Brother HL-L2325DW Printer Review

The Brother HL-L2325DW feels very well-built. It's entirely plastic and feels sturdy overall, with strong hinges and no flimsy parts. However, the power cord isn't removable, making it impossible to replace if it gets damaged—you should consider the Brother HL-L2460DW if you want a similar printer with a removable power cord. The input tray is easy to take out and put back in, and the toner cartridge and drum are easily accessible through the top front of the printer. A drawback of the design is that the manual feeder can only hold one page at a time and lacks an extender to hold the page properly, so the paper just hangs off the feeder. Also, accessing paper jams can be difficult for people with large hands because the back panel only opens partially, and even if you try to go through the front by removing the toner cartridge and drum, there's still very little space to maneuver.

The Brother L2325DW doesn't require much maintenance. Unlike inkjet printers, there's no risk of printhead clogging if you don't print for an extended period. You don't need to replace the toner cartridge often as it yields a large number of prints. When you need to change it, the cartridge is easily accessible through the front, and the printer doesn't need to be on for the process. You have to replace the drum separately, although it's usually good for around 12,000 prints, so it's not too bad.

There are a few ways to access paper jams. The first is through the panel on the back of the printer. However, this panel only opens up to 45°, so it might be hard to reach in if you have large hands. You can also remove the paper tray, the toner cartridge, and the drum to access paper jams or remove the duplex feeder in case the jam happens while duplex printing. The main paper tray holds 250 sheets of paper, the output tray holds 100, and the manual feeder holds one.

You can see the user's guide here.

The Brother HL-L2325DW's display is bad. It's a 1-line monochrome LCD that can only display 16 characters. It doesn't allow for tilt or swivel adjustments, but it has good viewing angles, so it's easy to see from all sides. Navigating the settings menu is tedious as the screen can only show a limited amount of text at once, and the buttons have minimal labeling even though they serve multiple functions.

The Brother HL-L2325DW's page yield is excellent, meaning you won't need to replace the cartridge often. The printer stops printing when the toner runs out (tracked through a page counter); however, you can change the settings so that printing continues even when the printer thinks there isn't any toner left. Putting in a partially used toner cartridge prompts a 'Replace Toner' message, so it's likely that the printer can't detect the amount of unused toner in the cartridge and only resets the counter when you put in a new cartridge.

The Brother HL-L2350DW, HL-L2370DN, HL-L2370DW, and HL-L2379DW variants use the same cartridge and yield a similar number of prints.

You can increase the yield further with TN760 high-yield or TN770 super high-yield cartridges. The posted number represents the regular TN730 cartridge's yield. The starter cartridge that comes with the printer typically yields around 700 pages. If you're looking for a monochrome laser printer that uses a higher-yield default-format toner cartridge, consider the Canon imageCLASS LBP122dw.

The Brother HL-L2325DW doesn't have a scanner. If you need a monochrome laser printer with a scanner, check out the Canon imageCLASS MF3010.

• Quick setup guide
• CD-ROM with drivers
• USB-A to USB-B cable
• DR730 drum unit
• Starter toner cartridge

The Brother HL-L2325DW's print quality for black and white documents is outstanding. The text looks very sharp, and all elements are present, even the graph's fine lines and the second page's title. There are some vertical lines, but it isn't too bad.

The Brother HL-L2325DW can only print in black. If you need a print-only color laser printer, check out the Brother HL-L3280CDW.

The Brother HL-L2325DW's cost-per-print is outstanding because it yields a large number of prints from a single toner cartridge. However, keep in mind that you need to replace the drum separately, which is an additional expense not factored into the cost. The drum usually lasts 12,000 prints, so you won't have to do it too often. Having the drum as a separate unit also makes the toner cartridge less expensive and is more eco-friendly since you don't need to replace it as often as the toner.

The Brother HL-L2325DW printer takes a while to warm up and get a single page out, but it gets much faster once it starts printing, exceeding the advertised 26 PPM printing speed. The other variants, like the Brother HL-L2350DW, Brother HL-L2370DW, and Brother HL-L2379DW, have similar printing speeds, between 32 and 36 PPM. However, they all warm up significantly faster, with the Brother HL-L2370DW taking only 11 seconds.

The posted maximum paper weight applies to the manual feeder. The main input tray can only support up to 163 g/m².

The Brother HL-L2325DW can only print in black.

Even though the Brother HL-L2325DW has a high print resolution, the image looks awful because monochrome laser printers need to use halftones (dots of various sizes and spacing) to simulate colors.

The Brother HL-L2370DN variant doesn't have wireless connectivity. The Brother HL-L2370DN, HL-L2370DW, HL-L2370DWXL, and HL-L2379DW have an Ethernet port.

The Brother HL-L2325DW is compatible with Brother's iPrint&Scan mobile app. You can use it to print, copy, perform maintenance tasks, order supplies, and update the firmware.