Brother HL-2070N Laser Printer
The next generation in laser printing comes alive in the Brother HL-2070N.  At first glance it reminds me of the antique HP 4L sitting in the back room of the office but with one big difference: EVERYTHING!  This laser printer scores high points in all the areas that matter; speed, quality and functionality.  It is an excellent choice for the small business that values image and time.

The most impressive feature of this device is its speed.  With impressions as fast as 20 pages per minute, you are never left waiting for your documents.  The start up sequence takes a few seconds and mimics the sounds of a jet engine firing up but once the initial page prints, the following ones are only a second behind.  As in the case of most laser printers text never appears sharper and this device is no exception.  The unit demonstrates impressive 2400 x 600 dpi resolution using Brother's patented HQ1200 technology.  In photography prints using maximum resolution, the images are clear but still lack some of the finer details one would want.  In the case of graphs, charts and simple clips art, those images appear very professional.  If image printing is one of your biggest concerns, I would recommend looking into a photo printer.

The Brother HL-2070N comes with a standard 16MB on board memory.  I have never paid much attention to memory on a printer until I started receiving complex PDFs in my inbox.  When I used to try printing these documents, they used to appear unclear and divided over two sheets.  Using the Brother HL-2070N, I no longer run into such problems. 

 

The paper tray holds 250 sheets of standard weight letter paper which should be enough to hold the average user over.  Personally, I found myself refilling the tray every few days but I tend to be rather excessive.  There is an additional front load slot for other media such as envelopes or heavier paper.  The front slot bypasses the first feeding phase that causes the paper the curl slightly.  Every toner is good for about 2500 impression at 5% coverage which is equivalent to more term papers a student can handle.  The printer also features a Toner Save Mode which will extend the life of your toner even longer.

Another key feature of the Brother HL-2070N model in comparison to the others in this quality range is built-in network print server.  By attaching this unit directly to the network hub or wireless network router, you can share access to the printer with everyone attached to your network.  This is especially convenient when you have many wireless network users enter your WIFI zone and need to print or simply looking for a way to save one more of your very valuable USB ports on your PC.

 

Installation of the printer is very simple regardless of which interface you are using; Ethernet, USB 2.0 or Parallel port.  The installation CD guides you through the entire process and your printer is ready to run in under five minutes.  Under the windows environment, sharing the printer is as easy as a few mouse clicks and becomes the new plaything of the entire office – home or otherwise.

My overall impression of this device is that it is a device of excellent value.  In my first day of testing this unit, I gladly promoted it to my default printer.  I find the unit to be very fast in processing and delivering rich clear text.  Even the web pages that I print with low level images have very desirable results.  For professional use, upgrade your paper to a brighter white, and you're ready to impress the most difficult client.  Happy printing!