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The Brother DCP-9045CDN (the listed model number was incorrectly stated as DCP-9045CDW at the time of this writing) is a very well designed color laser printer/scanner/copier with impressive built-in networking and duplex capabilities.

First, it performs very nicely as a network color laser printer. It uses four toner cartridges (black, yellow, cyan, & magenta) that are easily accessed via a simple sliding drawer at the front of the unit. The toner cartridges are available in standard-capacity and high-capacity. While it is a little disappointing that the machine ships with the standard-capacity cartridges, this seems to be the ‘norm’ in the printer industry. However, I recommend purchasing the high-capacity cartridges when it is time to replenish your supplies, since they are a better value.

The machine comes with a 250-sheet standard paper tray as well as a 50-sheet “Multi-purpose” paper tray that folds down from the front of the unit. Many printers that we have used in the past also had one of these “multi-purpose”-type trays, but they usually amounted to nothing more than a single sheet manual feeder or an envelope feeder; we like the fact that this one holds 50 sheets and can actually be used as a second paper tray. We also purchased the optional 500-sheet paper tray so that we can have plain paper, letterhead, and labels loaded at the same time. The unit can use legal size paper in addition to letter size.

We really love the built-in duplex feature, and it is one of the main reasons that we purchased this model, as it saves us a ton on paper costs. We found that the prices of machines with built-in duplex capabilities (especially color models) were typically substantially higher than machines without duplex, and, initially, we didn’t think we could afford a color laser with duplex. However, the 9045CDN was surprisingly within our budget.

As for network printing, this machine has very robust network support. It supports TCP/IP v4 as well as TCP/IP v6, which means its network capabilities should be about as future-proof as possible. The 9045CDN supports peer-to-peer type networks as well as server-based networks, and the included software and setup guide make it very easy to setup the unit to work with either type of network. The machine includes drivers for Windows 2000, Windows XP (32-bit & 64-bit), Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 (32-bit & 64-bit), and Mac OS X 10.2.4 (or greater.)

Second, this machine not only scans, but it is actually a network scanner. We looked at several other network printers that had scanning capabilities, but most of them could only scan to a single computer through a USB cable – their network capabilities were limited to printing only. However, the 9045CDN can scan directly to any computer that is attached to our network! In addition, it can scan directly to an FTP server on the network or on the Internet. The automatic document feeder is very handy and this machine will even perform duplex scanning and copying! The scanner glass is large enough for legal size paper; however, the automatic feeder only supports up to letter size paper, so legal size documents must be scanned or copied one at a time.

Beyond network printing and scanning, the 9045CDN, of course, has the obligatory USB port on the rear so that you can attach the machine directly to a single computer rather than to a network. There are also several nice features that allow you to use the machine without even having to boot up any computers. For instance, you can print directly from or scan directly to a USB memory key (i.e. flash drive, etc.); just plug your flash drive into the USB port on the front of the machine, and print your documents and pictures that are stored on the flash drive. You can also attach a PictBridge compatible camera to the machine and print your photos without a computer. The machine also works great as a standalone color copier.

We were able to replace two non-network monochrome laser printers, a color inkjet multifunction printer/scanner, and a copier with one 9045CDN. For most of our printing/copying we use the 9045CDN in black and white mode, but when we need color it is there, and it is substantially less expensive per page to print in color than the color inkjet printer that this unit replaced. We are very pleased with this unit.
Rating: 5 / 5

Excellent printer, finally I have just one affordable printer for all my scanning & printing needs (color duplex scan, copy and print).

I’ll highlight the few less than perfect features. Don’t get me wrong for the $ this is a great printer and I’m happy to be using it, but you are here for the nitty gritty dirt so I’ll dish it.

It is a bit slow on copy/scan and print operations, the paper tray only holds around 1/3 of a ream of paper, I can’t stuff 250 in there without paper jams. For a network mid-volume printer holding anything less than a ream is a joke. When printing more than 50 sheets at a time it’s common for a few pages to jump out of the receiving bin and need to be placed back in the printed document, I’d expect a printer of this type to hold at least 250 printed sheets without spewing them on the floor.

It’s sooooo close to perfect, just misses that mark on those few items.
Rating: 4 / 5

I’ve used the machine for one month only for copying; it’s quiet but slow to warm up for first copy. Not sensitive to light blue for color copying. Need high contrast to copy light markings such as pencil.
Rating: 3 / 5