Brother HL-2700
By FranK • Jan 20th, 2009 • Category: Brother 
Designed for small businesses and work groups, the Brother HL-2700 delivers fast print speeds and expandable options; the printer is priced around $300.00.
Utilizing a Toshiba TMPR4995 300 MHz processor and installed memory of 64 MB, maximum of 576 MB (much more than most of its competition), the Brother HL-2700 has the specifications for fast monochrome text printing and ample room for imaging. Common for most printers in its class, the device comes standard with USB, parallel and 10/100BaseTX connections and supports HTTP, SNMP, and Telnet remote management protocols. In addition the HL-2700 is compatible with Apple Mac OS and Windows platforms, which is a bit light compared to its competitors. What the printers lack in platform compatibilities it makes up for with its 780 sheet maximum input capacity and language simulations like HP GL, PCL 6, PostScript 3, and EPSON FX. This printer also supports CompactFlash memory for printing large document s repeatedly; an optional auto duplexer is also available.
Generally speaking the Brother HL-2700 print quality is excellent and delivers some of the fastest color printing speeds at 7 pages per minute, but the color production needs some improvement. Monochrome text is very quick at 28 pages per minute with uncommon clarity, better than similarly priced Lexmark models. Enhancing the image quality comes in the form of Brother’s Color Advanced Photoscale Technology and will compensate for imperfections in the paper and calibrate color to produce consistent results; resolution can be as high as 2400 by 2400 dpi. The BrAdmin program allows for all printing functions to be monitored via a desktop and is common among this class of printers as well as its 30,000 page monthly duty cycle. The cost for printing in color is estimated at $.13 per page and for monochrome documents close to $.03 per page, but these results will vary based upon usage.
The Brother HL-2700 color laser printer legs out its competition in print quality and speeds and is priced well for these features; it should be noted that the expandable options are priced much higher, on average, than their competitors.
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I am using a (donated) Brother HL2700 for printing charity newsletters, we also have a Minolta 2430DL. Of the two, the Minolta offers better facilities when it is working properly but it has virtually no error recovery procedures and has to be rebooted after even the simplest problem like failing to pick up a sheet. The Brother is much better in this respect, recovering from errors once corrected with no further problem.
In both cases, the cost of consumables is simply IMMORAL and ecologically indefesible- a set of Minolta cartridges (officially) costs twice what I paid for the machine new, whilst a Brother set is also more than the machine is worth. Fortunately, in both systems, it is possible to refill the cartridges – the Brother is much easier of the two. However, when the drum or the OPC belt expires then the machines will have to be dumped (and we’re a recycling charity!)