Shocked by Its Quality
Written: Mar 04 '04 (Updated Mar 04 '04)
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Pros: Legal size flat bed, duplex, big LCD, 32MB memory, print quality and more.
Cons: Power consumption, noise and a little too big.
The Bottom Line: More in every aspect then an entry level multi-function machine but still priced like an entry level machine.
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| mxy15's Full Review: Brother MFC-8820D All-In-One Laser Printer |
My wife and I were looking for a decent fax machine with copy capabilities when our old Brother thermo fax machine finally decided to quit after many faithful years of service. After some researching, I decided to stop by the local Office Depot to check out the selections and specifically the Samsung SCX-4216F. The Samsung had just about everything I need, laser, print/copy/fax capabilities, ADF and lowest price in class (~$400).
At this point, I have not looked at any Brother MFC machines based upon some weir bias I had against the brand. Even though my fax machine was a Brother but I still thinks that Brother was an off-brand, a second-tier manufacturer, not in the same league as HP, Canon or Samsung even.
So anyhow, there I was in the store, checking out the Samsung and was almost ready to make the purchase and comes this helpful Office Depot employee. So my wife, always looking for a second opinion to second guess my decisions, ask him which machine he recommends. And sure enough, he went against my suggestion and picks the Brother MFC-8820D. To make a long store short, we used the sample page of another printer, which had on it both gray scale picture as well as several different fonts and made a copy on both the Samsung and the Brother and low and behold, the Brother's copy was 10x better then the Samsung. I couldn't believe my eyes! I thought there was a mistake on the printer setting but there wasn't. The Samsung was not in the toner save mode and it was set on automatic for copy type, and same for the Brother.
The print quality was too good for me to ignore the Brother any longer. Now I was scrambling to compare the features between the Samsung and the many different models of the Brother MFC machines. The 8820D was selling for $550AR (after rebate) and this was $150 over my original budget. But Brother did have several other models such as the MFC 8800 which was $350AR.
In the end I chose the Brother MFC-8820D for the following reasons:
1. Flat bed fits up to Legal size paper.
2. Duplex printing.
3. Faster scanning and copying speed.
4. 5 Line LCD screen makes selecting different functions
a breeze.
5. Both parallel and USB 2.0 connections.
6. 32MB standard memory, upgradeable to 160MB.
7. 50 page multi-purpose tray for envelopes, letterhead,
card stocks & etc. (Instead of just manual feed as the
Samsung and 8800.)
8. Did I mention better print quality on grey scale?
The MFC-8820D comes in a fairly large box so if you are planning on bring it home from a B&M store; it may need to go in the front passenger seat if you don't have a van or SUV. Setting up the machine was simple. There aren't a lot of lose parts on the machine and it has special handle areas on the side that makes lifting it up easy to do. The large LCD made setting up the fax ID and some other basic function easy to do as well. The control key does not have a nice and expensive feel to it but it's not too bad. I have a Netgear wireless DSL/Cable router/Print Server so I setup the MFC-8820D on the print server and it didn't give me any problems at all. At this time, because my print server is not bi-directional, I am unable to test out the scanning function. I will need to setup an USB connection for the scanner but I don't know if that would cause a problem with the parallel port. If I ever get around to trying that I will sure to make an update to this review.
The main reason why we bought this was because of the fax function and let me tell you, this thing did not disappoint. The ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) which has 50 sheet capability worked perfectly thus far. It faxes by scanning all the document first and then dial. Unlike the HP multi-purpose I have at work. The fax quality was pretty decent also.
Some minor issues I have with the 8820D is first of all the power consumption. When I print something, the room seems to go dark for a minute when it comes out of sleeping mode. Second, the ADF is kind of noisy in a home office environment. I guess at work, with so many people around, we don't notice the noise nearly as much as at home. Third, this is a pretty big size machine. Definitely bigger then the Samsung and taller. Its not as tall as the HP Deskjet 3330 series but pretty tall as well. So sitting on a desk, you will have to stand up just to use the fax or copying function. However, the output tray is located in the middle so getting a print-out is not an issue.
One other thing I want to point out is in my comparison process, I also took a quick look at the Canon ImageClass MF5550 because it was very similar to the Samsung SCX-4216F. However, the Canon never made it into my final consideration because the paper tray was a very flimsy two piece design. According to a friend of mine, the paper tray had a tendency to break if you didn’t close it correctly. So buyers beware.
I am happy that I found the error of my ways and discover this wonderful multi-function fax/copier/printer. Thanks to the helpful Office Depot employee and my ever doubting wife! ;p
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 550
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
mxy15
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Location: NJ
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Home Theater and HiFi Hobbyist. Electronics junky.
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