Add a Wi-Fi laser printer to your office for $99.99 shipped
(Credit: Newegg)As I've mentioned in the past, wireless printers rock. No, they rawk. For the last couple months I've been beaming documents through the Wi-Fi ether to a Brother HL-2170W, and let me tell you: I'm through with USB. It's just so liberating to stick a printer wherever the heck you want instead of having it tethered to your desk.
The HL-2170W lists for $150 and sells on the e-street for around $130, but you can snag one from Newegg for $99.99 shipped. CNET rated the printer 7.3 out of 10, but three users gave it an average score of 9 (I'm one of them).
Designed for homes and small offices, the HL-2170W offers Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, a rated print speed of 23 pages per minute, and an extremely small footprint. When I click print, it starts churning out pages in a matter of seconds. The paper tray holds 250 sheets (letter-size only; Newegg's product description mistakenly says it handles legal, too), and there's a bypass slot for feeding all kinds of other paper (including envelopes).
Note that the included toner cartridge is good for about 1,000 pages; a high-yield replacement cartridge (2,600 pages) will run you around $45.
If you're in the market for a new small-office laser, give this Brother a look. It's quick, compact, and gloriously wireless.
A technology writer for more than 15 years, Rick Broida is a regular contributor to CNET and the author of more than a dozen books, including How to Do Everything with Your Palm Powered Handheld. He writes The Cheapskate for the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
What I wanted to comment on in this article is that the printer does handle legal size paper, and A4. To be honest, I haven't tried it yet, but as a matter of fact the paper tray size adjusts to legal/A4, and the manufacturer's spec backs that up. Probably not an issue for post people, just an FYI.
As per the 8/21 follow-up to this article, I bought one of these laser printers. Pretty wild, a laser with WLAN for $80, even if it is monochrome?! I remember when networked monochrome lasers were closer to $1000 than $100.... The only thing really missing is duplex printing, but for the price one can't complain. Thanks for the tip, Mr. Broida!
What I wanted to comment on in this article is that the printer does handle legal size paper, and A4. To be honest, I haven't tried it yet, but as a matter of fact the paper tray size adjusts to legal/A4, and the manufacturer's spec backs that up. Probably not an issue for post people, just an FYI.
http://www.brother-usa.com/Printer/modeldetail.aspx?PRODUCTID=hl2170W&tab=spec