Brother HL-2240D reviews
Brother HL-2240 is the low end model of the Brother printer series whose last generation included the Editors' Choice HL-2170W ($150 street, 4 stars) that I reviewed about two years ago and is still available at this writing. Other printers in the series add duplexing, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi, but the HL-2240 sticks to the basics. There's no duplexer available, even as an option, and it connects only by USB cable, which is what makes it a decidedly personal printer. Very much on the plus side, staying with the basics helps keep the price down, and there's certainly no point in paying for features you don't need.
Also helping to make the Brother HL-2240 a good fit as a personal printer is the small size. At 7.2 by 14.5 by 14.2 inches (HWD) you should have no problem finding space for it, and at 14.8 pounds, it's easy for one person to move as needed. Setup is standard fare.
Speed and Output QualityBrother rates the HL-2240 at 24 pages per minute (ppm). More important, the printer easily lives up to the promise of its rating. I tested it on a Windows Vista system, and timed it at a total of 6 minutes 31 seconds on our business applications suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing). That's a noticeable improvement on the HL-2170W, which took 7:30, and essentially tied with, or just a touch faster than, the more expensive Editors' Choice Brother HL-5340D ($200 street, 4.5 stars), at 6:47.
The printer also scored reasonably well on output quality. Text quality was just a touch below par for mono lasers, making it a poor choice for desktop publishing, but still easily good enough for almost any business use, unless you have an unusual need for small fonts.
Graphics and photos were both at the low end of the very tight ranges where most mono lasers fall. The graphics were good enough for any internal use. Depending on how demanding you are, you might consider them good enough for PowerPoint handouts and the like as well. Photo quality was good enough to print recognizable photos from Web pages or use the printer for client newsletters, which is about as much as you can hope for from a mono laser.
Finally, the printer also offers more than acceptable paper handling for personal use, with a 250-sheet paper tray and a one-page manual feed slot, so you don't have to change the paper in the tray just to print a couple of sheets using a different paper stock. All told, the HL-2240 is a fast, highly capable, mono laser with more than acceptable output quality and paper handling, all shoehorned into in compact package that's small enough to share a desk with. Add in the low price, and it's an easy pick as Editors' Choice for personal monochrome laser.
Brother HL-2240D Drivers for Windows 8 details
Drivers Windows 8 (32-bit)Full Driver & Software Package 29.09MB Download
Drivers Windows 8 (64-bit)
Full Driver Download
Utilities Windows 8 (32-bit) Download
Drivers (For Advanced users)
Windows 8 (32-bit) (HL-2220, HL-2230, HL-2240, HL-2240D) Download
Firmware Windows 8 (32-bit) Download