Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(33 customer reviews) 40 of 40 people found the following review helpful
HP watch out, here comes Big Brother.....,
April 4, 2002 Marc W White mwceov@yahoo.com (Nashville Tn.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Brother MFC-8500 Laser Multifunction Center (Office Product)
The truth is that a "really good fax" will separate you from about a thousand of your beloved George Washingtons; they don't sell them at places where most of us shop. For the average SOHO buyer the options in Laser multi functions are limited at best. This is my fifth printer and second multi function through the years, my first Brother product. I am a retired Network Engineer and I have personally laid hands on some of HPs biggest and badest printers, lets just say I have been around the block.I bought the MFC 4800 and a Panasonic and returned both within three weeks because of misfeeds; so far the 8500 has not skipped a beat yet. Is it fast? Yes, very fast and the print quality is as good as it gets. Notable differences from the 4800; prints faster, scans faster, copies more clearly, has a larger capacity sheet feeder, has one touch faxing, is network capable, holds more paper, can add another 250 sheet paper tray, has a larger LCD, and ships with a full toner instead of a...Read more
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Fast, quiet, great price!,
November 6, 2001 George P. Hatzigiannis DMD, MD - See all my reviews
This review is from: Brother MFC-8500 Laser Multifunction Center (Office Product)
I have owned this printer about 2 months now, and could not be happier. It is silent when not in operation, warm-up is only 2-3 seconds, and a single sheet pops out in seconds. Have done print jobs as large as 300 pages or so, and the printer really does crank them at 10-12 pages/minute. Print quality is excellent. Mac OS 10.1 works great with the printer; kudos to Brother for staying up-to-date. Don't know about long-term durability, but seems solid enough. The Fax works fine. Can't go wrong at this price.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Oh Brother! Lousy software and UI!,
August 29, 2002 Paul From Boulder "pfb" (Boulder, Colorado) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Brother MFC-8500 Laser Multifunction Center (Office Product)
I really hesitated before purchasing this Multifunction, as I had a low-end Brother fax years ago and wasn't thrilled with it. Alas I wanted a laser based multi-function, and at anywhere near the ($$$) price point, Brother's currently the only game in town.While the mechanics and electronics of the unit seem reasonable, the print speed fast, and the unit very quiet when not in use, the software and documentation just flat-out stinks... The installation process was buggy, and even when finally installed, the "tools" they give you to scan, print, fax, copy and manage the printer from your PC (as opposed the printers front panel) are primitive, lacking any help screens, buggy, slow, and do not play well with other PC applications. Brother, develop some real specifications for what this software needs to do as well as looking at how other vendors create a polished user interface, then hire (or outsource) a good development team to complete these tasks!Till then... the 8500 get's...Read more