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Rating: 
Summary: This machine is perfect for small offices
Review: For our small office of 6 people, we have been looking for an office machine that is easy to operate, reliable, and cost-effective. The four contenders are HP 3330 MFP, Canon D680 imageClass, Brother MFC 9700, Brother MFC 8820D. They are all 4-in-1/5-in-1 machines(Fax, Laser printer, Scanner, Copier, Data/Fax modem) priced below US$800. Brother MFC 9700 is cheaper but comes with a 14.4k modem and only 8MB memory and a smaller flatbed; as the result it faxes and prints slower than MFC 8820D. The remaining three candidates all have excellent "pedigrees" and are well designed and built. However Brother MFC 8820D won at the end for the following outstanding reasons:1. The 'D' in 8820D stands for Automatic duplex copying and printing: It prints on both sides of papers seamlessly and effortlessly. It is not necessary to remove the paper tray manually (a really tedious process in other machines). Duplex "fax receive" saves 30% to 50% in papers by printing faxes on both sides automatically. Now one can have some break from the cost of receiving junk faxes. This feature can be disabled if one-sides printing is desired. 2. 32MB memory: This is more than enough for holding a lot of copies and faxes. Very good for large unattended jobs. The best part about this is again about cost. No immediate need to spend more money for upgrading the memory as is required for Canon D680 (measly 2 MB). 3. PC fax software for computer data/fax needs. 4. Expandability for network interface. 5. Digital paper count to indicate the no. of copies made and faxes received: good for cost management and safe guard against potential abuse of the machine by employees for personal uses. 6. Excellent ADF (automatic document feeder): we have not had any paper jam so far. 7. Very easy to program and operate: simple to use for beginners and sophisticated features for users who demand more advanced functions. 8. Last but not the least is the cheaper cost for its toner on a per page basis. There are only two minor drawbacks for us: 1. MFC 8820D's ADF/scanner does not scan a page from edge to edge. However this is true of all machines in this price range. Canon D680 omits the least at both margins. HP 3330 is the worst. 2. Large footprint. We had to relocate it to a different room in the office where there is enough space instead of putting it at a more convenient place where there is easier access. Nevertheless it's not too bad considering that it replaces 4 separate machines all at once. Besides it forces us to walk down the hallway and get some exercies!! ;--]
Rating: 
Summary: Great MF machine; Lousy tech support from Brother
Review: I bought this Brother MFC-8820D multi-function (MF) machine from Dell for $511.95. It seems to run great. The real story is in the hideous tech support from Brother. The printer did not ship with a the OCR software CD for Win2K. There was only a Mac CD. I called Brother and they told me that I would have to buy the OCR software from ScanSoft, even though it was supposed to be included in with the MFC-8820D unit. I told them that that was crazy and I asked them to send me the CD. Then the printer support person told me to send the MFC-8820D back to Dell and ask them them to ship a new unit. It can't be very efficient to ship printers around the country when you really just need a CD! I guess Brother doesn't mind spending Dell's money. I called Dell. At first they didn't give me a final answer about resolving the problem. Then to my surprise, Dell told me today that they shipped me a new printer. I can't believe that in order to get a replacement CD that Dell should have to ship a new system. Laurel to Dell, a Big Dart to Brother and extra work for me to send back the first printer.
Rating:
Summary: Brother MFC-8820D
Review: I bought this unit last January. It was easy enough to hook up on my old Toshiba 4010CDT P2 266mgh laptop. Basically, the unit is fantastic EXCEPT for the scanner which still doesn't work properly. I must say that Brother support is not fantastic. I had several sorties with no postive outcome. I even offered to take both units to them even though I have bought an on site warranty. The support guy thinks my Windows 98 o/s is corrupted and suggested I format C and rebuild. This I do not believe as I have a friend who has exactly the same laptop as me and he had his rebuilt just a couple of weeks before. I borrowed his laptop and the scanning software perfomed very poorly. It was extraordinarily slow and cumbersome. My old HP5200 was fantastic as a scanner so I new what to expect. The real test will be when I buy a new laptop soon. If the scanner doesn't work I will take them to task.
Rating:
Summary: Brother MFC-8820D
Review: I bought this unit last January. It was easy enough to hook up on my old Toshiba 4010CDT P2 266mgh laptop. Basically, the unit is fantastic EXCEPT for the scanner which still doesn't work properly. I must say that Brother support is not fantastic. I had several sorties with no postive outcome. I even offered to take both units to them even though I have bought an on site warranty. The support guy thinks my Windows 98 o/s is corrupted and suggested I format C and rebuild. This I do not believe as I have a friend who has exactly the same laptop as me and he had his rebuilt just a couple of weeks before. I borrowed his laptop and the scanning software perfomed very poorly. It was extraordinarily slow and cumbersome. My old HP5200 was fantastic as a scanner so I new what to expect. The real test will be when I buy a new laptop soon. If the scanner doesn't work I will take them to task.
Rating:
Summary: Best value on the market
Review: I spent several full days researching what laser printer to buy. Printers, multifunctions, copier/printers, etc., I looked at them all. This is the best deal on the market. The printing, scanning, faxing and copying are all easy and flawless. The software is even adequate (not great, but fully-functional and easy to use). Although the printer does use a lot of electricity when it kicks on, it isn't that noticable other than a very, very slight and momentary dimming of the lights. I looked at the HP and the Canon and this is better. The toner is cheaper, there are more features and it is of better quality. It even feels more solid than the other brands of laser multifunctions. I've had the product for about a week and I'm thrilled with it. It is MUCH better than my Canon inkjet MultiPass F80 and little HP laser printer. I didn't think I would write one of these reviews about a printer, but this one is that good.
Rating:
Summary: Great device as long as you don't need support from Brother
Review: This device is perfect for our needs for copying and printing. The laser quality is terrific and it prints much faster than similar ink jet models. The printer connected to the home network right away and both our Windows and OS X computers were able to print. The browser-based printer configuration over the network is really nice. The paper feed on the top never jams or rotates the page. This multifunction device is a great value. I wish that I could comment on the scanner abilities except that neighter the Windows or OS X TWAIN drivers work. I've submitted a request for help twice over the past two weeks from Brother's online support page and have not received a response. It sounds like other people have very limited success with Brother's phone support. I have doubts that this company is willing to resolve issues that people have with their products. Be prepared to return the device if all functions don't completely work right out of the box.
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