Brother HL-1440 Laser Printer

Rating:
Summary: Great in the beginning. Short life span.
Review: I actually own the Brother HL-1240, which is the previous model. The HL-1240 and HL-1440 are nearly identical, except the newer model prints at a higher resolution and has slightly more memory.

My Brother laser printer was great in the beginning, but after a while I started to experience the grey background problem others have mentioned here. For a long time, the grey background problem was very slight and easy to fix by removing the toner cartridge and shaking it from side-to-side. After about 2-1/2 to 3 years, however, the grey background problem became unbearable. Finally, about six months ago I replaced the toner cartridge as the instructions advised. That solved the problem for a few months, but now the grey background problem has returned. I am now considering replacing my Brother laser printer with a non-Brother model. I am currently leaning toward the HP LaserJet 1012, which is sold by Amazon.com.

Other than the grey background problem, I have loved this printer. Paper jams are an occasional problem when using the manual feed slot, but that problem is solved by giving the paper a little push right when the printer begins to print. The text output is sharp, and very professional-looking. Before the grey background problem appeared, I would have given this printer 4 or 5 stars.