[nemanirc]

I am looking at buying a Brother 1270N laser printer. Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) with one?

[aaanorton]

The 8/2001 issue if Macworld has a very comprehensive review/comparison of many different printers. Of the monchrome laser printers, Brother was rated highest, though the HL-1670N got the final nod.

Until last week, I would have given you a glowing endorcement, but my three-month-old 1270N stopped working last week, and I'm trying to get it resolved.

Overall, it's a very nice printer. I got it because I run various hardware/software, and it works nicely with everything I've thrown at it. The only downside is that it draws a lot of power while running (enough that my UPS sometimes kicks in).

However, last week it suddenly reported a "Low Toner" condition and refused to print. I've only run a few hundred pages through it, so it should have plenty of toner left. However, putting in a new toner cartridge didn't solve the problem. I called Brother, and the support person suggested that it sounded like a problem with the drum unit. Unfortunately, they sent me a replacement toner cartridge (which doesn't fix the problem). I haven't had a chance to call them again yet.

If I was sure that a new drum unit would fix the problem, I'd probably buy one (at $150) just to get the unit operational. However, I think the drum is still in warrenty (and should be covered, since I've had it for only three months and only run 200-300 sheets through it), and I'm hoping that Brother manages to get the problem resolved quickly.

I'll post another message with the resolution to my problems with the printer.

John

Originally posted by nemanirc:
<STRONG>I am looking at buying a Brother 1270N laser printer. Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) with one?</STRONG>

Just a followup, in case anyone is interested...

The problem I was having with the printer turned out to be the printer itself. Brother ended up sending me replacement toner cartridge, drum unit and printer (refurbished) in the process of diagnosing the problem. Since they sent each component and waited for me to try it out to see whether it fixed the problem, this process took several weeks. They did waste almost a week by sending me a replacement toner cartridge even though I had already tried replacing that part (OTOH, I now have a spare toner cartridge, since they never asked for that part back).

I suppose the lession to be learned is: if you don't want to be without a major computer component, pay the money to have an on-site service and/or replacement contract. Of course, that will cost money, and the major feature of the Brother is its low cost.

Originally posted by &lt;John Bresnahan&gt;:
<STRONG>Until last week, I would have given you a glowing endorcement, but my three-month-old 1270N stopped working last week, and I'm trying to get it resolved.

Overall, it's a very nice printer. I got it because I run various hardware/software, and it works nicely with everything I've thrown at it. The only downside is that it draws a lot of power while running (enough that my UPS sometimes kicks in).

However, last week it suddenly reported a "Low Toner" condition and refused to print. I've only run a few hundred pages through it, so it should have plenty of toner left. However, putting in a new toner cartridge didn't solve the problem. I called Brother, and the support person suggested that it sounded like a problem with the drum unit. Unfortunately, they sent me a replacement toner cartridge (which doesn't fix the problem). I haven't had a chance to call them again yet.

If I was sure that a new drum unit would fix the problem, I'd probably buy one (at $150) just to get the unit operational. However, I think the drum is still in warrenty (and should be covered, since I've had it for only three months and only run 200-300 sheets through it), and I'm hoping that Brother manages to get the problem resolved quickly.

I'll post another message with the resolution to my problems with the printer.

John


</STRONG>

[Evangellydonut]

I liked it...for USD400, its cheap enough and good enough...had to replace the toner today, was USD50, and capacity of 3000 pages... good for SOHO.
However, I HATE the driver for it...especially one of the background apps Brothers as part of the Driver Installation. It cannot be quitted by any means, which prevents software installations 'n other stuff, until you disable the extension then reboot.

[Walter J. Ferstl]

nemanirc,

my experience with one Brother HL-1270N purchased by a customer is an excellent one. This printer is the PostScript and AppleTalk capable type with 10/100 ethernet interface, RAM upgraded (using standard RAM modules) to the maximum of 36 MB and including an optional support package by Brother that covers parts and labour for 3 years.

The printer seems to be ideal for small works groups in Mac-only as well as mixed (Mac and Win) environments.

Evangellydonut,

I do not have any problems running the 1270N with the standard Apple LaserWriter driver (v8.6 or so) - why don't you just give it a try instead of the Brother driver? I just installed Brother's PPD file, and changed the printer's idiosyncratic Chooser name to something like "Brother 1270N" using Apple's utility. It works fine here.

Best regards,

Walter.

[max4ever]

I don't have any experience with the 1270N, but i own its older brother, the 1650. I had no trouble with the hardware or software setup, and it has worked beautifully with OS 9 and X. Since the 1270 and the 1650 are so closely related, I don't think you'll have any trouble with it and would be quite pleased. Hope this helps.