Multi-Function Printer With Multi-Problems! (Brother MFC 5840CN)

Member Name: Gladallover

Product:	Brother MFC 5840CN
Date:	02/01/08 (319 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good quailty printing. No need for PC. Good range of features.

Disadvantages: Very large. Very noisy. Occasional use causes problems.

After owning this the Brother MFC 5840CN inkjet all-in-one printer for over 2 years, I have decided now is the time to upgrade to another model. Whilst this printer coped well as not only my printer, but my photo-copier and scanner aswell, it was plagued with problems from day one.

I ordered this all-in-one printer from a home shopping channel after being tempted by the promise of an item that was going to revolutionise my life! My old printer had just given up the ghost and I decided the Brother MFC 5840CN was the ideal replacement as it boasted not only great, high-quality photo printing but also mono and colour photo-copying, an integrated flatbed scanner and a fax machine to boot.

The day my new printer arrived the first thing I noticed was the sheer size of it. It was the not the sleek, petite machine that I had in mind. At 46.1cm wide x 43.3cm deep x 34.1cm high and weighing 10kg it is a fairly bulky printer, but when you consider the number of functions it can carry out, it seems a small sacrifice. Nevertheless, if you have limited space then perhaps this isn't the printer for you. It looks as though it would be more at home in a small office then as a home printer.

The printer was very quick and easy to set up. It was supplied with all the necessary software on a disk that was simple to install. The printer connects to your computer via a USB cable which is also supplied with the device. It plugs into the printer under the hinged hood which is very handy as it protects the cable from being knocked out by accident during use.

I used my Brother MFC5840CN mainly as a printer, on occasion I used the photo-copying and scanner functions but I must confess I never set up the Fax machine element (I don't have anybody to fax!). As a printer I found the quality to be high. Aswell as providing fast black and white printing (20 ppm), it was also able to produce crisp, clear colour images at a rate of 15 ppm. When printing photo quality images the printer was quite a lot slower but this was something I learned to live with, I was just pleased to be able to print such high quality photos!

The A4 flatbed scanner is a very handy feature. This was a major influence in my decision to buy the printer. I have seen other all-in-one printers advertised that do not offer a full flatbed scanner and instead offer a 'feed' scanner whereby you need to feed a single sheet of paper into the machine to be scanned. This wasn't really an option for me as I like to have the freedom to be able to scan images from books or other, thicker sources. The scanner on the Brother MFC5840CN coped as well as any stand-alone flatbed scanners I have seen. It processed the imagines quickly and efficiently - I have nothing to moan about on this element of the printer!

The copying function is also good for the size of the printer. Is obviously doesn't copy with the speed or quality that a large, industrial copier would, but I never expected it to considering it's size and price. There is a feed tray on the top of the printer that can be folded out to accommodate the pages you'd like copied (up to A4 paper size). There is then two simple buttons on the front of the printer marked 'colour start' and 'mono start', you simply press the option you would like to begin either colour or mono copying. I did find that the copying process took a few minutes, but as you can copy without the need for a computer it cuts out the middle man and speeds the whole process up.

For photo printing I tended to use the Brother MFC5840CN though my computer as I like to be able to adjust and edit photos. However the printer has a built in multi card reader so it can be used conveniently without the need for a computer. I used this facility only a few times but I can see how it can be a major selling point for people that just like to print off a few snaps with as little hassle as possible! The printer accepts SD cards, Memory stick pro, Smart media cards, XD picture cards and Compact flash cards so there must be very few cameras that can not be used in this way. Once you have found the correct slot for your card you can select a menu screen to be printed. This displays thumbnail images of what is contained on your card. You can then select which of the images you would like to be printed full size.

The printer accepts both glossy and plain paper up to A4 size and has 2 separate paper trays. It can store up to 350 pages so you are not forever topping up the paper. Once the sheets have been printed they are caught neatly in a pull-out tray saving your documents from falling on the floor. I suppose this is a standard feature on most printers now, but without it I would soon get fed up of picking bits of paper up from the floor!

The printer takes 4 separate ink cartridges; Black, Magenta, Cyan and Yellow. This was another selling point for me, I was fed up of having to replace all four colours on my old printer when only one was running low. The replacement cartridges are available at many online ink cartridge retailers for around £10 for a black cartridge and £6 each for colour cartridges. The Brother MFC5840CN tells you both on the printers display and on your computer when a cartridge is running low and which one it is, in theory, giving you plenty of time to get a replacement. In reality I found this to be one of the most annoying features of this printer!
The Brother MFC5840CN would quite regularly tell me that one or all of the ink cartridges were running low and refuse to print until it had been rectified. On opening the printer hood and inspecting the cartridges I would notice that they were still ¾ full but I had no option but to replace them as the printer would not work until all 4 cartridges were present. The cartridges are very easy to replace and just click into their respective slots but even after replacing cartridges with brand new ones, sometimes the printer would still display empty cartridge notices and stop printing. This was an endless problem while I used the Brother MFC5840CN, I must have spent hundreds on ink cartridges over the 2 years!
Another problem I found with this printer was the time it took from being switched on to being ready to print. The Brother MFC5840CN has a self-cleaning system which can take several minutes to complete. It cleans the ink cartridges to stop blockages and blots and generally maintain it's good printing quality.
I only used the printer on average 3 times a week, and I have been told that this relatively low use can cause havoc with printers like this by drying up the ink cartridges which might explain several of the problems I came across. I believe this printer was probably designed for a small office or business use rather than for the occasional home printer such as myself.

While I have no problems with the quality of the printing, I do find the Brother MFC5840CN to be a very noisy printer! It isn't a smooth, silent printer but rather prints with very jerky movements (sometimes it wobbled the table it was perched on!) and makes a lot of 'clunking' noises.

I did experience the odd paper jam but these were quite infrequent and simple to resolve.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this printer for home use. Although it offers 4 functions in 1, it is a large device and probably doesn't save you that much desk space! Whilst it does print beautiful, crisp images without the need for a computer, it seems to require daily use to avoid some of the problems I have encountered. In my opinion, the Brother MFC5840CN is more suited to small business use and offers an excellent range of features , but for me the problems outweigh the good points and I have packed my Brother MFC5840CN away for good!


Features

* Up to 20ppm printing speed (monochrome)
* Up to 15ppm printing speed (colour)
* Up to 1200 x 6000dpi print resolution
* Network ready
* Up to 350 sheet paper capacity
* 33,600bps modem
* Up to 35 page automatic document feeder
* Up to 400 pages transmit/receive memory
* PC free copying
* Up to 1200 x 1200dpi copy resolution
* 25 - 400% reduction/enlargement ratio in 1% increments
* Scan directly to e-mail, image, OCR, file or card
* Up to 1200 x 2400dpi resolution (optical)
* Up to 19,200dpi resolution (interpolated)
* Print digital images directly from Smart Media, Compact Flash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital, xD Picture card
* One year (on-site) warranty

The Brother MFC-5840CN is available to buy online at:

www.ebuyer.co.uk for £213.34 (inc vat).

Compatible Ink cartridges are available to buy online at:

www.internet-ink.co.uk

Summary: Great for busy offices...but occasional use only can cause problems.

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