Brother HL-4040CN Toner Cartridges

The Brother HL-4040CN color laser printer is designed for the small office environment, like the HP 4050 toner printer. Its great print quality and convenience features like a front-mounted USB port make it a good choice for a small office, but its price might be a bit too high for personal users, although Brother toner is generally lower cost than competitors and overall operational costs are lower than competitors.

The design of the Brother HL-4040CN color laser ink toner printer is straightforward and boxy, and relatively compact, but also a bit on the heavy side. The unit measures 12.5 inches by 16.5 inches by 18.7 inches (HWD) and weighs around 64 pounds, so it will take more than one person to move it around. The input paper tray holds 250 sheets, and there is a 50-sheet multipurpose tray for non-standard media. While the paper capacity is decent, it is not expandable with any add-ons, so offices expecting growth will need to look elsewhere.

The unit has a USB connection and a built-in ethernet connection for connecting to a computer or a network for network sharing, like the Brother MFC-9420 toner printer. There is also a convenient front-mounted USB port that allows users to connect a PictBridge camera or flash drive for printing directly, without the need for a PC. This is one of many features making their way from inkjet models to laser models.

Brother HL-4040CN toner cartridges have a capacity of 2,500 for black and 1,500 for each color cartridge. The printer toner cartridge is available in high yield, with capacities of 5,000 for black and 4,000 for each color laser toner cartridge, and are much more economical. The unit also features a Toner Save mode to help conserve toner. Print speed is average, at around 15 pages per minute for black and 11 page per minute for color. Print quality is very impressive. Text is dark and clean. Graphics and color prints are very good for a laser, and are above average.

Overall, the Brother HL-4040CN, like the HP 1500 toner printer, is a solid choice for a small office printer. Built-in networking and a convenient USB port present many options for users. Lack of expandability could be an issue for a growing office.