Brother MFC-7420 Flatbed Laser Multi-Function Center

Brother quality and ease of use.Only slight downside: does not remember date and time when turned off.Remote setup is quick when you need to input date and time.

This is my first MFC, and let me tell you, I'm am really impressed. When shopping around (I tend to over-research my tech purchases), this is the list of things I was looking for:

- Laser multifunction device (I hate buying overpriced ink, prefer to buy a good toner cartridge every other year)
- It had to have a flatbed scanner, feeder if possible.
- USB connectivity.
- Windows AND Mac compatibility.
- Decent size paper cartridge.
- Something that simply worked, no questions asked.
- Best bang for the buck.

Keep in mind, I've only used it as laser printer, copier and scanner. I appreciate the fax functionality included (and eventually might use it) but haven't needed it yet.

From my point of view, it is simply awesome. I've thrown big stacks of paper into the feeder, no problem. Scanner works beautifully with Apple's ImageCapture, from 100dpi to insane 600dpi. Also, although you can only scan up to 8.5" x 11" on the flatbed, you can scan legal documents with the feeder, so you're covered. Copying is incredibly easy, produces tack sharp copies. It is really silent, and it has given me no problems at all.

What else can I say? I'm an incredibly happy customer. Would buy again in a heartbeat. :)

There are many places online to buy inexpensive non-Brother toner that works just as well as the oem Brother brand. I have had 2 larger Brother MFC units over the past 12 years. Brother is the only brand I will buy.

I purchased this printer about a year ago, and the amount of printing I put on this machine is MINIMAL. In general, this machine meets all the basic needs such as fax, scan, print, and copy. However, the major issue with this machine is it requires a DRUM along with the expensive cartridge. A typical drum will only allows you to print aprroximately 12,000 pages, and a drum for this machine costs $136, and you can get a brand new machine at the stores for approximately between $179 to $249. I learned that Cannon all-in-one does not require the drum, because the drum is already built in the cartridge. Unless you want to waste your money on Brother's EXPENSIVE PARTS, please take my advice, DO NOT EVER PURCHASE BROTHERS BRAND.

Overall, this is a very nice printer and I highly recommend it. It prints, copies and scans well. I haven't used it as a fax, so I can't comment there.

My only problem is the front manual paper feed. It's downright difficult to feed an envelope in straight, resulting in slanted print on envelopes. I've lost count of how many I've had to rip up. Also, forcing the envelope to make a u-turn in the machine usually results in wrinkled envelopes. I much preferred the rear feeding tray in the DCP-1000 model, which was also used as the manual feed. It had no problem feeding straight and the lack of a u-turn resulted in unwrinkled envelopes.