The HL-2140 is an affordable monochrome laser printer. Perfect for home or home office use it features fast printing at up to 23ppm HQ resolution (up to 2400 x 600 dpi) for high-quality output and a Toner Save mode to extend toner life. In addition the printer¿s space-saving design will maximize your desk or shelf space. The HL-2140 provides flexible paper handling via an enclosed 250-sheet capacity tray and a manual by-pass slot for printing envelopes and letterhead. It also offers 8MB of memory standard along with compatibility for both Windows and Mac and a one year limited warranty.

• Personal monochrome laser printer prints up to 23 ppm


• High-quality 2400 x 600 dpi resolution


• Toner Save Mode for extended toner life


• 250-sheet capacity tray


• One-year limited manufacturer's warranty

More detail ...

Wireless All-in-One Home Office Printer with 2.5-Inch LCD and Auto Duplex ADF.

• Fully integrated 35 page auto document feeder for rapid copying scanning and faxing


• Paper saving and ecofriendly auto duplex printing


• Super G3 high speed fax with 100 coded speed dials storing up to 250 incoming pages when receiving ITU-T No. 1 chart


• Various security features including password protected PDFs

More detail ...

High-Performance Wireless Photo All-In-One with 2.0-Inch LCD

• Keep it Green - Built-in 2-sided printing helps the environment and cuts your paper usage by 50%


• Amazingly compact printer with both wireless and built-in 2-sided printing


• Maximum 9600 x 2400 color dpi2 for exceptional photo quality


• Use the new “Auto Photo Fix II” to automatically adjust and correct your photos


• Easily print your photos from compatible memory cards3 and USB Flash drives

More detail ...

Advanced Wireless Photo All-In-One Printer with 2.4" LCD

• Maximum 9600 x 2400 color dpi with microscopic droplets as small as 1 picoliter


• All new Full HD Movie Print software turns your favorite HD movie clips captured with your compatible Canon EOS Digital SLR


• Built-in 2-sided printing helps the environment and can cut your paper usage by up to 50%


• Print your photos wirelessly from compatible iPhone 3G 3GS iPod touch and iPad models


• Borderless 4" x 6" photo in approx. 20 seconds. 5 individual ink cartridges are required for this item.

More detail ...

Your New Office Assistant ! & MX870 vs Epson Artisan 810 Review

If you are looking at these reviews for the MX870 you are probably wondering what I was wondering... "What is the difference between the MX870 and MX860 and possibly also how does it compare to the Epson Artisan 810?" They are all top rated by Amazon customers for inkjet all-in-one printers.



They are all awesome! The Epson has more color cartriges but I am not sure if that matters. I give the nod to the Epson on photo quality but it might just be a subliminal issue of 'more is better'. My last Epson printer was the Epson 785EPX and it printed amazing photos and graphics and it also used 6 colors.



Both the Canon and Epson have beautiful quick drying inks. The Canon has a special black ink that is a pigment instead of a dye which you might like since pigments don't run when wet so theirs is good for flyers and such. And by the way if you've discovered that you really benefit from pigment ink look into the Epson Workforce 610. It is fast and all its different colored inks are pigments. Graphics and text are outstanding but photos a little lacking.



The Canon is a little slower to start printing but once it gets going it is pretty fast. Both Epson and Canon models have an optional duplexer mode (prints on both sides to save paper - this feature significantly slows down print time if that is important to you) and an automatic paper feed. The paper feed on the Canon is fully integrated and two-sided so it can copy/scan both sides of a document automatically as well. There are a few hiccups with the 860 on this that the 870 solves.



It's a small pain to reload the reglar A4 8 1/2 by 11 paper in both machines in their lower tray. The Epson has an additional slot on its lower tray for photo paper that some may like. The Canon has an extra paper feed at the back of the unit that is great for printing envelopes prints or other types of paper so you don't have to change your main tray. The rear feeder should accommodate heavier papers and have a less likelihood of jamming because the paper comes straight through the machine with little bending. The projecting tray on the Epson looks and feels flimsy and most people seem worried about that but remarkably I have never heard of anyone breaking it. The Canon has a cool feature... when you send it a wireless command to print it automatically lowers its front door for the paper to be collected on so you can keep the unit all closed up when not in use.



If you use OCR and I love OCR (optical character recognition that allows you to turn your document scans into text files) you will prefer the Epson because it is integrated into their software package. Canons used to have OCR software but have stopped in the recent year. Note: If you have Microsoft Office Student and Home version its program 'OneNote' has OCR for you to use. Most people are totally unaware of it being there. By the way OneNote is the best program on Microsoft Office. It is what keeps me from just using the free open source office software that is so amazing.



Price-wise the Epson is about 100 more than the Canon. Amazon has some of the best prices. The newer Canon MX870 isn't even available in most stores yet and probably will run about 50 dollars more than the MX860 for the next six months. Apple users will like the smoother integrated software application of the MX870 that was a small problem on the MX860.



Space-wise the Canon is bigger. Look-wise the Epson is sharper with its shiny black finish like a piece of fancy stereo equipment. The Canon has a neutral light beige look. Very officey with clean lines.



They both fax if you ever need that every now and then instead of having to run to your local print shop.



The user interface of the Canon and Epson are both easy to use in different ways. I sort of wish the Canon buttons weren't so flush with the unit but its not really a big deal. You will need to use the interface to copy and scan but most print jobs you will want to do from your computer.



The Epson has some fun graphics software extra on it. Again mostly 'fun' stuff. It also prints on printable CDs and DVDs. This could be important to you. It is the best of any printer at this. I don't need it because I print on CDs using LightScribe on my HP. I like that look better if I am going to customize the CD face.



The Canon has some very useful proprietary software that you will love if you surf the Web and want to copy and print out multiple bits and pieces of articles with ease... even on the same sheet of paper. You can do this anyway with Windows but Canon's program is easier and faster.



Both Canon and Epson have ink cartridges that are separate from the print head so it is easier to find third-party ink and save money. Third party ink is better than what it used to be but the OEM (original equipment manufacture) cartridges are truer and faster drying for important projects and to bring out the full glory of these machines.



I chose the Canon MX870 but all the printers I mentioned here are rated tops at their price-point. I hope I covered a few of the more notable differences to help you narrow in on your search.More detail ...

Nice printer nice scanner great for novice users

This printer was purchased as a birthday present for my mother who has been hampered by a Windows Vista computer and a malfunctioning HP Printer (it worked great with XP...). We purchased the Canon PIXMA MP560 printer for $85 (free shipping) on Amazon and comparing the price to other retailers online (and the retail price) it was no contest.



This printer has some features that you may already know of via the product description page but I'd like to elaborate on some of these features.

Thoughts out of the box:

-The MP560 has a folding LCD screen that covers the function buttons. The screen is not too large but it does seem to have large enough text (and a simple GUI) to work well for novice printer users. There are not too many buttons and they're large well-marked and simple enough for anyone to recognize.

-The printer has a lower paper tray (for regular inkjet/copier paper) and an upper vertical tray (for thicker photo paper and other things). The vertical tray has an automatic two-sided width adjustment/alignment so any size paper is aligned to the proper position every time (and the thickness is adjustable from maximum printing width of the printer down to only an inch or so).

-The basic instruction manual is printed on paper and easily guided me through the process of installation of the print head/ink paper software and wireless network capability. This guide has simple words and illustrations though it does not include every detail of the printer's operations (the more complex instruction/user manual is electronic and is installed with the printer software). There is a Network Troubleshooting guide as well that seems to be rather detailed (though unnecessary in my case). The printer comes with a sample pack of 4"x6" photo paper which we immediately tested (and it passed the test with flying colors). There's other throw-away junk included but nothing that surprising.

-The printer is clearly labeled so as to make it simple to place cartridges in the right location once the print head is installed.

-The fact that the MP560 has multiple single-color ink cartridges may seem expensive at first but with tri-color cartridge printers we would always seem to run out of a single color much faster than other colors... so we were wasting a good amount of ink each and every time we replaced a cartridge. This printer seems to have ink cartridges that would be easier to refill than some other cartridges as well.



After powering it on:

-It was EFFORTLESS to set up the MP560 on our wireless network. It quickly detected the network (our router is on another floor in the house on the other side of the house) and it still had a good quality signal and it only took a few minutes (and only a couple pushes of a button... plus entering our internet security key) before the printer was connected. There is a rotating pad (similar to an IPod) on the printer that lets you select any security codes you may have (and navigate through the GUI)... so it may take awhile if one has an alphanumeric password but it was rather quick for a numeric 8-key code. Heck my mom is not too familiar with computers and I have no doubts that she could have set up this printer with the network.

-The printer comes with easy to use software (again in Vista) though it does take a few minutes for the software to install itself on a PC. The basic instruction manual makes it rather easy to install everything whether using Windows or Mac. Once installed the printer is rather effortlessly found (remember to have attached the printer to the wireless network) and before you know it you're ready to print.

-The printer has a laser ink level meter for every cartridge and it can be displayed on the computer and on the 2" LCD screen on the printer (actually pressing one button on the "Home" screen will allow you to see each ink level). So far it does not appear as if this printer over-uses ink... in fact printing on glossy photo paper seems to suggest there's less "gunk" on the paper than some other printers perhaps due to the finer ink jets this printer allegedly uses.



Using the printer for the first time:

-The printer and software actually WORK WELL with Windows Vista!

-The printer does take a few seconds to warm up but after the first print job it seems to be much faster.

-The MP560 didn't have a single problem feeding thicker photo paper.

-The quality of printed pictures is very good showing very tight pixels even on plain paper. Photo paper shows an excellent picture quality and the software included with the printer makes it effortless to print photos with certain photo papers... no need to change printer settings manually.

-The scanner/copier seems to produce quality pictures although this isn't the fastest nor the quietest copier I've seen in a multi-use printer.

-The Duplex printing feature is a great thing to have in a lower-cost home printer as few documents are of an official legal nature hence there's no need for one-sided printing. It gets to be inconvenient to flip the pages by hand each and every time one wants to print on both sides of a piece of paper so it is great to find a lower-cost printer that has this feature. This printer does not print internally it prints on one side and extracts the page then gathers the page back inside the printer and prints on the other side so I don't know how well Duplex printing would work on thicker media such as fabrics.





All in all this is a great printer so far. It beats anything I've ever owned in terms of print quality and functionality and I'd say it's a pretty good value to boot. Mom is certainly happy about this printer and she's going to test it with some of her crafts... let's see how it stands up to the test of time when she puts it to use.More detail ...

Had to return the first one

I did a ton of research and finally decided to go with this unit despite no reviews at the time. Installation was a breeze (using Mac OS X) except for one part where it asks you to set up a print queue. After doing so it didn't recognize it after multiple attempts. I finally decided to click past that step and it worked fine anyway.



We printed about a dozen photos over the first three days. On day 4 the printer booted up and slammed the print cartridge hard to the left then came up with a "Carriage Jam" error. The nice thing about the touch screen is that it also visually walks you through pictures of the areas that you need to check for paper jams etc.. Alas after going through every trouble shooting step provided it didn't solve the problem.



We returned it to Amazon (Very hassle free I might add--can't fault them a bit) and decided to try a second one since we did like the features. I was glad to see that Amazon ships you another even before you return the defective one. So far this one is working fine although it's only been a couple of days.



Our last HP was probably 4 years old. I have to say the print speed on this one is amazingly fast by comparison. I'm impressed it can print a 4x6 photo as fast as it does. Copy and scan work well too although I've found I have to initiate scanning from the Mac. Didn't seem to work if I tried to use the touchscreen to scan. I was pleased how easy they make choosing options with scanning. You can scan a document straight to PDF JPEG TIFF Memory Card USB drive OCR...



Overall it does seem as though this printer is very well made. It's also great having a tray for both paper and 4x6 photos. Unlike so many printer reviews it doesn't appear as though this printer is burning through much ink at all.



Although I would definitely recommend it I can't give it 5 stars due to the issues mentioned above.



More detail ...

An Amazing Value Printer

Disclaimer: I do not own this printer but have worked with and installed tons of them at my school and I use them all the time. Anyway we have about 4 of these units and all work perfectly fine.



Quality: The image quality of this printer is stunning the detail level and color reproduction is great! When compared to the Canon iP6600 the color and detail reproduction seem to be slightly better.



Speed: It is fairly fast for photo printing its not a speed demon or anything but it is faster then most printers I have used.



Features : This printer has a ton of features too many to discuss but it can scan images it has a card reader and can be hooked up to the network via ethernet or via wifi.



Ink Consumption : This printer is also very easy on the ink and the wallet. Ink seems to last a fairly long time even when doing a lot of photo prints.



Setup: Setup was painless I installed all 4 of these units in about 40 mins just run the disc connect the printer install the print head and then the ink cartridges. ( I do however wish they used less packaging )



All in all I woud definitely recommend this to a friend. I have yet to have a single problem with any of the 4 and they are being used by tons of people each day for photo printing.



Edit; I forgot to mention that I have only tried this on Windows XP can't comment on the problem the other user spoke of with Macintosh Snow leopard 10.6.More detail ...

The All-In-One That Does it All

If you're looking for a printer with all the latest technologies check out the HP Officejet 6500 Wireless. Keep in mind that HP makes two 6500 models--one is wireless and one is not. This is the wireless model. With copy scan print and fax functions this all-in-one is a real workhorse.



Fast speed (up to 31 ppm) and extremely easy to use. The setup function is all done via software--you don't even need to touch the 6500's keypad controls. It links directly to your System Preferences control panel making the wireless and fax settings easy. It uses 4 separate color inks so you can control your print costs when only a single color needs to be replaced.



Main drawback is HP's decision to only include a 2-line text display. For a printer in this price range HP should have included a 2.5" color LCD screen. If you're looking for a multifunction machine that does it all seriously consider the HP 6500 Wireless.More detail ...

Your New Office Assistant ! & MX870 vs Epson Artisan 810 Review

If you are looking at these reviews for the MX870 you are probably wondering what I was wondering... "What is the difference between the MX870 and MX860 and possibly also how does it compare to the Epson Artisan 810?" They are all top rated by Amazon customers for inkjet all-in-one printers.



They are all awesome! The Epson has more color cartriges but I am not sure if that matters. I give the nod to the Epson on photo quality but it might just be a subliminal issue of 'more is better'. My last Epson printer was the Epson 785EPX and it printed amazing photos and graphics and it also used 6 colors.



Both the Canon and Epson have beautiful quick drying inks. The Canon has a special black ink that is a pigment instead of a dye which you might like since pigments don't run when wet so theirs is good for flyers and such. And by the way if you've discovered that you really benefit from pigment ink look into the Epson Workforce 610. It is fast and all its different colored inks are pigments. Graphics and text are outstanding but photos a little lacking.



The Canon is a little slower to start printing but once it gets going it is pretty fast. Both Epson and Canon models have an optional duplexer mode (prints on both sides to save paper - this feature significantly slows down print time if that is important to you) and an automatic paper feed. The paper feed on the Canon is fully integrated and two-sided so it can copy/scan both sides of a document automatically as well. There are a few hiccups with the 860 on this that the 870 solves.



It's a small pain to reload the reglar A4 8 1/2 by 11 paper in both machines in their lower tray. The Epson has an additional slot on its lower tray for photo paper that some may like. The Canon has an extra paper feed at the back of the unit that is great for printing envelopes prints or other types of paper so you don't have to change your main tray. The rear feeder should accommodate heavier papers and have a less likelihood of jamming because the paper comes straight through the machine with little bending. The projecting tray on the Epson looks and feels flimsy and most people seem worried about that but remarkably I have never heard of anyone breaking it. The Canon has a cool feature... when you send it a wireless command to print it automatically lowers its front door for the paper to be collected on so you can keep the unit all closed up when not in use.



If you use OCR and I love OCR (optical character recognition that allows you to turn your document scans into text files) you will prefer the Epson because it is integrated into their software package. Canons used to have OCR software but have stopped in the recent year. Note: If you have Microsoft Office Student and Home version its program 'OneNote' has OCR for you to use. Most people are totally unaware of it being there. By the way OneNote is the best program on Microsoft Office. It is what keeps me from just using the free open source office software that is so amazing.



Price-wise the Epson is about 100 more than the Canon. Amazon has some of the best prices. The newer Canon MX870 isn't even available in most stores yet and probably will run about 50 dollars more than the MX860 for the next six months. Apple users will like the smoother integrated software application of the MX870 that was a small problem on the MX860.



Space-wise the Canon is bigger. Look-wise the Epson is sharper with its shiny black finish like a piece of fancy stereo equipment. The Canon has a neutral light beige look. Very officey with clean lines.



They both fax if you ever need that every now and then instead of having to run to your local print shop.



The user interface of the Canon and Epson are both easy to use in different ways. I sort of wish the Canon buttons weren't so flush with the unit but its not really a big deal. You will need to use the interface to copy and scan but most print jobs you will want to do from your computer.



The Epson has some fun graphics software extra on it. Again mostly 'fun' stuff. It also prints on printable CDs and DVDs. This could be important to you. It is the best of any printer at this. I don't need it because I print on CDs using LightScribe on my HP. I like that look better if I am going to customize the CD face.



The Canon has some very useful proprietary software that you will love if you surf the Web and want to copy and print out multiple bits and pieces of articles with ease... even on the same sheet of paper. You can do this anyway with Windows but Canon's program is easier and faster.



Both Canon and Epson have ink cartridges that are separate from the print head so it is easier to find third-party ink and save money. Third party ink is better than what it used to be but the OEM (original equipment manufacture) cartridges are truer and faster drying for important projects and to bring out the full glory of these machines.



I chose the Canon MX870 but all the printers I mentioned here are rated tops at their price-point. I hope I covered a few of the more notable differences to help you narrow in on your search.More detail ...

Works flawlessly with Mac Snow Leopard

I wrote this review to help Mac OS X 10.6 users. If you are a Windows user please read the other reviews of this product.



This is a high quality versatile quiet well thought out well built all-in-one printer. As with other brands the included software is pile of unnecessary mediocre ugly looking confusing mess. Canon makes a mistake by not offering a driver only installation which would allow us to use the printer and the scanner without installing their proprietary software suite. I am set out to correct their mistake...



Connecting the printer to WiFi is very simple just navigate in the printer's setup menu on it's LCD select your network and type in the password. The blue WiFi LED will confirm that the printer is connected.



To be able to print wirelessly you have to have the latest drivers.To install them forget about the CD in the box (it has OS X 10.5 compatible drivers only) and the 13 page "Getting Started" guide to install stuff you don't need. Just download the latest drivers from the Canon USA website. Go to Canon USA :: Downloads :: Consumer Products :: Multifunction :: Photo All-In-One Inkjet Printers :: PIXMA MP560 grab and install these files:



- MP560 series CUPS Printer Driver Ver. 10.26.1.0 (Mac OS X 10.5/10.6)

- MP560 series Scanner Driver Ver. 15.4.1 (Mac OS X 10.3/10.4/10.5/10.6)

- ICA Driver (Mac OS X 10.6)

(the version numbers might change when updates are coming out)



Once the printer drivers are installed on your Mac and it's connected to the same WiFi network as the printer just go to System Preferences / Print & Fax / + (add printer) and wait a few seconds. You will see a "Canon MP560 Series Bonjour Scanner" and a "Canon MP560 Series_NNNNNN0000000 canonijnetworkr" printer listed you can add them and you are ready to print and scan! When adding you can edit the name to make it look a little bit nicer. If you prefer you can connect the printer via an USB cable and the printer will be automatically installed.



I spent hours trying to figure this all out on my iMac I installed the contents of the CD tried to upgrade the drivers from the Apple and the Canon websites. Once I understood what needed to be done it took only minutes to install the drivers on my two MacBook's. Save yourself some headache and keep your Mac clean of bloated junkware by installing only the drivers you need. These will allow you to control all the printer's functions (duplex paper size and type alignment head cleaning ink levels etc.) and even your spouse and kids will be able to use them.



Why can not these instructions be found on Canon's support pages? Why is their installation procedure so messy? Trust me it's not a Mac problem their Windows soluition is equally complicated. Will the situation be better once their printers ship with OS X 10.6 compatible drivers? I think the core problem is that they are not listening to their customers. If they did you'd see a reply from a Canon official under my review. Don't look it won't be there...



This printer supports direct iPhone printing if you install the free "Canon Easy-Photoprint" app from the Apple App Store. You will be able to print to 4x6" photo paper right from your iPhone when both devices are connected to the same WiFi network.



I recommend this printer it does a nice job once it's set up. Do not hesitate to buy it if you are on Snow Leopard. But call Canon's support line and tell them they should not overcomplicate the printer installation process.



Update 1: If you have any kind of trouble with the printer or the installation call Canon Support at 1-800-828-4040 they are very good with Mac's and willing to spend the time figuring out problems. My iMac could not detect the printer through WiFi no matter what I tried while my MacBook's could print flawlessly. Canon support figured out that Parallels was interfering with the network settings even when not running. I doubted it but Parallels support confirmed it. I had to remove Parallels install the printer and re-instal Parallels. All works now.



Update 2: For occasional single page scanning jobs Snow Leopard's built-in Image Capture is sufficient. If you want to catalog your scans convert them to multi-page PDF's use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to create editable text files from of your scans you should download and install Canon's "MP Navigator EX 3.0". The name is not very catchy but he interface is nice the functions are not too hard to learn and the program does well what it's supposed to do. It's a decent scanning utility go for it if you don't mind the 80 MB installation footprint.



Update 3: Thank you everyone for your kind words in the comments! I am not an educator just a frustrated customer who wanted to save others from the trouble I went through. I'm very pleased that this review helped so many fellow Mac users with installing a nice multifunction printer. Thank you Amazon for the opportunity! If any of you purchases this printer and finds that a Snow Leopard compatible installation disk is included please let us know I will update the review.More detail ...