Expert Verdict
Colour laser printers have traditionally been overpriced and overhyped in comparison to their mono only machines. Though Brother HL3140CW isn’t a colour laser printer, it is still a colour LED printer. Having this LED feature is the main reason behind this printer being neither overpriced nor overhyped.
Aimed for small and medium-sized offices, this 4 Brother HL3140CW toner cartridges printer is surprisingly compact and can fit into any place you desire. Moreover, the mid-grey and white colour scheme helps it to look more discreet. On the top of the printer, there is a flip-up paper stop that prevents it from over-running. Besides, it also has a simple control panel with eight buttons on top including a small power button. The two-line LCD panel sits deep into the control panel without a backlight, though you will not struggle while reading the instructions. At the bottom of the panel, there is a large handle that makes it simple to open the 250-sheet main paper tray, which is more than many colour lasers offer. Above this handle, there’s a flip-down panel offering a single feed for envelopes or special media. This printer boasts 4 Brother HL3140CW toner cartridges of colour - cyan, magenta, black and yellow.
The Brother HL-3140CW has a single USB socket at the back, but it is also wireless compatible for providing more flexibility. It can be linked to a wireless network without a temporary USB link, using a WPS setup. The Brother HL3140CW toner cartridges can be found under the panel. Each drum cartridge has a clip-in toner Brother HL3140CW toner cartridge. Also, there is a transfer belt and waste toner unit in this printer which only have to be replaced after 50,000 pages. Moreover, the software installation is also easy.
Though Brother claims to have good printing speeds, we could not get them while testing. However, the printing speeds are still similar to other printers which are quite expensive than this modal. The colour graphics speed matched the mono text speeds on testing and they were too quick for this class of printer. This printer is compatible with IOS, Android and Windows Phone devices. At first, we were unable to connect it with Brother Android App, iPrint & Scan. This may happen due to firmware issues, however, one software upgrade will resolve the issue.
If we talk about print quality, print quality is well up to the standards you would expect from a mid-range laser printer, thanks to the Brother HL3140CW toner cartridges. The colour graphics are also strong and smooth, though there can be chances of some spots from black and colour misregistration. The photo prints may surprisingly look natural, without any bandings. The costs are distributed between the toner and drum, and the belt and waste unit if you print over 50,000 pages. They work at 3p for black pages and 12.4p for colour inks. These costs are about average for a low-cost colour laser printer or LED machine.
If it comes to wanting to buy a colour laser-quality printer, then yes, you should go with this printer. This machine represents tremendous value for money at a very decent price. Unless you have a particular disliking towards the LED printers where the difference is only a matrix of bright LEDs rather than a laser beam setting the image on the drum. Except for this, there’s no reason we can find for not buying this less expensive Brother printer. This LED printer is a really good value for money. Moreover, It is neatly designed, quick and doesn’t cost that much to run because of its long-lasting Brother HL3140CW toner cartridges.
Review
If you’re looking for a fast, reliable digital colour printer with wireless networking for your small business, the Brother HL3140CW may be exactly what you need. It takes big business features and packs them into an affordable, compact printer designed to fit your small business budget and workspace. The Brother HL3140CW also offers wireless printing through your mobile devices such as, Apple’s AirPrint, Brother iPrint and Scan, Google Cloud Print, Cortado Workplace and Wi-Fi Direct.
The device comes in a combination of light and dark grey colour weighing approx. 17 kg and measuring 16.1 x 9.4 x 18.3 inches. The print resolution of this compact Brother HL3140CW is up to 2,400 x 600 dpi with print speed up to 19 ppm. The device offers two paper input options. There is a main paper tray which is easily accessible as a slide out option from the front of the printer, capable of storing 250 sheets of blanks.
The device supports Wi-Fi connectivity for direct printing and mobile printing through tablets and smartphones. The Brother HL3140CW helps to reduce the printing costs by using secure function lock feature to set colour page counts or restrict colour printing for up to 25 users.
Advantages:
- High print speed helps in improving productivity
- Flexible connectivity
- Produce crisp black and high impact colour documents
- Versatile paper handling
- Supports mobile device printing
- Help control colour printing costs
- Offers high capacity Brother HL3140CW toner cartridges
- Supports deep sleep mode when printer is not in use
Disadvantages:
- Poor photo and text quality
- Lacks ethernet connectivity
- No duplexer
- Non expandable memory
- No display screen
Conclusion:
The Brother HL3140CW offers fast speed, good paper handling and Wi-Fi direct for easy mobile printing but lacks in output quality which would be a primary concern for any small office unit. The device comes with four colour Brother HL3140CW toner cartridges and also supports high capacity toners resulting in low running cost of the printer. It also supports secure function lock feature that restricts colour printing for up to 25 users, offering low printing cost.
Brother HL3140CW Toner Requirements
Printer Toner for Brother HL3140CW are as follows:
Brother HL3140CW Black Compatible Toner Cartridge
Brother TN241 Toner Cartridge Black with a print capacity of 2,500 Pages.
Brother HL3140CW Cyan Compatible Toner Cartridge
Brother TN245 Toner Cartridge Cyan with a print capacity of 2,200 Pages.
Brother HL3140CW Magenta Compatible Toner Cartridge
Brother TN245 Toner Cartridge Magenta with a print capacity of 2,200 Pages.
Brother HL3140CW Yellow Compatible Toner Cartridge
Brother TN245 Toner Cartridge Yellow with a print capacity of 2,200 Pages.
How to replace a toner cartridge?
How to replace a toner cartridge?The Brother HL3140CW printer is an affordable colour printer. It uses Brother HL3140Cw toner cartridges as consumables. Though often times you would experience print quality issues such as horizontal or vertical banding or unclear prints. This dip in print quality occurs due to low ink levels. This is an indication to replace the toner cartridge of the printer.
The Brother HL3140CW toner cartridges can be purchased online easily. The company also recommends the use of original cartridges in order to have a long lasting high quality printing. The toner cartridge can be replace easily. To do so, follow these steps:
- Open the printer’s front cover by pressing the release button on the top of the cover.
- When the cover opens, hold the printer with one and the drum unit within it with another hand. Pull the drum unit up and lift it out of the printer.
- You will notice a blue lever on the drum unit. Push it and carefully take the toner cartridge out and place it on a piece of paper. You can also put it in a plastic bag so that the toner powder does not spill out.
- Open the packaging of the new Brother HL3140CW toner cartridge and shake it from left to right about five to six times. This will help mix the contents of the toner cartridge well. The new cartridge should be opened and taken out of the package only when it has to be used. DO not open the packaging in advance as the shelf-life of a pre-opened cartridge decreases to only 6 months while that of an unopened cartridge is 2.5 years.
- Take off the protective band from this new toner cartridge and save it for recycling purpose later.
- Put the new tone cartridge into the drum unit. If it is placed properly then the cartridge will click in place and the blue lever will lift automatically. Clean the primary corona wire within the unit by sliding the blue tab from side to side a few times.
- Put the drum unit back into the printer and close the printer cover.