Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After going through another $56 set of inks on my inkjet printer, I decided enough is enough. I don't need to print documents in color and I no longer print photos at home because Costco and Walmart are cheap and easy (and better). This Brother laser printer was my solution. I give the printer high marks: the print quality can be set at three different levels and the two highest levels are superb. Also it duplex prints (both sides) and does a good job at that. Printing envelopes via the 'straight-through' path is easy and has made my label machine less useful. As with so many tech units, it's the setup that is the hassle. I am a Mac person. Sure, I've used PCs at work and when I have to but I much prefer the Mac OS. The first indication that there was trouble was when the included setup disk refused to install the printer drivers because they were outdated. There was no link to update, no advice, nothing. So I went to the Brother site and after digging around through their horrible UI, I found the necessary updated drivers, downloaded and installed them. But that was only the start of the hassle. The user manual is horribly confusing, to say the least, when it comes to setting up the wireless networking (at least to me). I suggest you ignore everything in the manual regarding networking. Let me give you Mac users some hints so you can avoid the wasted time and frustration I experienced: [Update: June 2015: Apple's OS X now includes printer drivers for most manufacturers, so step 1 may not be necessary. If the setup prompts you for a driver, Google the printer model number and you should find it quickly. Note: After nearly 3 years, I continue to receive personal thanks for this review. I'm grateful I could help so many people]. 1. After you've unpacked the printer, installed the toner and paper and printed a test page, go to the Apple web site and search for Brother printer drivers. Apple has all the latest drivers for download free. 2. Download and install the drivers. 3. Insert the CD that came with the printer and open the 'Utilities' folder. Do NOT use the 'Start Here OSX' icon. 4. In the Utilities folder, click on 'Wireless Device Setup Wizard.' 5. In the next window, Setting Up Wireless, click 'NO' then 'Next.' 6. In the next window, click 'checked and confirmed' then 'Next' (you don't need to read the stuff in that box). 7. In the next window, make sure 'Temporarily use USB cable' is selected, then click 'Next.' 8. Connect a USB cable from your computer to the printer. 9. In the next window, you will see the setup software searching for wireless signals in your area. Make sure your network is visible, then select it. 10. In the next window, input your router's wireless access password twice as requested. (Note: if you have an Apple Airport, do not enter the Airport PW, but your wireless access PW. If they are the same, no worries.) 11. Unplug the USB cable to the printer. 12. Click through to 'finish' and you are done! [Update Aug 2014} Many have commented that to make their printer work, they took an additional step. Here it is: 13. Be certain the printer is ON. Go to System Prefs>Printers & Scanners. If you see a Brother printer in the pane, it is likely the wired version setup placed there automatically during the setup process. Delete it. Then hit the '+' button and add the wireless version setup your computer will find. Should you ever want to revert to a wired setup, you must go through this step again with the printer connected via USB cable. Your Brother is now set up to print wirelessly and you can put it anywhere you like. If Brother would make the setup 'Apple' easy I would give this printer 5 stars. It's a 5-star printer, but a zero-star setup experience.