The reason we chose to not call the Brother HL-L8260CDW entry-level printer is simply because it has features that outstrip printers in the class and is also priced slightly on the higher side. We would qualify this machine as a nearly entry-level device because it is better than such a device in myriad ways and more economical than most enterprise-class devices.
Basically, the Brother HL-L8260CDW is a colour laser single-function printer that is particularly suited to a business’s needs. In fact, its feature set is such that it fits the bill for not only micro and small sized offices but even some medium-sized workgroups and businesses. The HL-L8260CDW is free of all frills but it has all the core features you would need for your business. Let us elaborate.
Strengths of Brother HL-L8260CDW
We love scalability. It is one of those things that we consider very seriously when we’re analysing a business printer. Why? Well, it’s because we believe that businesses should live dynamic lives with lots of expansion and maybe a little contraction. Because we rate scalability so high in our assessments, the Brother HL-L8260CDW fares well from our perspective. When it comes to scalability, we focus on paper handling capacity and the HL-L8260CDW does well in that category.
The Brother HL-L8260CDW comes standard with a paper handling capacity of 300 sheets divided between a 250-sheet main paper tray and a 50-sheet multipurpose tray. This capacity, however, can be expanded greatly. You can actually take it to as high as 1050 sheets by including three more paper trays with 250-sheet capacities. This device’s paper handling is supported by the Original Equipment Manufacturer’s (OEM) recommended monthly volume range of 1,000 pages to 3,000 pages.
The print speed of the Brother HL-L8260CDW also backs its volume handling capabilities. It isn’t ground-breaking but it is more than good enough to support a fully scaled HL-L8260CDW.
This device is rated to print at a speed of 31 pages per minute (ppm) irrespective of whether you print colour or monochrome documents. This print speed doesn’t come at the cost of print quality, though. The Brother HL-L8260CDW boasts of good output quality so long as you’re printing text and graphics. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer the same excellence when it comes to printing photos but this shouldn’t surprise because the HL-L8260CDW is, after all, a laser printer. From the perspective of specifications, this device is rated to print at a maximum resolution of 2400 x 600 dots per inch (dpi).
Now that we’ve covered the core functions of a business printer, let’s move onto features that are not crucial but very helpful when present. One of these is connectivity. A device with good connectivity options can make the administrators’ lives easier and the Brother HL-L8260CDW does well there. With this device, you’ll get all the modern connectivity options including USB 2.0, Ethernet, and wireless. Not only does this printer offer wireless connectivity but also Wi-Fi Direct connectivity which means that you can bypass your network and connect a device straight to the printer if required. Along with this, Brother has provided full mobile support with this device including compatibility with their proprietary iPrint&Scan mobile app, Mopria, Cortado Workplace, Apple Air Print, and Google Cloud Print.
Another great feature that you’ll find standard in the Brother HL-L8260CDW is automatic duplexing. Automatic duplexing is the ability to print on both sides of the paper. It is an extremely useful feature especially if you plan to print in bulk because it helps cut paper costs.
Weaknesses of Brother HL-L8260CDW
There aren’t many weaknesses of the Brother HL-L8260CDW that we can focus on. The device hasn’t tried to offer the world to buyers, which is probably why it hasn’t suffered in many elements. There are a couple of issues we have with it, however. The first of these is the running costs. The running cost of a colour printer can be defined as what you would have to pay for every page you print. In the case of the HL-L8260CDW, it is slightly on the higher side but it does vary on the basis of what type of cartridge you use.
For instance, if you use cartridges manufactured by the OEM, then you’ll end up paying about 23.07 cents for every page you print. However, if you go for compatible or generic cartridges then you’ll bring this per-page cost down to 18.83 cents. You do have to be careful about where you get your generic cartridges from because all of them don’t produce good output. We suggest looking for vendors with sufficient guarantees and warranties as that would keep you covered. We’re talking about guarantees and warranties similar to what we offer in our store.
Another minor flaw of the Brother HL-L8260CDW, and we’re nit-picking now, is the fact that it isn’t pretty.
We know aesthetics don’t matter in business but we were struggling to find flaws in this machine so we settled on this one. Some could describe the HL-L8260CDW as too heavy or cumbersome. The device measures a clunky 313mm high, 486mm deep, and 410mm wide and weighs a hefty 16.5 Kg without consumables. All that weight is worth it because it is caused by the sturdiness of the material used by the OEM in the HL-L8260CDW’s construction.
Key Features of Brother HL-L8260CDW
Inside the Brother HL-L8260CDW, you’ll find an 800 MHz processor which is supported by a 256MB RAM. There are no provisions for expanding either of these components but they aren’t really needed even if you operate the HL-L8260CDW at its maximum capacity. These components do make the first-print-out times of this device decent. They add up to maximum first-print-out times of 15 seconds from the ‘Ready’ mode and 35 seconds from the ‘Sleep’ mode.
The OEM was also thoughtful while designing this device since it has a front-facing USB port. This means that you can walk up to the Brother HL-L8260CDW, plug in your flash drive, and start printing if you wish. In such a scenario, you’ll be using the provided control panel which consists of a 16-character, 2-line monochrome LCD display screen that looks like it was plucked out of an old-school calculator. It does its job, though, thanks to the good software behind it. The display screen is accompanied by a slew of buttons along with one orange light for error, and two green lights for data and Wi-Fi.
You’ll be able to use this control panel to do everything from changing set configurations and settings, monitoring the device’s usage, and even get multiple types of reports. While the construction is sturdy and the components sound in this device Brother HL-L8260CDW, you’ll still be glad to know that it comes with a 12-Month Return to Base guarantee.
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