Brother MFC-9320CW High Quality Digital Color All-in-One Printer with Wireless Networking

5 comments

1. 

   M. Erb on December 19, 2009 at 9:45 am

   Overall I’d have to say the MFC-9320 performs its role as a multi-function color laser printer pretty well with a few caveats that I will discuss. It is worth mentioning that duplex printing is not a feature of this printer. It performs most of its functions well and compared to other laser printers I have owned and usedi t is quicker to warm-up and get to printing than most of the others.

   Wireless is one of the reasons you might be attracted to this printer and wireless setup was fairly straightforward though it could prove to be a little tricky for someone who is not inclined in the techie direction. But unless you really need the wireless capability, it would probably be a better and more reliable choice to use the wired ethernet option.

   The included software is OK but certainly not the best. In particular the OCR capabilities are nearly worthless. I scanned several documents that were not particularly complex (not a lot of columns, graphics or intricate detail) and the resulting text that emerged was laced with typos, mis-placed characters and the columns completely broke down. It’s unfortunate that the OCR software is so poor since there are OCR packages that do work well out there. For me, the OCR capabilities of this machine are a throw-away.

   The document feeder worked well for me and I have not yet had any jams or miss-feeds.

   It is important to note that this model of printer does not have a duplex printing feature. If you need duplex, do not buy this printer since you will manually have to print the backside of your pages. To test this I printed a 100 page document using the technique of printing odd pages first, then taking the entire output, flipping it over and putting it back in the paper tray, then printing the “even” pages. I was really nervous about this because the “odd” pages were curled substantially after printing. Although I tried to bend them back into a relatively flat state before putting them back in the paper tray, they were still a bit curled. I was just waiting for the print job to get botched either due to a paper jam or having multiple pages pulled throuh at a time thus breaking the continuity of pages. Remarkably none of that happened and it printed perfectly. In fact, with over 1200 pages printed so far, I have not yet had a single paper jam during printing. I use Xerox Extra Bright Multipurpose Paper – 750 Sheets paper which is a 24lb paper with 96 brightness.

   Text printing quality is on par with color laser printers at this price point. Photo printing was adequate but not great. I have an Okidata c5500N Okidata C5500N 20/24PPM 120V Color Led Printer that prints photographs better, especially when printed using a glossy laser paper such as Hammermill Color Laser Gloss Hammermill Color Laser Gloss Paper, 94 Brightness, 32lb, Letter Size, 300 Sheets per Pack (16311-0). I’m not wanting to imply that it prints photographs as well as an ink-jet printer, but for use in newsletters and such, the quality is very good. The Brother MFC-9320CW did not quite have the quality of printing photographs as the Okidata printer did. During one photo printing session, I attempted to print a full-sized (8.5×11) photo and the Brother gave me a memory error and wouldn’t print it. I then made the print size smaller, and sent it to the printer again. I used the Hammermill Color Laser Gloss Paper I mentioned earlier and the resulting print was dark, murky and mostly featureless. Shockingly it was literally caked with toner… the toner was literally flaking off the paper. I was stunned. Printing small photos on plain paper was OK and that is really about all you can expect with color laser printing technology today. It will not rival the quality of ink-jet. I did find it helpful to print photos using the “vivid” setting in the print dialog and you may also need to tweak the color settings to meet your requirements.

   Recently I tried printing a 12 page pdf document and the printer would print 3 pages, pause for a length of time then print 3 more pages, pause and finally finished. I attributed this to memory issues and have since upgraded the memory in the printer. The printer allows you to install up to a single 512MB module. I purchased a 256MB memory SO-DIMM and placed it in the single slot available for user-upgradable memory. I did have a little problem though and I’m not sure if it was Brother’s problem or the memory module’s problem, but the memory would not simply snap in to the memory slot. Once I seated the memory, pushing it back to secure it required some manipulation. I tried this several times and the end result was always the same. So if you upgrade memory, be careful and be sure you don’t damage the memory module as you snap it into place. Again, this might have been the memory itself that was the problem… I have no way of knowing for sure.

   The faxing capabilities of the MFC-9320CW are full-featured and include sending, receiving, polling, broadcasting, delayed fax and the usual assortment of capabilities. Brother has been producing capable fax devices for decades and it is logical to conclude that the fax portion of their products would be capable, and they are.

   Scanning quality of both photos and documents was very good and the ability to scan directly to computer, although not novel, is great. You can also scan to USB flash memory devices since the MFC-9320CW includes a USB port for that purpose. The Brother Control Center software (For the Mac, it is version 2, for windows it is up to version 3) allows you to initiate scanning and copying directly from your desktop and designate where you would like copy to file items stored on your computer. It is interesting to note that when you scan to image, it is stored in a “hidden” “tmp” directory. Kind of awkward But to get around this, you can scan to file, that way you can specify where you want that file to be placed on your computer. This is configured in the Control Center “Configuration” drop-down menu.

   Setup of the printer was pretty easy although getting the gigantic box inside my house was not so easy. It is an enormous box and really required two people to safely bring it in. Once unpacked, the printer itself is a bit smaller than the box would lead you to believe, but still, it’s a good-sized printer and quite heavy at around 50 pounds. Installing the toner/drums was easy and well-documented in the quick-start guide.

   Overall, I’m relatively happy with the printer. It is fairly speedy.

   Brother technical support is excellent in my experience. I did find that I had to call them a couple times and I always got a knowledgeable, helpful technician.

   There has been a firmware update to this printer so if you do end up getting this printer, check your firmware version by simultaneously holding the “*” and “#” keys… the resulting screen will display your firmware version… it is the first letter, in my case “C” that indicates your firmware version. You can go to the Brother website to download the firmware installer.

   I wanted to give this 3.5 stars because the photo printing and memory issues detracted from what is otherwise a capable printer. But Amazon won’t let me rate it 3.5 so I must give it a 3 star rating because I do not believe it to be a 4-star product.

2. 

   alpha_grrl on December 19, 2009 at 12:21 pm

   It took me a few weeks to get the Brother MFC-9320CW to a point where I could actually use it and give it a review. My first problem was electrical. This big boy pulls some juice. I set it up and plugged it into the wall outlet where all my other computer equipment is plugged in through a UPS and when I rebooted my computer… uh oh… computer didn’t work (that was scary!). Unplugged the printer and started the computer again and it worked fine. Tried plugging the printer into another outlet but on the same circuit and everything worked but got a very bad hum in the computer speakers both in that room and the next. Finally ran a cord across the room to a plug on a different circuit and all is well. I am using the printer in a home office with 30 year old residential wiring. If you’re in the same situtation, you might have to do some rearranging to handle the load. My second issue was the installation. After using the recommended install procedure and software, any time the printer went into its power saving sleep it became disconnected from my compuer and couldn’t be reconnected without a reboot. Convenient, huh? I finally had to delete the printer and let Windows autodetect and reinstall it for it to perform properly. As far as print quality and performance, as a casual user I am completely happy. It’s very nice to have a machine with output that doesn’t smear when it gets wet! I do find the button interface to be less than intuitive. I am accustomed to devices that are “copy ready” as default and this device switches itself to fax mode as the function that is set to when ever idle. As I do not use it for faxing, it’s kind of annoying to have to poke several buttons to make a single copy of something. And if I did want to use it for faxing, I’d hate it. You cannot use the fax function on a shared single telephone line with voice calls and an answering machine and set to automatic. You can either get calls and use your answering machine and pick up faxes manually or get faxes automatically and take voice calls but no answering machine unless you have distinctive ring service from the phone utility. I know it is possible to do this, but HP devices seem to be the only ones that can do it. You might also care that this printer is a bit noisy when it’s not in sleep mode. The device has a rattly sort of hum that would probably be undetectable in a busy office environment, but in a quiet home, it’s fairly noticeable. It’s possible to set time before it goes to a fairly short span though, and then it is silent. So, after a few trials ‘ve got a very serviceable printer/scanner/copier and a not so useable fax machine.

3. 

   JOHN D on December 19, 2009 at 1:03 pm

   Let me start by saying that this is my first review of any product anywhere. I felt that I should write this because I always read user reviews before buying anything, and I find them very helpful. I must say that this printer is outstanding. I first contacted Brother support via e-mail to find out if this printer is compatible with Windows 7, both 32 bit and 64 bit, and also with Apple’s Snow Leopard 10.6.2. They responded within 24 hours and assured me that it was, with down-loadable drivers from the Brother Solutions Center download page. So I took the plunge and made the purchase.
   
   My printer was delivered by FedEx, a day late (as usual). I like UPS so much better, but am not faulting Amazon or Brother for this. I set up the printer as per the quick start guide and turned it on. So far so good. Here comes the best part. I called Brother’s technical support line to ask for assistance in downloading the driver’s and software package and installing it on my systems. An initial wait time of about fifteen minutes kinda sucked, but let me tell you, these techs at Brother are top notch. I had a Windows 7 tech walk me through the install on the 64 bit system, then the 32 bit system, without a hitch at all. They then transferred my call to an Apple expert who did the same for me. I was up and running within the hour! Wirelessly and all! Amazing!
   
   Then I got to play with it for a while. I wasted some paper trying out the scan, copy, and print features, but it was worth it. Fax works great also. The printer is compact but heavy! I set it all up by myself, but a second set of hands would help. The printer is relatively quiet for a laser. Black is BLACK! Color is beautiful and vibrant, and best of all it works perfectly on all my systems, PC and Mac!
   
   I have to say that the Brother support techs were so very good. They all spoke clear English and were easy to understand. They were all very knowledgeable about the machine and the various OS I had. Thumbs up all the way.
   
   I had considered a Samsung CLX-3175FW wireless color laser, but the limited Mac support pushed me away. I called their customer service line to ask the compatibility issue and was told “I’m pretty sure it works with the Mac.” Pretty sure?? No thanks! This printer replaced a Dell 968 wireless All In One. This printer would not play nice with the Mac or with 64 bit Windows 7. Dell’s tech support is the worst. Long waits and unrecognizable dialects. This MFC-9320CW was THE answer! Hands down!
   

4. 

   Susan on December 19, 2009 at 3:43 pm

   I titled this Big Brother because of the size and weight of this printer. Before I could even set it up I had to order a print stand from Amazon because none of my furniture would hold 50+ pounds. When I received the printer I was astounded at the size of the box thinking to myself this is one big printer. But after opening the box I saw that the printer was suspended in Styrofoam. Installing the cartridges was easy. Take them carefully out of the packing, open the lid, slide them into the matching slots and close the lid. The starter cartridges (there are 4) are rated for 1,000 pages, so the total cost of ownership will be lower than with a low-priced inkjet printer. My first setup was for a desktop that was close by so I set it up via USB cable. The manual that comes with the printer is very clear so the setup was straightforward. My next setup was going to be wireless because of the distance of the other computer. Again, the manual is very clear on how to set up a wireless network so again, this was basically a straightforward setup. Now I have to say, that when you’re typing in the encryption key on the printer there is a lot of letter/number pushing. Whatever number you’re pushing it goes through the lower case letters, the uppercase letters and then the number, so pay attention. As you can probably tell, I missed a few numbers and had to press the keys many times. Once all that was done and it was okayed, ‘connected’ showed up on the LCD screen and I was good to go. The software install is pretty straightforward. Matter of fact, a lot easier then some of the other printers I have played with.

   My first trial print was a simple text document. The print quality was very good, as you would expect. My second test was a 3 page PDF file that included graphics, text, and colored background. This is where the Big Brother shined. Without doing any color calculations to Big Brother I thought the color was rich and the text distinct. The printout was a little darker than on the LCD monitor, but very satisfactory. Because this PDF was a multipage printout and I wanted to save paper, the duplexing was missed, but the window that comes up if you choose duplexing is very straightforward. For my needs this would be a convenience but not a necessity. I also tried the same PDF wirelessly. Normally print speeds across a wireless network often are slower compared to a direct connection, but I didn’t run into that problem with Big Brother. The third test was using the manual feed with 2-sided matte photo paper. I was going to try to print a greeting card, the card being 4 sides. I set the printer to the thickest paper setting, inserted the paper and sent the image to Big Brother. Even opening the rear door so the paper would not have to make that bend, it still came out curved. Trying to put the paper back thru the manual feed, a warning came up on the LCD that there was a paper jam. The paper never made it into the roller, but the message was there anyway. It tells you to remove the toners, and clear the paper, but if the paper didn’t make it in, then just lift the lid, then close it and you are good to go. I’m beginning to think that the manual feed is a one side only. No turning the paper over to send it thru again, because of the curling. I guess I will save my greeting card printing for the Canon MX-860. This is one of the cons of this printer, it curls the paper no matter what end it comes out. A review online states that laser paper may cure the curling.

   Now to using the software. The scanning via the control center is a very convenient way to scan with many options. I scanned a page filled with text, graphics and colored background. It scanned it quickly, putting it in a e-mail as a attachment, or putting the paper in a file, or as a image for editing in MS Paint and last but not least as a text only using OCR. Clicking on custom scan in the Control Center gives you many formats to choose from on how you want the document scanned. Like how you want to scan to image, scan to e-mail, scan to OCR, and scan to file. Plus you can name each tab to make life easy.
   
   Of course you can also access some of the scan options thru the LCD on the printer, but the computer would have to be on and using the Control Center is a lot less nosier with a lot more options.

   Then there is copying thru the Control Center. You have the option of setting copy ratio; resolution; scan type; and document size on 4 separate tabs that you can name. As far as stand alone copying, the Control Center options are not available. There is an option button on the printer that gives you brightness, contrast and page layout(2in1P&I,4in1P&I and 1in1, an enlarge/reduce button, and a quality button that gives you auto, photo, and text.

   As far as faxing goes, this is something I don’t do. Using the Control Center I can scan the document and send it to e-mail.

   Last but not least, I had to try out the direct print. I inserted a USB flash drive with many files on it. After scanning thru the drive I finally found the 3 page PDF I wanted to print. There are a lot of options to go thru in order to set up the print job. Unfortunately one isn’t duplexing, so it printed out 3 sheets. I guess this could be a convenience if the computer was off?

   I had wondered about making this my default printer? After checking the cost of the toners on Amazon and seeing the amount of printouts and with a max duty cycle of 25,000 pages monthly I believe I will.

5. 

   Barb Nicolson on December 19, 2009 at 4:08 pm

   This is definitely a great printer for the small office. It performs most of the functions extremely well and is acceptable at the others as follows:

   Pros:

   * Paper feeder and scanning to memory are very fast for faxes and copies – much faster than an inkjet unit.
   
   * Black and white capabilities are excellent.
   
   * Status reports are available for all consumables, not just the four toner cartridges.
   
   * Several parts are replaceable making it possible to repair rather than replace the printer. That’s good for the environment.
   
   * Wireless setup is easy to follow — you don’t have to be a techie.
   
   * Color graphics are very good.
   
   * For all it does, the footprint is relatively small.
   
   * The unit’s price is quite reasonable.

   Cons:
   
   * The two-line monochrome read-out is simply alpha-numeric with no pictures. Scrolling through a menu is tedious.
   
   * The USB input is limited to PDFs and simple text documents; i.e., not Word documents.
   
   * Photos are best left to a photo printer since there is some banding and colors are not true — to be expected in an all-in-one.
   
   * Color saturation in copies is decreased.

   In my opinion, you can’t beat a laser printer for reproducing black and white text. Add that to the speed of this printer and it’s a great value and highly recommended.