Expert Verdict
The Brother DCP1510 is an easy to operate laser all-in-one printer. Often this is all that is required for a SoHo use or study material where text output is the primary requirement. Such a machine generally costs £100 or more, but this printer for around three-quarters of this price. This printer is a well-proportioned, discreet box with light grey and black colour, though opening up the trays may increase the footprint quite a bit. The front cover of the printer pulls down to become the feed tray, which is quite normal in this type of printer, also two-stage paper support flips out from above. This printer comes with black Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridges only.
This printer would have been designed to be much more compact if it had placed the DCP-1510’s laser engine further back in the case. This printer is actually quite a small neat unit. This printer boasts a 100mm strip of ‘dead plastic’ behind the engine which appears to be serving no purpose other than to support the rear third of the A4 flatbed scanner. The laser division of the printer should perhaps take motivation from inkjet machines, where the paper cassettes fit properly inside the machine, and minimal output support is just enough to pull documents you’ve printed. This seems to be a much better solution than the one this laser printer uses. Because of this little awkward design, installing the Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridges is a bit of a difficult task.
The scanner has a resolution of 600 x 1,200 PPI, which means this machine is capable of reproducing text pages well enough for OCR, though it lacks any recognition software. The device can scan an image, an email attachment or a file. The last option produces PDF files directly and you can OCR online, using Adobe service, or using a free converter.
The power button is small and is hard to find with the other buttons on the panel. The only connection it allows is a single USB connectivity at the back. Also, it lacks a wireless facility, which is quite a disappointment. The power lead is integrated, which prevents you from losing it if you move the machine from one place to another. Lifting up the scanner section, you will have access to an internal cover, which boasts a two-part drum and Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridge, with the handle intelligently coloured bright green to identify it. It takes a bit of struggling to slot back into place, but the design reduces page costs.
Talking about the print speeds, brother rates its DCP1510 model at 20ppm and in testing we got close to 16ppm. The print speeds were pretty decent. Though the printer makes noise while performing the job. Also, thanks to the black Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridges, the prints produced from this machine are very good and crisper than from any equivalent inkjet printer. Text from the 600 dpi engine is sharp and dense. The Grayscales are reasonable, though with some blotchiness. Copies of printed originals are good for text prints however, they lack smoothness in fills. Photo prints are decent.
The Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridge for this machine is good for printing 1,000 pages. Because of this, it gives a cost per page of 4.1p, which is a good rate for an inexpensive laser printer.
In conclusion, this is a very economical all-in-one machine, with three basic functions - print, scan and copy. If you’re after a laser all-in-one printer and have a budget under £100, there is no better choice than the Brother DCP-1510. The main strength –of this printer is its very low asking price. Print speed and quality are very serviceable and due to the Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridge capacity running costs are reasonable, too.
Review
This is one of the most simple and reasonable all in ones available in the market. The Brother DCP1510 is a low budget, entry level device aimed at the very low usage segment of the market.
The 2400 x 600 dpi resolution for the winter also results in giving out some good quality, sharp printouts. The text prints are really good and grayscale prints are average. But no blotchiness or blur is visible, which is a good thing at this price point. The printing unit claims a speed of 20 ppm which again is good for the price it comes at. The Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridges have a life of about 1000 pages, which combined with its cost give a low cost of operations. The 600 x 1200 dpi scanner also churns out reasonable quality output, with good text scans. The compact printer has a input tray of 150 page capacity and a small footprint. Connectivity options are severely limited with only USB 2.0 for connecting.
The duplex printing option is available but is not automatic. Because of a little awkward design, installing the Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridges becomes little difficult. OCR software can be used online at an extra monthly fee and is not bundled with the printer. Lack of connectivity weighs down heavily on what otherwise is a decently specced device.
Advantages:- Fast speed
- Light and easy to setup
- Good quality prints
- Very noisy operations
- Limited connectivity options
Brother DCP1510 has been aimed at the business user, but given its very limited connectivity and rudimentary software bundle, the usage will be restricted to home and student segment only. For the home and student segment, it is a good buy with good print and scan quality for the amount one is paying.
Compatible cartridge:The compatible Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridge is:
- Brother TN1050 Toner Cartridge
The Brother DCP1510 Printer is a mono laser printer. It uses Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridge as consumable which is easily available online. The good print quality that the printer offers is because of the toner cartridge. Though at times you may notice bad print quality. Printing issues such as banded printouts, faded prints or toner specks occur when there are issues with the Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridge, drum unit or due to some damage to the internal parts of the printer.
If you are experiencing toner specks on the printed paper then you need to follow the instructions below:
If the toner specks occur on the printout then there is a possibility that the corona wire is not clean. To clean it, you need to turn on your printer and take the toner cartridge and drum unit assembly out. You will notice a green tab on the drum unit. You need to move this tab from side to side many times. This will clean the corona wire inside. Once you are through with it, bring the green tab back at its home position otherwise the printouts will have vertical bands during printing. Place the assembly back into the printer. Take a test print.
2. Replacing the Drum UnitIf the print is still not cleared off the toner specks then you will have to replace the drum unit as it may be damaged. To do so, turn the printer on and open the front cover. Take out the toner cartridge and drum unit assembly. Now unlock the Brother DCP1510 Toner Cartridge from it and place it in the new drum unit. Lock it in. Place this assembly back into the printer and close it. Take a test print.
3. Contamination of the Fuser UnitIf you still notice the printing problem then the fuser unit may be contaminated. You will have to contact the customer care.