Brother HL-L2460DW Wireless Compact Monochrome Laser Printer

This Brother Printer has all the features you could ask for in a monochrome laser printer. It can print fast or you can put it in quiet mode, just great low noise. It does duplex printing. It scans. It has a long lasting toner cartridge, high resolution. Does wireless and networked. Just what I wanted and just what I got. Great value for the price.

idk what the confusion is over how to set this printer up. you don’t need a usb cable, you don’t need a laptop. just install the toner, scan the barcode for the android (or apple) app, follow the directions and you’re done. 5 minutes tops, and that’s with a firmware update thrown in. the only thing i’d say before you start is to take a picture of the labels on the back before putting the printer into its final location as it ships with a temporary password printed there that you’ll have to change during setup. after the setup, it’s going to show up on your network as as normal printer and you just go to your various PCs and add it. done. you can change the settings (dpi, default options etc) within the windows (or mac) print settings or if you’d like there’s a nice web interface for the printer that allows complete customization and status info (toner life, drum life, timeout options etc).

print quality is great (true 1200x1200dpi) and it’s quiet, compact and inexpensive. really the perfect printer for a person who thinks printers are…not…needed in 2024…

No duplex printing options when printing, despite listing claims that it duplex prints.
After three uses, the printer is no longer able to detect paper in the tray…
Sleep mode requires rebooting printer to get the wifi working again.
Annoying and intrusive password policies.
Outdated and buggy web user interface
Outdated and useless physical user interface
Predatory toner subscription service
Firmware update tool doesn’t work.

Yet another brother printer with a sleep mode that can’t be disabled and causes the wifi to turn off until you manually turn the printer off and back on again… What is the point of it being wireless if I have to get up, walk across the room and manually power cycle the printer just to print something.

It comes with a difficult to remember default password that is several random letters and characters, so you have to write it down instead of remembering some simple two- or three-word passphrase. Given that you are forced to change the default password on your first log in to the web ui, this seems like extreme overkill that is just mildly annoying.
Considering that I am supposed to be the owner of this printer, I feel like the printer’s webui password rules are overly zealous. I own this printer, and if I want a simple password, I should be allowed to set whatever password I want. If I want to make it password123, that is my purgative. It would be one thing if it was something like a an email account or a bank account, but it is sitting behind my firewall on a private network, I should be able to set whatever the password to whatever I want.

To make matters worse, the password field uses a special html flag that prevents your browser from being able to pick up and fill out the password with a password manager, this is a complete and utter lack of regard for the end user. If only they cared about security, they would have implemented a proper HTTPS connection for the web ui, instead you have to jump through extra hoops to get the web ui to work in certain browser that now expect HTTPS connections.
Third printing. I am getting a printer error with zero explanation. Was it unable to communicate with the printer, is it out of paper, out of toner. Does it just not know how to print Amazon return codes? I don’t know, and the printer isn’t helping. Maybe instead of trying to turn my printer into an unreliable paper weight with needlessly complex passwords, you could have spent your R&D budget on making it just work. It turned out that the printer thinks there is no paper, despite the fact that the printer tray is full and closed. Despite repeatedly opening and closing the printer tray, it has yet to pick up on the fact that the tray is properly loaded with paper. The only way I figured out what was wrong was by digging through the printer’s web ui, which is an archaic and poorly designed UI that is about 20 years out of date. The printer never once reported to windows that it was out of paper, and it ever once showed an out of paper message on the devices “screen”.

Also, the printer’s screen is another out of date dinosaur from twenty years ago. Its 2020’s for crying out loud , at this price point you can include a simple lcd screen with a user interface instead of something closer to a 90s calculator screen with a bunch of annoying and confusingly labeled menu buttons.

The webs user interface also has an annoying quirk to it that causes the navigation menu to completely collapse every time you click on a menu item. And it logs you out after only a minute.

This model printer was easy to set up. The mobile app was easy to understand and use. Connecting my MacBook was a breeze. I was able to print within 30 minutes. Could use better instructions on how to put in the toner cartridge but I figured it out. For less than $10 bucks a month, I got an extended warranty with toner replacement after so many pages printed. Pretty good deal I think and we shall see. The only issue I have is the LCD screen is dark and hard to see if you have low light or bad eyesight.

Printers are one of those things that everyone needs and has yet never seem to work seamlessly. However, Brother is the exception to this issue as they have always seemed to serve me well compared to other brands. This printer is no exception as it works absolutely flawlessly.

First, right out of the box this printer has a minimalistic appearance with the matte black. The form factor is also extremely minimal which was a nice feature considering the features of this printer. You can also tell it is a quality printer as it is not so lightweight as to where it feels as though it is just made of cheap plastic.

Moving onto the actual performance though setup was amazingly simple! It was essentially just plug and play. Using the usb cable printing is quick and efficient, but printing wirelessly was also just as simple here as each of my computers/laptops did not have an issue connecting with the printer. The mobile printing feature also worked without any issues as printing from my tablet and phone could not be any easier. The ability of this printer to print so quickly at such a high volume is absolutely great! The tray holds up to 250 sheets where it prints just over 30 pages per minute so it was extremely quick printing off those larger projects. The duplex printing feature here is also one of those must have features as having to hassle with flipping pages never works as it should on the first try so you just avoid that hassle all together here. Only having the printer a week I can`t speak for the longevity of the toner cartridge, but I can guarantee it will last much longer than any inkjet printer you have to deal with plus it won`t end up drying out either.

Overall, you really can`t go wrong with this printer from it`s form factor to ease of use, printing speed, and multiple printing methods. For those looking for a printer that is going to last and be easily usable for everyone in your household or business, this is definitely the way to go!

The L2460DW replaces the previous monochrome Brother printer I had, L2350DW. As an aside, the previous Brother printer stopped working–I mean it went DEAD, no power, nothing–after four years and little use other than some volume printing the first year.

My first issue was that the printer has USB connect but it did not come with a the cable. Had to go and order it separately. That was a biggie for me.

Performance–print quality, etc–is as expected. Setup was relatively simple, no thanks to the instructions that come with it. Brother seems bent on forcing you to download their app. Can be done without that.

As far as the initial set up, relatively easy, but not exactly intuitive. Not a problem unique to Brother. In this case, You are either technologically good and have done a lot of setting up, or remember previous set ups (which I did, but this was different) or watch some YouTube to clarify. WiFi was easy, but the panel LCD display moves so quickly that unless you know exactly what you are doing, the options just move on.

And now the biggest issue for me–the DEEP SLEEP mode. Basically, the printer is not connected to the computer. When you send for print, the computer has to go through the ‘find the printer’ forever, if it connects at all. The Owner Manual on line says that Deep Sleep cannot be undone. Misleading information. It can be undone. But it took finding the ‘secret’ on YouTube and then it took several tries. BROTHERS–IF YOU READ THIS REVIEW, PLEASE ALLOW THE OPTION AND SHOW IT IN YOUR USER MANUAL.

I received the printer and set it up right away. However, when it came time to connect it to the wireless network it would not automatically connect. I had to take the manual route. Even though I entered the network key correctly (double and triple checked) it informed me I entered it incorrectly. Aggravating since entering via a tiny LCD screen was quite painful. I’m debating whether I should send it back.

If you remember that old saying about first impressions, you’ll understand why some folks probably are not too crazy about this Brother HL-L2460DW laser printer.

Once you get it up and running, it is a perfectly adequate, if unremarkable, low-priced laser printer. But getting it up and running can be a challenge if you are depending on the printer and Brother’s own web-based setup procedures to get you going.

User friendly it is not.

The main problem, if you are attempting a wireless wifi setup, is the printer display — a tiny one line affair that is not backlit and therefore very hard to see. Even worse, there is no number or letter keypad. Which is a problem since you must manually input both your SSID and home network password using this tiny LCD screen. You better hope those words are short becasuse each letter or number must be selected from a scroll of ALL numbers and letters and symbols, which is slow and cumbersome. Tiny up and down arrow keys control the scroll, followed by a push of the OK button once you get the right character. Very tedious.

If that were not bad enough, once you get all that information input, and you finally get connected to the wifi network, I found the Brother’s own setup software could never connect the printer to my computer. That maddening little spinning icon just kept on spinning and nothing was ever resolved.

I finally just shut down the Brother web interface and did a manual connection through Windows setup, which was fairly quick and easy. Windows automatically downloaded the necessary drivers, as it would with any plug and play device. Although I later discovered these were generic drivers, and I would have to uninstall them if I wanted to use the Brother drivers, which are needed to use any of Brother printer software. No thanks.

Since this printer also supports both ethernet and USB connections (you must supply your own cables ) I would highly recommend most users go that that route in the beginning, since it is likely to be easier.

I would also recommend you start the setup process at the support.brother.com web site. (this is NOT what the quickstart guide recommends) I found a firmware update was available there (although special password is needed just to download that, another unnecessary hurdle) along with a user manual, correct drivers and some software to support this printer.

Once you finally get it connected, printer operations are pretty simple since controls on the printer itself are very limited and/or somewhat cryptic. (The “Go” button, for example, is used to cancel print jobs and clear error messages) Just print as you nornally would from your computer (or smartphone using the Brother Mobile Connect app) . There are very few options, beyond using a portrait or landscape format and turning double sided printing on or off. You also can print envelopes via a somewhat complicated rear feed system.

Since it is a laser printer, print speed is fairly fast, around 36 pages per minute. Print quality (back and white only, of course) is good too, using Brother’s “starter” toner cartridge, which is rated for 700 pages. That is a good deal less than the standard base toner cartridge, which is rated for 1200 pages. High-capacity cartridges will do a lot more but are more expensive.

Don’t expect any extras with this bare bones printer. No scanning or copying. No sheet feeder. It just prints simple text and black and white graphics. I found it a bit on the noisy side.

Unpacking and basic setup up was farily easy at least. Just remove all the tape holding all rhe various doors closed, unwrap and slide in the the toner cartridge, fill the paper tray (letter and legal paper are supported along with some smaller oddball sizes) and hit the on button.

In the end, it works OK. But many may not feel it is worth effort.

Just what I needed for my home office! Been fumbling through ink jet printers for years (I absolutely hate them). This is a laser printer! All you have to do is put in the toner cartridge in and you are up and running. I had to down load the driver first on my iMac. After that it synced right up! Print quality is outstanding. Compact in size so as not to use up too much room. A nice printer! I recommend!

My review is going to focus on setup, build quality, print quality and cost to use. I won’t be repeating specs and features because that’s already stated.

The printer was well packed and included a power cord and the drum and toner assembly. The instructions showed how to remove the tape and use a QR code to go get the app(s) you need to set up the printer. I set mine up on my S23 Ultra, iPad and Windows PC via WiFi router. The procedures were easy and I didn’t have a problem. The power cord plugs directly into the printer, no power brick or wall-wart. WiFi connection is dual band. You can also connect via ethernet cable or USB 2.

Build quality feels sound and the printer isn’t any noisier than any other. There is a cooling fan on the right side that runs as needed. You can hear it running, but it’s quiet enough as to not be distracting. There’s some function buttons on the top left and a single line alphanumeric LCD display that shows status and scrolls messages when needed. The paper bin is on the bottom. There’s a place to load paper above that for one-off things. Paper discharges on top. See specs for more on paper capacities. Does double sided printing.

Print quality is good, but a mixed bag too. I compared it to an HP Laserjet tank 2504DW laser printer and a Canon Maxify GX3060 inkjet printer that uses pigment ink as opposed to dye ink for deeper blacks and colors. See scans.

Print Quality Options: Sharpness

The Brother’s printer software gives more print resolution options (4) than the HP’s (2) and Canon (3). The Brother offers 300 dpi, 600, dpi (default setting), 1200 dpi and 1200HQ. I couldn’t tell any difference between 1200 and 1200HQ so didn’t include a scan sample of the two.

There’s also a setting for printing text or graphics / text. Graphics / text is the default setting and did the best job. Text was only very slightly improved in the Text mode and if you printed any graphics with any kind of gradient, Text mode made it look pretty bad.

600 dpi is the default setting and looks as good as the 1200 setting for text. The 300 dpi did good as well for text. Photos and gradients is where you would see the difference. At 300 dpi the gradients look like pattern dithering you would see in Windows 3.1. It gets better at 600 dpi and looks its best at 1200 dpi. Of course, this isn’t a photo printer, but there are plenty of times where graphics with a gradient to a tone between black and white will need to be printed. That’s why I’m covering it.

I printed my test sheet from Photoshop with default settings, and a sample part of another review I did in Google Docs and printed from Chrome at 600 dpi. I scanned it at 1200 dpi to show detail. See scans.

Compared to the other mentioned printers: Color to grayscale

When printing a color page to grayscale with default settings where the printer handles the color to grayscale conversion, the Brother came in last. The HP first and the Canon inkjet second. I expected the inkjet to win here. The Brother’s output was darker than the others and had lines. The HP did much better, but even it had some lines visible. Tone between black and white is better on the color chips and the two black to white gradient bands are smoother. The Canon did the best with the color chips but where is the yellow gradient to white line at? No surprise that the deepest blacks go to the laser printers. I also included the original file I use to test printers and scanners with. See scans.

Compared to the other mentioned printers: Sharpness

It’s a tossup between the Brother and HP in default settings (600 dpi) on plain paper. If it were printed on photo paper that doesn’t (barely) bleed, the Canon would win. The Brother’s 300 dpi draft / “eco” mode beats HP’s “eco” mode hands down. See scans.

Why I included an inkjet: Just to give readers something else to compare to.

Cost to use:

The Brother is the most expensive to use based on the cost of toner cartridges, there are two sizes, and the number of sheets of paper they will print per said cartridge. This is going by the industry standard that companies base their specs on.

Also, the included cartridge with HL-L2460DW is only a starter cartridge good for 700 sheets.

Low price on the front end and high supply cost on the backend. This is a common practice among all companies making printers. Ok if you don’t print much, but if you’re going to be using it a lot, there are other options for less expensive use in the long run. But it will cost you more up front when you buy the printer. The HP I compared it to costs about twice as much to buy, but you refill it with cheaper bottles of toner that produces more printed sheets than either Brother replacement cartridges. It also comes prefilled with 2 bottles of toner. Same with the Canon, but with ink. And it came with 4 full bottles. Not “starter” bottles that are less than one quarter full. The “starter” practice shouldn’t be allowed, and all the printer manufacturers are guilty. The HP is the cheapest to operate of all three.

Pros:

Easy to set up and use. I like the apps on all the devices I installed it on.

I like the little single line LCD display. The HP lacks this.

Fairly small footprint.

No power brick.

Good print quality for the price. Best draft / eco print quality.

Replaceable selenium drum.

Cons:

Expensive to use. Very expensive if you plan on using it for those high duty cycles it’s rated for.

Noticeable dithering patterns on gradients and possible on gray tones.

Conclusion:

If you plan on printing mostly text with low use rates, this will fit the bill. Test is its strong point. For moderate to high usage, I’d consider another printer that is cheaper to use. If what you’re going to print is going to have any kind of graphics that have any kind of shading or gradient that go from light to dark, you might want to consider a different printer. Be it a laser or inkjet.