Home > Consumer Reviews > Brother MFC-8860DN Flatbed Laser All-in-One Printer with Duplex

I bought the 8860DN a couple weeks ago to replace my aging HP 3330. While I'm quite happy with much of the 8860DN, there are a few things that could use improvement. Some of these can be addressed in software, others I fear are hardware issues.

BTW, I'm on my second machine because I thought some of the issues with the first warranted a replacement. Now I know its a "common" issue.

1) The print engine creaks and makes popping sounds as the fuser heats and cools. Even the demo machine in Office Depot does the same thing. The creaking is really annoying if you sit near the machine. A Brother senior tech rep tells me this issue is common to many Brother lasers. Well, gimme a break because HP and others don't creak! **UPDATE** Brother Corporate office tells me the popping sounds are considered "normal" by the engineers and at this time they have no plans to fix. Pathetic if you ask me. I think most users will agree!!!

2) The scanner ADF head will sometimes make odd sounds when its scanning the last page of a multi-page scan. It sounds as if the motor or gears need lubrication.

3) I've had the COPY function lockup on me a couple times (other fucntions continue to work) and the only way to correct is to power cycle. Cause is unknown but the clowns at Brother support tell me to keep power cycling the resolve the problem. IDIOTS!

4) The IFAX feature is not very well explained and is somewhat odd in the way it works (or tries to work). I've yet to really figure it out. As an alternative I use the FAX FORWARD TO EMAIL function which works well.

5) A PC software bug: When scanning multiple pages its impossible to multitask since the scanner interface takes the focus away from whatever you are doing everytime it begins scanning a new page. Brother apparently knows about this issue and will correct in the next software version.

Other than the above isues, I'm fairly satisfied in the short time I've been using this MFC. If I may comment in response to one of the previous reviews, the beep sound is adjustable and I believe if the user took the time to read the manual, he'd be quite happy with the level of customization available on this machine (I rarely hear of people complaining about too many features). Oh, and yes as stoneaged as it sounds, some people still do occasionally receive faxes.

As far as I'm concerned, the print speed is excellent. Even complex pages print quickly with nearly no delay between pages. A huge improvment over my old HP. Also, I find the scan speed on non complex scans to be excellent. Complex and high res scans are somewhat slower, but they are with many scanners (and certainly about every multifucntion I've run across). Print duplexing is another very nice touch and I'm surprised it works as well as it does. The 8860DN gets the job done and it does them well overall.

Things about the 8860DN I prefer over the new HP 3390 I compared it to.

1) 8860 has a legal size scan plate
2) 8860 will fax forward to email
3) 8860 is $150 less with approx. the same cost per page in consumables.
4) 8860 does duplex scan, copy

After reading reviews here I hesitated but happened to see the same machine (but without duplex capability) at a work site and that clinched it for me.

This machine is FAST. Setup is easy (I used the network connection) and the software is vastly improved over the last Brother laser I had (an HL-1270N).

The ticking noises other reviews mention is very slight and lasts just a few seconds while it heats up. Previous lasers I've had would typically whir loudly during this warm-up time - not this one. I sit next to the printer and it's really nothing. I think people have noticed it because it occurs in silence without other whiring sounds. The noise of the paper pick up (which is typical of any laser printer) is louder than the ticking (heating) sounds and the ticking stops before the first page comes out (so it lasts mere seconds). 5 seconds ticking, 5 seconds whiring and printing, page comes out. Followed by maybe 20-30 very small ticks over the next few minutes as it cools down. In comparison, my QMS color laser whirs loudly for about 15 minutes after printing a page.

What I didn't appreciate before ordering is that even the scanner has duplexing capability - fantastic! Double sided faxes and scans are simple.

Scanning works well both from the printer and when controlled from the PC. From the printer it shows the list of the available networked PC names to scan to - very nice. Pick your machine, press start, job done.

The only slight quirk I've noticed so far is that when sending double sided faxes the reverse sides are transmitted upside down. Maybe there's a setting for this somewhere. I haven't needed to read the manual AT ALL so far.

I haven't seen any sign of flickering room lights or other concerns from the power draw during heat-up. Installation couldn't have been simpler. Machine is not too heavy and is easily picked up and moved by one person.

OCR software works very well - again an improvement on the past.

Verdict (after owning a few days): Don't hesistate to buy - so far very very happy. Vast improvement over previous MFC's and lasers I've owned.

Having had bad experiences with multi-function machines in the past, I over-researched this purchase. To begin with, this machine's specs are top notch for the money. You simply cannot get this much bang for your buck from any other company. Taking the machine out of the box and setting it up was remarkably easy. I actually thought I was forgeting something. The software installed cleanly and is user-friendly. I should mention, however, that I have not gone through the fax machine setup (not using for that purpose at the present time). Also, the machine does not come with a USB cable, which is, unfortunately, fairly standard with printers today.

Prints and copies at 30 ppm in 600 dpi. I have tested this and it appears fairly close to true (maybe a little slower, like 28 ppm). It produces nice, crisp clear letters in both print and copy modes. The 50 page ADF is made from a reasonably sturdy plastic. At least it doesn't feel like it is going to come loose or break off, and I have not had any paper jams (as of yet) in the ADF or standard, 250 count paper tray.

The scan function has worked well. Two very nice features this model provides are scan to pdf file and scan to OCR. The scan to pdf file is a rare option in a desktop multi-function machine at this price. It works well, although I am still playing around with the settings in an effort to find the best scan quality at a decent file size. I think the pdf file sizes I have been getting are too large (around 700KB - 1MB for a 1 to 2 page pdf). Surely this can be corrected by changing some settings. The scan to OCR also works remarkably well. I can remember 5 years ago attempting to use scan to OCR on another machine and being very disappointed. Things have improved greatly.

The cost of the toner cartridges on this model are reasonable. A high yield 7000 page cartridge for around $80 - $90 works out to a cost per page of 1.14 - 1.28 cents per page of toner, which is quite good.

Can't comment on the fax functions b/c I am not using it for that purpose.

Overall, a very nice machine with impressive features at this price. Hopefully it holds up.

Great Printer with lots of neat features. HOWEVER, the printer uses 1024 WATTS or 9.1 Amps when it powers up to print a page or make a copy. This has caused me alot of problems.

I installed the printer at home in my study. I have two desktop computers, modem, router, HP P1100 color printer,Canon PC 720 Copier, desk lamps, etc. The electrical circuit for the study is a 15 AMP circuit. Everytime the printer powers up, I take a "power hit". Fortunately, I have a UPS for each computer and the UPS units kick in to keep the systems from completely shutting down.

I'm going to have to install a new electrical outlet and run the wire to another circuit in order to keep the printer.

Before you buy, you may want to add up the WATTS of all of the equipment you have on that circuit. A 15 Amp circuit has max of 1800 WATTS; A 20 Amp circuit has max of 2400 WATTS. The 8860DN will use 1024 of the WATTS on that circuit.

Here's the link to brother's web Site that will show the power consumption.

http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/mfc_detail.aspx?AREA=MFC_1&PRODUCTID=MFC8860DN

i am usually a hp and epson man, but after reading reviews i decided to give this bother all-in-one a chance. let me add that i recently made the switch from pc to mac, and not many printer companies support all features on the mac side of things. well, let me tell you how satisfied and positively surprised i have been with this printer. just follow the instructions during setup and the printer and software will do everything you would expect them to do.... no fiddling around with settings, no multiple installation attempts, botched configurations etc. etc. besides being able to copy, scan and fax from the printer itself, you can fax, scan, print (duplex) and copy from any mac on your network. what can i say, in true mac faschion, everything just works! and, it comes with a standard toner cartridge, not a puny little 'starter' toner. long story short-buy this one.