Product Reviews

This ordinary-looking, squarish box has been a popular choice in the past, but newer models have taken away the Brother HL-1240's edge. One thing we definitely don't like is the noise of its fan, which accompanies every printout. The fan is so strong, you can feel the breeze coming out of the left-hand side of the printer. You won't want this machine beside you on the desk.

Ease of use

Brother is nothing if not helpful. You get a setup poster, excellent instructional videos on the CD for all printer

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operations, and some good drivers. Not so helpful is the fact that when using the rear output tray (for printing on thick card, say), your printouts fall out on the desk or the floor.

Print quality

If not exactly knocked out by it, you'll be generally pleased with output from the HL-1240. Grey shades are consistent and free of mottling, but on close inspection text was spidery in places. Unusually, you can drop the print resolution down to 150dpi if you want, though we wouldn't recommend it for important work.

Performance

At one time, this was probably the fastest printer under £300. It's not any more, although it remains one of the nippiest just the same. It'll output practically every job you send it within 30 seconds.

Overall

We have no serious problem with the Brother's usability, speed or print quality. But we can't ignore the noise: it's bad enough having a noisy printer in a big office, without having one whirring away right by your ear and blowing a gale. This is inexcusable these days, hence our marking down of what was once a Top 50 product.