Inexpensive, featureful, compact unit for home or office

I bought this MFC-210C printer for my desk at work about 8 months ago, after using the MFC-420CN at home for a few months. Sometimes I print things that I don't want to lose behind a coworker's fifteen thousand page powerpoint presentation, like statements or bills or photos of Britney Spears. Fry's Electronics had it for a ridiculously low price after rebate (maybe $20-30), and since I already used a similar printer, I could buy supplies in bulk.

I'm very happy with the printer. The two differences between this and the MFC-420CN are that the latter printer has a built-in network server with Ethernet port, and an automatic document feeder. Since I don't want to share my printer at work, this was a fair compromise to save $30.

This printer has the typical all-in-one features... it can do color and black-and-white copies from the printer (no computer required). It can also print from memory cards, without the need for a computer connection. The controls for copy/scan/fax are on the top, so you'll want at least two inches of clearance above the printer, or about ten inches if you want to use the flatbed scanner and/or faxing frequently. I've been known to use less space and just slip the paper I'm copying in. This wouldn't work if you're copying a book or a product carton or your face or something.

All access, including paper feeding, print output, and card readers, are on the front of the computer, so you can push it back on your shelf with an inch of clearance and not crimp your cords or impair performance.

When you plug it into your computer, you can scan into PC software, print reasonable quality graphics and text, and fax out from PC. The card readers will show up as drive letters on your PC under Windows. I would expect the same under MacOSX but I'm not sure.

The printer cartridges go under the scanner portion of the device, so you will need about eight inches to lift the printer hood up to replace them. The four colors are separate cartridges, so you can replace the ones you use most. I have seen very good cartridge life for modest use; unlike many Epson printers, the Brothers work well even if you don't print for days or even weeks.

I buy aftermarket ink cartridges from places like ink4art or shop4tech. They run $4-5 each and you can usually find a discount coupon either on the site or on techbargains.com. Compared to $20 for black and $12 for color under the Brother name, this is a very good price, and the quality is great. I use Office Depot's "color inkjet paper", with 24 pound paper weight and 115 brightness. This makes colors brighter and black crisper, and the paper stands up better to regular use as well. It costs a bit more than copy paper, about $5 a ream, but it's an excellent match for a modest color inkjet.

I would not recommend this printer for heavy volume use (consistently over 100 pages a day) or to replace a high quality photo printer (the color is good, but not quite photo quality). However, for most home use it's an excellent product and can be had at a great price.

I would also point out what others have noted, that it does a daily cleaning cycle that may surprise you the first time you hear it crunching away (quietly) at 3am. The printer will stop printing if any of your cartridges goes empty, so keep spares around. Also, it does not come with a USB cable, but as I recall the box makes this clear, and you should be able to get one very cheaply if you don't already have one.