PRINTING. The Brother HL-L2360DW prints using laser technology, which picks up powdered 'toner' on a roller and fuses it to the paper with heat. It prints black-and-white text with excellent quality, as we've come to expect from a laser printer. Text printing was very quick, 16.7 pages per minute, costing 3.2 cents per page. It prints black-and-white graphics with some obvious defects, but OK for casual use, at 6 pages per minute, costing 10.1 cents per page. It has an auto duplex feature that lets you print both on sides of the page, with no loss of quality. The capacity of the main paper tray is 250 sheets, a generous size.
CONTROLS and DISPLAY. The printer has a small 0.9-inch display screen.
CONNECTIVITY and NETWORKING. You can connect directly to a PC with a USB cable, or to your network router either wirelessly with WiFi or with an Ethernet cable. There's a WiFi Auto-connect feature that makes it easy to link to your wireless router. Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print are built-in, to print wirelessly from smartphones, tablets and PCs. You can also install Brother's app on your smart phone or tablet, as another option for printing over your WiFi network.
COST OF OWNERSHIP. When this section was last updated, the printer's purchase price was about $100, cheap for a black and white laser printer. But printing uses up toner. Over time, as you print, the costs add up. The toner cartridge used in testing was: TN-660. At the time, its price was $78. We estimate the cartridge to last for at least 17.5 months (on a typical printing schedule). After 2 years of typical use, we estimate the total cost to be $210, low for a mono laser. The estimated yearly cost is $53, typical for this printer type. So the 3-, 4- and 5-year estimates are about $260, $310 and $360 respectively.
PRINTER FIRMWARE. Firmware is software that exists inside the printer. All models are evaluated using the latest firmware version available at the time of testing. The firmware version of the Brother HL-L2360DW was C.
SOFTWARE. The collection of software accompanying the printer may include: the printer driver, printer applications, electronic user manual, (and for all-in-ones:) scanning, faxing, and OCR apps. These get installed on your personal computer. All models are evaluated with a Windows 10 PC using the latest version of printer driver and printer support apps available at the time of testing. The software version was 1.4.0.0.
ABOUT SOFTWARE AND FIRMWARE VERSIONS. Our test results are valid for the versions indicated. If your printer's software and firmware differ from the ones shown you either have an older or a newer version of these. Manufacturers may periodically upgrade the printer's firmware to enhance operation, fix bugs, or add features. Firmware upgrades are downloadable directly to your printer via a wired or wireless network (if internet capable). You can check your printer's firmware version, or upgrade to the latest firmware by either (1) running the Brother printer-update app installed on the PC, or (2) accessing the "Settings" section of the printer menu and navigating to the firmware update option. Consult the user manual or Brother's website if further guidance is needed. Try searching online.
