Brother Monochrome Laser Printer, HL-L5100DN, Duplex Two-Sided Printing, Ethernet Network Interface, Mobile Printing, Amazon Dash Replenishment Enabled

Comment

I looked at probably a hundred printers before landing on the Brother HLL5100DN. I needed something that could handle a high-volume output without burning a hole in my wallet. Most laser printers seem like a great value...and then you look at the cost of toner. With most printers I researched, I also looked up the cost of toner. Only a few printers stand out from the pack with toner yield and cost– the Brother HLL5100DN is one of them. There is an off-brand toner available for this printer that yields 8,000 pages that costs only $20. I could not find a better cost-to-yield ratio on any printer in this price range, so I purchased this one. A few notes about this printer are in order: 1. It is not a WiFi printer. You must hook this up via a printer cord (to USB) or an ethernet cable. You MUST have one of these hooked up for the printer to work. 2. It is monochrome (it prints black ink only). If you need color printing, its not for you. 3. It is not a scanner. Its only a printer. 4. It works with Google CloudPrint if it is hooked up to a computer in the aforementioned way. 5. It takes about 15 minutes to set up (including unboxing and driver download). 6. Works on PC and Mac. I set it up on both. Overall, this product is the best monochrome printer for the price. It will give you a ton of prints for a low cost. Its pretty basic, but is awesome in certain contexts. I highly recommend this to anyone in the market for this type of printer!

Show more

Comment

I wont go into every minutiae, as many have already done so. This is mostly about print quality (which, oddly enough, is rarely mentioned). The quality of the print, especially compared to the likes of Xerox Phaser or HP, etc., is just plain terrible. If anything, its certainly not the 1200x1200 DPI they claim it to be. Its not even 600x600 in my opinion. Id place it more at about 300x600. This deception in marketing alone is what earned it a two star rating from me (sorry, but print quality is a deal breaker for me). Print speed is indeed fast, even from a deep sleep. If youre able to get it at a lower price (it was just down to $115) and just need a cheap and fast machine for invoicing and student use, it might suit your needs. Ill try to upload some comparison photos. Pros: -Fast wake-up and printing -Small form factor -Relatively quiet -Plug and play -Auto duplex -Includes a full ink toner cartridge Cons: -Terrible print quality -No WiFi/Bluetooth

Show more

Comment

Like their other printers (and all-in-ones), Brother has been relatively Linux friendly for some time. Brother provides driver support for rpm and deb based distributions. They even provide a script to help you install things. Naturally, the script failed in my case. I went ahead and installed the deb files, anyway, and my printer was installed. I used the ubiquitous system-config-printer program to set up the printer. It located the printer and offered various options for connecting. I purchased this printer to replace another failed Brother printer I had purchased a couple of years ago (a 5450DN). This one, the 5100DN, let me set the IP address to a fixed address from the printer console itself. I did not have to find the printer, and then log in via the printers Web server to set the IP address. Further, when downloading the driver, I received a pop-up telling me that there was an important firmware update for the printer. Once the printer was set up, I logged into the new printers Web server and found another new feature, the firmware update button. I clicked it. A couple of minutes later I could log in again and I had the updated firmware. So, this printer is user friendlier than the last one. The old printer didnt have the best paper handling. To be blunt, it would jam more often than I would like. This one hasnt jammed, yet. Another aspect I like: The 5100 prints better. The 5450 printed too dark at 600 and 1200 dpi. This one is somewhat dark at 1200, but 600 is fine. No insane amounts of Gamma correction applied to each image if you want to print. If you run Linux, and live within easy wire distance to your router, this is a very good printer. 12 December 2016 update: The thing still hasnt jammed. Im raising this to five stars.

Show more

Comment

I replaced my older Brother HL5250DN with this newer model. The printing speed has increased (42ppm) and overall printer operation is vastly improved. The software (FW) control has been expanded and such operational features as "duplex" is now called "2 sided" with sheet control. Nice feature to have. Its a little LARGER than the older printer (not by much) but does take more room on the table top. However, thats not a problem. The "deep sleep" mode is great since you really need not turn the printer off. Just leave it on and its always ready to print when commanded. Overall, its a great printer. And the price is LESS than HALF that of the older model.

Show more

Comment

I bought this printer to replace another Brother that was leaving toner on my pages. Brand new, out of the box, the quality is the same or worse than the unit I replaced. Yes, Ive cleaned it. It helps for 1-2 prints then goes back to toner everywhere. As others have mentioned, replacing a brand new drum unit with another one is a) more than the cost of the printer, and b) a crap shoot if theres no guarantee it will make any difference. Avoid this one. Feb 2019 followup - finally got annoyed enough at the printer quality to try to fix it. Ordered replacement drum and toner kits from LxTek off Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078JLRXJ6/ and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D38MKB1/ The drum replacement didnt do much. The toner cartridge solved the problem. Cost me another sixty bucks, but now I have a backup drum unit and a new plus a spare toner cartridge, and most of all a working printer. Hopefully this will help someone else stuck with this unit.

Show more

Comment

easily connected to our wired network. I have problems with wireless brother printers in the past so I didnt get that. Found immediately by windows for simple printing. Had to install the brother printer driver from the disc to get the full function of the multiple tray printing (I bought two LT5500 trays). Working great so far and it is pretty fast with 18 seconds to first page out from full sleep mode. next print job had the first page out in about 7 or 8 seconds. Its a keeper, so I better go buy some more toner. Havent set up the amazon dash yet, but may not use it.

Show more

Comment

1:39 0:00 This video is not intended for all audiences. What date were you born? January February March April May June July August September October November December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941 1940 1939 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 1919 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 1908 1907 1906 1905 1904 1903 1902 1901 1900 Submit Adobe Flash Player is required to watch this video. Install Flash Player This printer is amazing. I’ve had several different inkjets and laser printers, but this one takes the cake. This printer will work great for a wired Ethernet connection. I have had it for 6 months now and never once have had a connection problem. Unless you count the time my one year old unplugged it. It has jammed only once in the over 1000 pages printed, and that was because my family put a towel on it not allowing the paper to come out. The back opens for a very easy paper jam fix though. I’m not sure how well the usb portion works as it’s not included and I’ve only used the wireless connection. All in all I think this is perfect for a small business or Home printer dedicated to print mass quantities of black and white (and double sided) prints. There is also a way to “reset/trick” toner on this model to make it print even if it gives you a low toner warning. I would happily buy this printer again.

Show more

Comment

Excellent product. Setting it up as a network printer for two Linux Mint computers was relatively easy. Output quality is excellent; pages come out really fast. Only criticism is that withdrawing the paper tray to add paper involves a complicated process of first pulling the tray partially out, then lifting it up. This is not easy, and makes me fear I might break off a plastic part if I get it wrong, If technically possible I would favor simply pulling the tray all the way out without needing to disengage any locking mechanism. Brothers manuals and on-line videos are most helpful. Formerly I used color inkjet printers. I tired of the heavy cartridge expense and decided that I really did not need color printing. I have no regrets about moving to a monochrome laser machine. This Brother printer is somewhat larger and heavier than I had anticipated, but I regard this as a sign of solid build quality.

Show more

Comment

Had I known in advance that this printer is booby trapped to prevent use of partially used toner cartridges, I would not have bought it. It took a day of research and a lot of tinkering with the toner cartridges to bypass the downright sneaky booby trap. Rebuilt and aftermarket toner cartridges work just fine in this machine; however, you must never take one out if it has any toner left in it because the machine will reject it if you try to put it back in. This is akin to building a car that when a tire goes flat you cannot have it patched; rather, you have to buy a "genuine Smashmouth Auto replacement tire" which costs five times what other equivalent tires cost. Brother really has tried its best to screw the customer.

Show more

Comment

I ordered this printer for the 50 sheet manual feed tray, spending $40-50 more than the cheaper, smaller ones for printing shipping labels. Not disappointed! The manual tray works great and its a lot handier to feed a stack of label sheets than one at a time like some previous Brother printers I have owned. This is my 4th or 5th Brother laser between the USA and Asia and they have all been great laser printers, but my need to print lots of labels drove me to a bigger, slightly more expensive model and Im glad I spent the $$$. Still havent even tried to figure out the wireless (Android) feature, nor have I connected to my home network to take advantage of the ethernet (not WiFi) network printing feature. Ill save that for the weekend when I have some time to burn. Sadly, I always have problems with Windows networking every time MS sends out a Win10 update, so Im not looking forward to dealing with it...

Show more