Brother rolls out new multi-function devices

Brother International Corp. has announced a new line of “5-in-1,” flatbed laser Multi-Function Center (MFC) models.

The MFC-8420, MFC-8820D, and MFC-8820DN offer plain-paper faxing, laser printing, digital copying, color scanning, and personal computer faxing. Due in mid-May, the estimated street prices of the three models are, respectively, US$549.99, $649.99, and $799.99. They’re compatible with Mac OS X (10.1 and higher) and Mac OS 8.6-9.x, as is the Page Manager software (which also includes an optical character recognition application).

Designed with a flatbed scanning area that accommodates single-sheets or bound documents up to legal size, the new Brother series boasts print speeds of up to 17ppm (pages per minute) and a new 5-line back-lit LCD display. In addition to the base features, the MFC-8820D and MFC-8820DN add duplex (two-sided) printing and a 50-sheet multipurpose tray. The MFC-8820DN also has built-in networking capability.

The MFC-8420 has a 250-sheet standard paper capacity (which is expandable to 500 sheets via an optional second paper tray) and support for PCL6 and BR-Script 3 (PostScript Level 3) emulations. It also includes 32MB of standard memory; this is upgradable to 128MB using 100-pin DIMM memory.

As a stand-alone fax machine, it incorporates a Super G3 33.6k bps fax modem, 340-station auto dialing, broadcasting up to 390 locations, and a built-in 50-page automatic document feeder. The MFC-8420 can store up to 600 pages for Quick Scan faxing or out-of-paper fax reception. With Dual Access capability, you can scan an outbound fax into memory while an incoming fax is being received. In addition, its personal computer fax capability allows sending and receiving of faxes to and from your computer.

As a digital copier, the MFC-8420 lets you copy at up to 17cpm. It has reduction and enlargement from 25-400 percent in 1 percent increments, up to 99 copies, and a sorting function. It also allows for the ability to copy up to legal size documents from either the document glass or from the automatic document feeder. Also included is a “N-in-1” function to allow you to copy multi-page documents to either 2-in-1 or 4-in-1 page formats.

As a color scanner, the MFC-8420 has the ability to scan color documents at up 9600 x 9600 dpi interpolated resolution (600 x 2400 dpi optical) on either the legal-size document glass or through the automatic document feeder. Network capability is also possible with the additional purchase of a Brother NC-9100h Internal Print/Fax Server Board.

The MFC-8820D and MFC-8820DN include all of the features of the MFC-8420, and they come with a 50-sheet multipurpose tray and built-in duplex printing capability. The 50-sheet multipurpose tray folds down from the front of the units and can be used for envelopes, letterhead, and card stock. The built-in automatic duplex capability of the MFC-8820D and MFC-8820DN lets you print two-sided pages and also offers the ability for two-sided copy output and fax receiving.

Networking capabilities on the MFC-8820D is possible with aforementioned Brother NC-9100h Internal Print/Fax Server Board. The MFC-8820DN comes with built-in networking.

The $199.99 Brother NC-9100h Print/Fax Server allows all three models to connect with a 10/100Mbit Ethernet Network. The Web-based Management and Administration utilities provide configuration and management while connected to the network. Multiple protocol capabilities allow users in Mac, Windows, Novell, and Unix environments to simultaneously have access to the devices.