Brother Monochrome Laser Printer, HL-L5200DW, Wireless Networking, Mobile Printing, Duplex Printing, Amazon Dash Replenishment Ready, Black, 2.3

Had a Brother HL-2040 for years. It had good print quality but could not print envelopes worth a darn -- no matter how carefully I positioned the envelope, it would come out with the printing on the envelope crooked and the envelope crinkled. When the drum needed replacing, I took that as an opportunity to choose a new printer instead of replacing the drum. In all fairness, the HL-2040 was a low-end printer... but this printer is also very cost effective in initial purchase, and the toner is reasonably priced.I did not want an all-in-one scanner-type printer (I already have great Fujitsu sheet-fed and Epson flatbed scanners), nor an inkjet (I already have a color inkjet - there are pros and cons with inkjets compared to lasers). I wanted a high-capable single-purpose laser printer. In surveying all reasonably priced printers, I decided on this one as having the capabilities I wanted with the best value. I kept my fingers crossed that it would do a good job printing envelopes. I was not disappointed, in fact my hopes were exceeded!It has a straight path available for envelopes and heavy stock, but that path requires extra clearance at the back. I tried the normal curved path first (where the printed media exits from the top) and the envelopes show no sign of crinkling! Great! And the multi-function paper feed works perfectly in feeding the envelopes straight (the printing has never skewed). And, you can load up to 10 envelopes at a time. The multi-function tray is hidden out of the way in the front... simply flips down and the extensions flip out, and just as easily stores back into its hidden position -- extremely well designed.This printer has nearly any programmable option you could ever want, accessed via front panel, IP address or computer app. It can connect via USB, WiFi, or Ethernet cable. I chose to connect via Ethernet cable connected to a powerline adapter which is in turn connected to our home network. I could have connected via WiFi, but I find that powerline connection is rock-solid and I had an extra connection available in our second floor office -- the AC1750 WiFi router is downstairs near the limit of its transmission and I've not found WiFi extenders to work as well as powerline, which easily covers the whole house.If using USB, that would mean the host computer would have to be on with printer sharing enabled. Having the printer connected via wired Ethernet works perfectly... as long as the router and powerline are on (always are), you can print from anywhere on the network (even if the Internet is down). After completing a print job, the printer quickly goes into deep sleep, and awakes instantly when sent another print job. It consumes only 1.3 watts in deep sleep.The only negative I've found is that this printer is very noisy in its initialization process when powering up, but after that, the actual printing is not as noisy.

I love this printer (the Machine -- Brother calls its printers "Brother machine" in its manuals). I got it because I wanted a relatively inexpensive but reputable printer that can do double-sided printing even on non-standard sized paper, for a "project." I ended up using standard size and then trimming, but it is very nice to have this very versatile printer for long-term. And I really think it will be long-term because Brother lets you replace just about any part that will eventually wear out. I really like that because I like repairing my stuff instead of tossing. This is a very environmentally conscious company.Duplex (double-sided) printing worked very smoothly for me. And the print quality of the Machine is excellent. The default setting is 600 dpi which is excellent for text but for graphics you can "up" that to 1200 dpi. (So the person who complained in one of the reviews that the resolution looks about 600 dpi probably did not know where to look to change this default -- tho it is not hard to change). The Machine has a zillion settings and numerous ways to set them (on the printer's control panel; via accessing the printer's on-board software as HTML pages on your browser if the printer is on your network, and via print settings from your computer's operating system (installed print driver). It is a nice printer for geeks -- lots of security (network) settings, and whatnot. Also, power-saving and toner-saving settings. Increasing print density, etc. The works.It has a very extensive electronic manual but I wish there was a bit more explanation about some things. Like I could not find out what the difference between "thick paper" and "thicker paper" is. I guess "thicker" means "if you have trouble loading it from the standard tray, use the multi-purpose tray because this means the paper is "thicker". (I was able to load 80 lb cover stock, = 120 gsm, thru the standard tray -- just need to open the back cover so it is a straight paper path. So this is "thick" paper but not "thicker.") Also, I had to research online about what the difference between "1200 dpi" and "HQ1200" is. Really, something like that ought to be in the manual because I think it is "Brother-specific," not industry-specific. And I like lots of explanation and advice in a manual, not just plain instruction. There is also a setting for "Graphics Quality" that is set to "text" or "graphics" = default. I suppose this is contrast? Would be really nice to have an explanation!My sole other complaint is that Windows has a much more user-friendly Brother driver, with easy access to many more settings, than the Mac OS software (at least for Mavericks which is what I have, and which was current when this printer was released). But I will forgive Brother because it also supports Linux, with nice instructions on its Support web site. Thanks, Brother.Despite my wish for a bit more explanation in the manual, and more equal Windows vs Mac support, I am super happy with the purchase. Much recommended.UPDATE ~2.5 years after purchase: I still love this printer and am very happy with it. Less happy with a genuine Brother toner cart, which after a few months started leaking and had to be replaced, even though it had still several thousand pages' worth of printing left in it. If you can't trust the (much more expensive) Brother branded toner, might as well buy the much cheaper off-brand ones, because either way it is risky, but you risk less money with the other options. Perhaps the cart just got old while sitting in the printer but I don't recall ever experiencing leaks like that with HP laser printers at work, so it does not seem like a normal thing. Anyway, the printer is awesome and I still love it. It makes very high quality prints and I've never experienced a jam. Weirdly, much more expensive now than when I purchased it. It was probably sold at a loss when I bought it, because it was anticipated that toner cart purchases through Amazon auto-ship would make up the difference. But Brother toner cart price is just too high, so my guess is, many customers went with alternatives.

The good: very easy set-up, fast printing, instruction materials written in proper English.The bad: a bit noisy and the manual sheet feeder is made out of plastic thinner than I thought possible.The printer comes sturdily packed, and the inner wrapping has handles to make removal of the printer easy. Very well thought out.Out of the box, I just plugged the printer into my home network (I don't believe in WiFi), turned it on, and my computer found it, and it all just worked.Printing is fast, though a bit noisy. It has that mechanical sound of parts not made with very high precision.Overall this printer is doing exactly what I need it to do, namely print documents cleanly and reliably. I would buy this again.

I bought this printer for home office use for when I work remotely. I use a brother printer at my office after, having used HP's for over 20 years. I find them to be more user friendly and able to handle the printing volume for an insurance office. The first thing that I noticed is the packaging - the unit comes in a sturdy plastic bag with handles for easy removal from the box. Some thought went into this by Brother as it is usual to have to pry the equipment from the box along with all the styrofoam packing. Well done and thank you!Set up is easy and you're ready to print. If I were to nitpick, I asked Amazon to ship the printer in an Amazon box so that people wouldn't know what it is as it sat on my front step upon delivery. No additional packing was done, only the Brother box with the pictures on the sides. I'm happy with my purchase and would order from Brother again.