Brother Compact Monochrome Laser Multi-Function Copier and Printer, DCPL2550DW with Standard Yield Black Toner

Do NOT purchase a printer that requires a chipped toner cartridge. My old Brother laser printer did not require a toner cartridge that contains a chip. On average I could keep printing for 10 to 14 days after the replace toner message appeared. I could use the cartridge until the printing became very light. This is not the case with Brothers DCPL2550DW printer. After one day of the replace toner message appeared the printer stopped! A high yield OEM cartridge for this rip off machine cost $75. I only paid $130 for the printer. I use laser printers daily in my business. This is my first experience with chipped cartridges. You can save yourself a lot of money by NOT buying printers that require chipped cartridges.

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Once you get the settings straight, this printer is A+. This review will not focus on its advertised features, but I can confirm that it does indeed do everything it says it will, fantastically. For a more in depth review on that kind of stuff, look at the other reviews. Really nothing more can be said that has not already been said. First off, let me start off by saying that this printer was a pain in the butt to setup. I have been tinkering with and building computers since the mid 90s, and this one threw me for a loop for a few hours. After searching and searching and toggling this and toggling that, I was finally able to remedy the "Deep Sleep" issue that most, if not all, OSX/iOS users have with this printer. The printer would work great for a few minutes, then youd hear a click inside of the machine followed by unresponsiveness and "Deep Sleep" on the screen. Nothing would "bring it to life" but a reboot of the machine. You could not pull toner levels from it, load its browser-based interface, or send print jobs. Upgrading the firmware seemed to fix a lot of peoples problems but it did not fix my problem. To cut to the chase, these are the 3 settings I changed to fix this problem. Theyre accessed in the printers browser-based settings. You might have success changing these on the actual printer itself, but I did not try this. To access this page on Windows, open your web browser and for the URL, put in the IP of the printer. For example, my printer is set to the IP of 10.0.0.177 so I simply typed that in the address bar of Chrome and pressed enter. If you do not know your printers IP, on the printer, press Menu then goto Network> WLAN> TCP/IP> IP Address. Once youre at the web-interface, these are the settings that I changed: General Tab> Status> Automatic Refresh: On 1) Network Tab> Wireless Sub-Tab> TCP/IP (Wireless)> Boot Method: STATIC 2) Network Tab> Wireless Sub-Tab> TCP/IP (Wireless)> Enable APIPA: UN-CHECKED 3) Network Tab> Wireless Sub-Tab> TCP/IP (Wireless)> IPv6 Sub-Menu> IPv6: Enabled All other settings left stock. It will prompt you to restart the printer, and once its back on, everything should be golden. All setttings work like a charm INCLUDING airprint! Many people were having problems with that. You will also notice that the printer responds very quickly when accessing various settings and data through the browser-interface. This fix worked for my wireless setup, the same should go for a wired setup too. While changing the settings, goto Wired instead of Wireless. Good luck to you all.

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Live this printer. The ONLY thing that I do not like about it is the ink. You can only use brother because the cartridges have a microchip on them. So you cannot use the cheaper refills.

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Just installed and have successfully: Scanned to PC, Airprint (iPhone), print from Desktop PC (running Windows), and Macbook Air Laptop. None of these devices is wired, but I DID connect the printer via Ethernet to my Motorola Router/Modem combo. I used the provided disc to install on my Windows Desktop PC, and then after installing, it asked if I would like to make the available updates (just two) and those updates were under a minute combined. Overall having to mess with the wires behind my entertainment center in order to get the cables connected took longer than the actual installation of the printer which makes me VERY happy. Like other reviewers, I went back and forth on whether to order this model bc of the negative reviews - but when I filtered OUT the reviews for the L2540DW and focused on the newer model L2550DW, I saw some of the complaints (most of which were negligible) and focused on installing the printer via ethernet to make it easier, which it was. I cant speak to setup via wireless Wi-Fi only (that seems to be the big complaint, but setting up past printers or even a new internet connection in a new apartment without an ethernet is always a hassle), but I will say so far I am happy with the print quality and speed of install. If youre going to setup via Wi-Fi only, I would do as other reviewers suggested and go straight to the Brother site to download the software prior to install. I also turned off "DEEP SLEEP" mode right away at the suggestion of MPFerry(thanks!) as follows: "On the printer: 1. Menu button 2. 1. General Setup then OK 3. 2. Ecology then OK 4. 3. Sleep Time then OK 5. While you see the sleep number, push Minus button and Stop/Exit button at the same time 6. DEEP SLEEP mode - push Minus button for OFF then OK This should turn off Deep Sleep mode permanently! (Or at least until the next firmware update is installed, then you may have to do it again.)" Now, to override the alert Brother gives you when it THINKS you are out of ink, I have user Allegra to thank for that as follows: "Go to the buttons and follow these instructions: MENU > GENERAL SETTINGS Press the down button (minus sign) until you get to REPLACE TONER Hit OK Please the down button (minus sign) until you see CONTINUE Hit OK" Planning on doing as others suggested and when it comes time to refill toner, removing the chip from the original Brother brand toner and saving to place on the generic toner Ill buy. In order to scan to either of my Macbooks, I did need to install the drivers etc and download the iPrint&Scan app from Brother, but its not something Im bothered by. I installed on my macbooks right away so I wouldnt have to think about it in the future. Is it annoying that I cant hit the scan button on the printer and just have it ask me which computer Id like to send it to? Yes, but a minor inconvenience that didnt put me over. Bottom line, if youre able to connect the printer to your network via ethernet - itll save you a lot of trouble installing. Fix settings right away to turn off "Deep Sleep" mode, and force the printer to "Continue" past when it thinks youre out of toner. Ill update if it takes poop.

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I have used Brother printers for many years... like 35 years. I have always loved Brother printers. But this one is frustrating, and I find the situation with Brother support (which is unfailingly friendly and eager to help) frustrating. 1. This has no power button. You cant turn it off. Yes, theres a button, but holding it down doesnt get the printer to shut off. You need to UNPLUG this thing to get it to reset. 2. And you need it to reset because it comes set up with IP6 which breaks Cloud Print, and once you disable the IP6, you still need to reset the printer. And you cannot do that without UNPLUGGING IT. Also, it hangs when Im scanning something, and the only fix for that it unplugging. And I tried double-sided copies and got into some kind of state where it scanned forever and never printed anything for the copies -- again, UNPLUG IT. If youre going to make a printer with crappy firmware, make it easy to power-cycle. 3. Brother has a download for a firmware installer for this printer. But you can update the firmware from its internal webserver. Why are they spending time and effort on a Mac configurer and a PC configurer when the thing has a web interface? And then when I update the firmware in the web interface, it doesnt update saying the version on the printer is the most modern. When the PC download says theres a more modern one. 4. Drivers are all x86. The raspberry PI is the 3rd most popular computer in the world, and COMPLETELY unsupported by Brother. Brother techs kept telling me to use the x86 drivers for debian/ubuntu on the little ARM Raspberry PI. 5. The documentation is ABSURD. The manual for this covers all these printers (I am not making this up) "DCP‑L2510D / DCP‑L2530DW / DCP‑L2537DW / DCP‑L2550DN / MFC‑L2710DN / MFC‑L2710DW / MFC‑L2730DW / MFC‑L2750DW" -- these have different feature sets and different DISPLAYS. Its a nightmare. BROTHER: Get new management for your human-factors team. Do human-interface studies to see what doesnt make sense. Youll find a LOT of this stuff could be easily made intuitive and is the OPPOSITE. Stop multiplexing your documentation with 8 models on one sheet. Move to a pure web interface for setup so its portable and easier to support. Compile the same CUPS driver you make available in TWO (and sometimes more) x86 formats for the Raspberry PI. Its a huge part of the education market -- (14 MILLION sold). This is a no-brainer. Better yet, release a bare-bones open-source driver which could easily be updated to support each new printer. We really do NOT WANT your complex drivers or to go to your support site. We just want to push postscript to your printer. How hard is that!?!? The entire Linux community would prefer that, x86 included. Why cant there be one generic postscript driver for all Brother printers which support Postscript? And on all your printers (this one doesnt do it) when I hit scan, I want a serialized scan sent to a set to a share or an FTP site. If I want to archive some checks, I should be able to put them on the scanner, hit scan, and be done. You have forced me on this model to set up a windows box running your receiver software. ABSURD. The MFC-1440N was cumbersome, but this is unusable. Please fix this in a new firmware revision. I absolutely cannot recommend this printer, and at this point I can no longer recommend Brother.

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I am writing this post mainly to share an important option on the printer. When you purchase the printer, it is defaulted to STOP printing when it senses that the toner is low, even when the print quality is still good (cant force it to print until the pages become streaky). This is stupid. You can log onto the ip address of the printer and change the settings that way, but there is a much easier way: Go to the buttons and follow these instructions: MENU > GENERAL SETTINGS Press the down button (minus sign) until you get to REPLACE TONER Hit OK Please the down button (minus sign) until you see CONTINUE Hit OK Thats it! Even after the printer gives you the warning and stops printing/doesnt allow you to print because of low toner, if you change this setting, you can print again. Okay, as for the rest of this review, unlike some other people, I had a difficult time figuring out how to set this printer up. I am definitely above average for your TYPICAL consumer (no formal computer training/expertise but very comfortable around electronics/gadgets) in terms of comfort with gadgets, but I found setup difficult. The instructions were not clear for me, and it took me a while to download and setup the driver and installation, including onto my tablet, phone, and other devices. That said, now that its actually all set up, I really enjoy the printer. I like that it is wireless and I can print from my laptop or other mobile devices easily. The quality is good, the reliability is good, and other that that, I have no complaints at all and would likely buy this printer again.

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This is my third Brother laser printer and this one is by far the best one I have had. My two others were MFP, print, fax and scan, but they were not wireless nor were they network printers, but I had them plugged in to the router so I could print on the network, but couldnt scan unless I was hooked up directly. It was time for a new drum and lets face it the cost of these have come down so much that it was time for a new printer with wireless capabilities. I havent sent a fax in years so this was the machine I wanted. It was a fair price and I was ready to get it installed and ready to print. The setup was easy, but if you have a Mac or want to use AirPrint on your IOS device keeping its connected to the network after its connected is a challenge or at least for me it was. I am glad I didnt write this review before I figured out my issues, honestly I was about ready to return the machine, but I am so glad I didnt. There are reports all over the forums and on Amazon about this machined how it loses connection when going into "deep sleep" and in order to print, especially with a Mac you have to turn off the printer and then back on and even then it may not work. Also with AirPrint once its in deep sleep AirPrint doesnt work from your IOS device either. One solution to this problem noted by Brother is to update the firmware. Thats always a good thing, but it didnt work for me. After some searching for a few days I discovered its not so much an issue with the printer as it is with the Mac itself. Mac recognizes network or wireless printers it finds with Bonjour. Unfortunately for some when the Brother printer is in deep sleep and the Mac has been "sleeping" and you wake up the Mac, Bonjour fails to connect. Not sure why, but for me thats what was happening. So to fix the issue instead of adding the printer through Bonjour, I added using the IP address of the printer and BAM.....it works like a charm. Finding the IP address is pretty simple, the manual tells you how to do it right from the printer. Now when I print, my Macs see the printer connection and wake up the printer to do a job, even in deep sleep, no issues. However, my IOS devices still could not see the printer once it went into deep sleep. The fix for this is even easier. Find the IP address and then type the IP address into your browser and it takes you to the printers management page. From here all you need to do is check the box in the wireless tab to enable IPv6 and then submit. No need to do anything else, just check the box to enable IPv6 and submit. Now my IOS devices always see the AirPrinter and can print when ever it is needed without manually waking up the printer or restarting it. So now the printer is ready when I need it working as it was intended.

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This printer is satisfactory for me in all respects. It is inexpensive to operate, particularly when using off-label toner cartridges. It does a great job of scanning and printing, whether one page at a time or many pages at once (using the document feeder). It is fast. One thing that used to bug me was the way it tells me the toner is low when it isnt. I found the solution on youtube, but Im giving it here also: To RESET TONER and avoid “toner low” message: Proceed quite rapidly after the first step. If you go slowly, it will revert back to a default screen and youll have to start over. 1. Open printer front cover as if you were changing the printer cartridge - then go to keypad. 2. Press “okay” and wait for screen to go blank 3. Press “start.” 4. Press “up” arrow and then “down” arrow. The screen should say "00." 5. Press “okay.” 6. Close front cover.

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Bought this for my mother in law. Works great, she only prints occasionally and primarily uses a tablet. Her IPad Mini maxed out at IOS 9.3.5 and the brother printer utility needs 10.x and above. So only her Android tablet can print, no real issue, just beware. Takes a minute for the print job to get routed wirelessly, just be patient. Good copy functions and automatic document feeder worked fine. Only real complaint is the cost of the toner. Brother branded toner will run ~$70 for a high capacity drum. I am pretty sure the firmware will prohibit using third party toner vendors so be careful. Overall this will work for her quite well. Remember, this is a basic entry level MFD with duplex printing without color. In that capacity it works very well.

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Print what you want, whenever you want. This is my first laser printer. I bought this a just over a year ago and have gone through 2 reams of paper and I am still on the starter cartridge! Amazing! It scans great and copies great as well. I have no complaints as this is the best printer Ive ever had. Very inexpensive for printing paper. The only thing that Ive had to give up is color printing, which I have realized, that I dont actually need all that much. I was back in school using my GI Bill and had no problem printing my papers and assignments. I might upgrade to a Brother color laser printer this year and give this printer to my sons who are also in college. This is absolutely a great product that will save you money and hassles. Im only upset because I didnt switch to laser printers long ago instead of wasting all that time, money, and aggravation on ink jet printers. LIKES Extremely economical. A year later and having printed 2 reams of paper, I am still on the original starter toner cartridge No problem waking up from sleep mode Like all modern printers, can be connected by USB, or as a wireless network printer Scan quality is great No printheads to clog, unlike ink jet printers. Print what you want, whenever you want. DISLIKES This is only a lower level laser printer, so color not an option. Would need to upgrade to another model for color. Like all laser printers, might need a few seconds to warm up when first printing Like other laser printers, slightly louder than an ink jet when printing 12/23/2017 Update: I finally replaced the starter toner cartridge after going through 6 reams of paper. Great value! I print when I want and whenever I want without worrying to worry if there is still ink in the printer. This brother laser printer has been great so far, it scans great and makes copies, and I print from whatever mobile device I want to, from our cell phones, tablets, laptops, and the desktop. Great investment! Stop wasting money on inkjets, go laser - you wont regret it.

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