge tow months ago, and ...
Summary: The cost of replacing all three of the color cartridges are as much as the cost of the printer itself. I changed out my C cartridge tow months ago, and when I replaced the M and Y,, the C cartridge stopped working. I do not use coloroften, and I don't undestand why the C is saying to replace, toner life end. I am trying to sell my printer, and I will not purchase another brother printer
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Brother International
- Part number: HL-4040CN
- Description: The HL-4040CN offers fast, brilliant color printing for your desktop or small office. Delivering outstanding print quality, the HL-4040CN makes it easy to produce high-impact color reports, brochures, and presentations right from your desktop, or, using its built-in front-panel USB Direct Interface, directly from a USB Flash Memory drive. And to keep your running cost low, this printer also features high capacity in-box and replacement toner cartridges.
General
- Printer Type Workgroup printer - Laser - Color
- Form Factor Desktop
- Width 16.5 in
- Depth 18.7 in
- Height 12.5 in
- Weight 64.2 lbs
Printer
- Print Speed up to 21 pages/min - B/W - Letter A Size (8.5 in x 11 in), up to 21 pages/min - Color - Letter A Size (8.5 in x 11 in), up to 20 pages/min - B/W - A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), up to 20 pages/min - Color - A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in)
- Built-in Devices Status LCD
- Connectivity Technology Wired
- Interface USB, Direct print USB, Ethernet 10/100Base-TX
- Max Resolution ( B&W ) 2400 dpi x 600 dpi
- Max Resolution ( Color ) 2400 dpi x 600 dpi
- Direct Printing Specifications PictBridge
- First Print Out Time B/W 16 sec
- First Print Out Time Color 17 sec
- Language Simulation PCL 6
- Fonts Included 66 x Scalable, 12 x Bitmapped, 13 x Barcode
- Media Handling 250-sheet input tray, 50-sheet multipurpose tray
Processor
- Processor NEC VR5500 300 MHz
RAM
- RAM Installed ( Max ) 64 MB
- Technology SODIMM
Media Handling
- Media Type Labels, Envelopes, Bond paper, Plain paper, Recycled paper
- Min Media Size (Custom) 2.75 in x 4.57 in
- Max Media Size (Custom) 8.5 in x 16 in
- Media Sizes A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in), A5 (5.83 in x 8.25 in), B5 (6.93 in x 9.83 in), B6 (4.92 in x 6.93 in), Folio (8.5 in x 13 in), Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), Executive (7.25 in x 10.5 in), Letter A Size (8.5 in x 11 in)
- Media Weight 60 g/m2 - 163 g/m2
- Total Media Capacity 300 sheets
- Media Feeder(s) 1 x Autoload - 250 sheets - Legal (8.5 in x 14 in) weight: 60 g/m2 - 105 g/m2, 1 x Autoload - 50 sheets weight: 60 g/m2 - 163 g/m2
- Output Trays Capacity 150 sheets
Duty Cycle
- Monthly Duty Cycle 35000 pages
- Cartridge / Printhead Included Qty 4
Telecom
- Modem None
Networking
- Networking Print server - Integrated
- Connectivity Technology Wired
- Data Link Protocol Ethernet, Fast Ethernet
- Network / Transport Protocol TCP/IP, LPR/LPD, NetBEUI/NetBIOS
- Remote Management Protocol IPP, HTTP, HTTPS, SNMP 1, Telnet
- Security Protocols & Features SMD, SSL, TLS, Secure Print
Scanner
- Type None
Copier
- Copier Type None
Expansion / Connectivity
- Expansion Slots Total (Free) 1 ( 1 ) x Memory - SO DIMM 144-pin
- Interfaces USB, RJ-45
- Connections 1 x Network - Ethernet 100Base-TX/1000Base-TX - RJ-45, 1 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A, 1 x Direct print port - 4 pin USB Type A
Miscellaneous
- Consumables Included 1 x Toner cartridge ( Black ) - up to 2500 pages At 5% coverage, 1 x Toner cartridge ( Cyan ) - up to 1500 pages At 5% coverage, 1 x Toner cartridge ( Magenta ) - up to 1500 pages At 5% coverage, 1 x Toner cartridge ( Yellow ) - up to 1500 pages At 5% coverage
- Microsoft Certifications Compatible with Windows 7
Power
- Power Device Power supply - Internal
- Voltage Required AC 120 V
- Power Consumption Operational 510 Watt
- Power Consumption Stand by / Sleep 85 Watt
Software / System Requirements
- Software Included Drivers & Utilities
- OS Required Linux, Apple MacOS X 10.2.4 or later, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP 64-bit Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP Professional, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition
- Peripheral / Interface Devices USB, Ethernet
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year
Environmental Parameters
- Min Operating Temperature 50 °F
- Max Operating Temperature 90.5 °F
- Humidity Range Operating 20 - 80%
- Sound Emission (Operating) 54 dB
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- Brother International
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Brother International products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.brother.com/
- Address:
100 Somerset Corporate Blvd.
Bridgewater, NJ 08807 - Phone: 908/704-1700
