You can spend a lot more money and not get the dependable use that the Brother MFC 5490 printer will give.
Priced from around $50 used to $125 new this do-it-all printer can take you through college or through starting a business. It is truly a crossover printer.
Technical details are quite good and packed into a relatively small footprint (17.3 x 8.7 x 15.9 inches, WxDxH) to conserve valuable desk space and weights only 26 lbs. Resolution will go to 6000 x 1200 dpi at speeds of 35 ppm black and a very good 28 ppm color.
The 4 color system cartridges can be changed individually so each color can be used completely before replacement.
The Brother MFC 5490 printer is Energy Star Qualified to add even more value. To print, scan, copy, and fax from control panel tilted forward for ease and speed, it even has card slots to fit most industry standard compact flash devices. Sharing with other network users is accomplished by using the built in 10/100 Base-TX networking connection style.
Copy speeds for this stand-alone that does not require connection to a PC are produced at 23 ppm for black and 20 ppm for color, again very good for class. Scanning operations provide up to 1200 x 2400 dpi at 36-bit for high quality production by using Scansoft PaperPort v11 SE with optical character recognition (OCR) software for Windows where a Mac operating system gets Presto? Page Manager.
With a 50-sheet document feeder, it is easy to scan and copy unattended with the Brother printer that includes 150 sheets feed tray that allows legal length 8 x 14 inch paper and can adjust down to 3.5 x 5 inch size.
One of the better features onboard is the scan function, which is supported by the Super G3 33.6K bps that allows you to send and transmit in black/white and color modes.
Trusted and dependable Brother Printers come in a wide assortment of sizes and functions and carry a standard 2-year limited warranty. The MFC 5490 is a solid performer that will serve you well until you reach higher output demand levels.