Brother HL-5240

alaTest has collected and analyzed 230 reviews from magazines and websites. Reviewers are impressed by the build quality and print quality. The paper handling and usability are also appreciated. Some have doubts about the connectivity and size, and there are some mixed reviews about the reliability.

performance, usability, paper handling, print quality, build quality

size, connectivity

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Printers the Brother HL-5240 is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 76/100 = Good quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 230 reviews)

Expert Reviews  

User Reviews  

Review Ratings

  (51% of reviews)
Show all 5 star reviews   (32% of reviews)
Show all 4 star reviews   (7% of reviews)
Show all 3 star reviews   (2% of reviews)
Show all 2 star reviews   (9% of reviews)
Show all 1 star reviews

Features

Performance
  Show positive (90%)Show negative (10%)(Show all)
Usability
  Show positive (67%)Show negative (12%)(Show all)
Paper handling
  Show positive (31%)Show negative (19%)(Show all)
Print quality
  Show positive (59%)Show negative (6%)(Show all)
Size
  Show positive (19%)Show negative (50%)(Show all)
Build quality
  Show positive (80%)None yet(Show all)
Value for money
  Show positive (45%)Show negative (18%)(Show all)
Connectivity
  None yetShow negative (25%)(Show all)
Reliability
  Show positive (13%)Show negative (13%)(Show all)
Noise
  Show positive (30%)None yet(Show all)
More features

Showing 169 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews
Showing 1 - 10 of 169 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (65)

Consumer review by:

Okay for 6 months then falls apart

 

I had an HP 4050 for nearly 9 years then got this because I didn't need anything that robust. After 6 months of light to medium office work the print is streaking (text) and I can no longer print from the tray. (The printer doesn't recognize that it is...

okay out of the box, but none 6 months later

Definitely not intended for office use

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Consumer review by:

Fast, quiet, dependable printer

 

High-quality printer that's fast and quiet. Have owned and used heavily for two years, and it's still delivering great output. Inexpensive -- toner cartridges are even affordable

None to speak of

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Consumer review by:

Reliable printer good all-round product

 

Have been using Fuji-Xerox printers for quite some time, however after supplying a number of these printers for some time now I have found them to be more reliable and the paper tray seems to be better built.

Clean looking unit that is easy to setup and is well built when compared to similar products

Being one of the base model printers it has limited features. Please check your requirements before making a decision

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Consumer review by:

2+ years and going strong

 

For $175 I didn't think I would get such a dependable machine. It's seen me through the drafting of a 60 page master's thesis, and now I'm using it for my small business

It doesn't do envelopes or anything fancy. There's no digital display to tell you if anything is wrong. It's cheap, it's dependable, and really have no complaints -- I didn't need a fancy machine, just a laser printer

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Consumer review by:

You can do better

 

I've owned Brother printers in the past. I bought this as an upgrade. Unfortunately it creases paper randomly and regularly. I can't use it for anything but personal printing (where I can overlook the creases) unless I print multiple pages and use the...

Somewhat fast

Creases paper

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Consumer review by:

Okay for 6 months then falls apart

 

I had an HP 4050 for nearly 9 years then got this because I didn't need anything that robust. After 6 months of light to medium office work the print is streaking (text) and I can no longer print from the tray. (The printer doesn't recognize that it...

okay out of the box, but none 6 months later

Definitely not intended for office use

Read the full review

Consumer review by:

Great printer for the price. Highly recommend

 

From opening the box to my first print took only about 10 minutes (Windows XP SP2). Output is decent and fast at 1200 dpi for photos. It was on-sale at Office Max for $109, so for the price it can't be beat. It is also relatively quite and not very...

Fast installation setup; Good and quick printing

Pages of cheap paper may curl

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Consumer review by:

pretty good but needs additional memory for photoshop

 

I bought this to image polyester printing plates because it said it printed 1200x1200. It will not print any image out of PhotoShop at 1200x 1200 without an additional memory card. Buy the HL-5250 instead-it is network ready and has double the...

fast, 2 paper trays

will not print 1200x1200 without additional memory

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Consumer review by:

Nice Printer; Great Price

 

Nice Unit; I use it all the time. Very fast, purchased for work. I will likely purchase another for home I am so satisified with this printer.

Nice construction; good quality printing

Occassionaly creases envelopes

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Consumer review by:

Amazon review summary for the Brother HL-5240

 

alaTest has collected and analyzed 89 user reviews of the Brother HL-5240 from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 4.0/5, compared to an average user rating of 3.5/5 for other products on Amazon.com.

value for money, performance, usability, print quality, size

72% of reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

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Product Specifications

Built for reliable day-in and day-out laser printing, the HL-5240 is a printing workhorse. With an extensive list of standard features, this printer is ideal for both office and graphics applications. With an expandable paper input capacity, including a fold-down multi-purpose tray for envelopes and letterhead, the HL-5240 is an outstanding choice for desktop business laser printing.

Consumable

Consumable Type:Drum kit

Copying

Automatic Duplexing: None
First Copy Out Time B/W:21sec
First Copy Out Time Color:23sec
Max Copying Resolution B/W:1200 x 600 dpi
Max Copying Resolution Color:1200 x 600 dpi
Max Copying Speed B/W:16ppm
Max Copying Speed Color:16ppm

Dimensions & Weight

Depth:15.1in/19.2in
Height:19in/9.7in
Weight:20.9lbs/72.3lbs
Width:14.6in/17in

Document & Media Handling

Max Copy Size:8.5 in x 16 in
Standard Media Capacity:300sheets

General

Consumable Subcategory:Maintenance supplies and parts
Printer Consumable Class:Consumables and kits
Technology:Laser/LED

Header

Compatibility:Mac / PC/PC
Country Kits:Germany/Ireland / United Kingdom/Switzerland
Manufacturer:Brother
Model:3100/5240/9040CN
Packaged Quantity:1
Product Line:Brother DCP/Brother DR/Brother HL

Memory

Max Supported Memory:576MB
Standard Memory:64MB

Miscellaneous

Category of Accessory:Printing consumables
Microsoft Certification:Certified for Windows Vista/Compatible with Windows 7
Refurbished:Refurbished
Vista Certification:Certified for Windows Vista/Works with Windows Vista

Modem

Type: None

Networking

Type: None

Office Machine

Copier Type:Digital
Functions:Copier / Printer / Scanner
Printing Output Type:Color
Printing Technology:Laser
Type:Printer / copier / scanner

PC Connectivity

PC Connection:Ethernet 10 Base-T/100 Base-TX / Hi-Speed USB
PC Connection Availability: Yes

Printer

Connectivity Technology:Wired
Interface:Parallel / USB
Language Simulation:EPSON FX / IBM ProPrinter / PCL 6 / PostScript 3
Max H-Resolution B/W:1200dpi
Max Media Size (Standard):A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in) / Legal (8.5 in x 14 in)
Max Printing Speed (ppm):28ppm
Max V-Resolution B/W:1200dpi
Media Type:Bond paper / Envelopes / Labels / Plain paper / Recycled paper / Transparencies
Monthly Duty Cycle Range (Printer Class):20,000 - 49,999 pages
Output Type:Monochrome
PostScript Support:Standard
Technology:Laser
Total Media Capacity:300sheets
Type:Workgroup printer

Printing

Max Printing Speed B/W:20ppm
Max Printing Speed B/W (ppm):20ppm
Max Printing Speed Color:20ppm
Max Printing Speed Color (ppm):20ppm
Max Resolution B/W:2400 x 600 dpi
Max Resolution Color:2400 x 600 dpi

RAM

Installed Size:16MB
Max Supported Size:528MB

Scanner

Type: None

Service & Support

Type:3 years warranty

System Requirements

OS Required:Apple MacOS 9.1 / Apple MacOS X 10.2.4 or later / Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional / Microsoft Windows 95/98 / Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition / Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition / Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 / Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition / Microsoft Windows XP Professional / Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
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