- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Our Verdict
- Test Results
- Differences
- Compared To Others
- Deals
- Discussions
The Brother HL-L2350DW is a budget monochrome laser printer designed for offices with basic needs. It can only print in black, so it might not be suitable for those who need color, even if it's just occasionally. That said, it prints black documents at amazing speed, and its high page yield means you don't have to replace the toner cartridge as often, making it a cost-effective option for high volume printing. The build quality is great, and it provides easy access to paper jams and the toner cartridge. It has decent connectivity options, including Wi-Fi support and direct printing via AirPrint and Mopria, but its lack of an Ethernet port can be an issue for some offices. Also, it doesn't have a scanner, and the display screen is bad.
Our Verdict
The Brother HL-L2350DW is a terrible family printer. It can't print in color, and its photo printing quality is awful. It doesn't have a scanner and doesn't support external storage devices like USB thumb drives or SD cards. However, it can be a good option if you only need to print black and white documents, as it has an outstanding cost-per-print.
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Outstanding cost-per-print for black only printing.
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Can't print in color.
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Bad photo printing quality.
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No scanner.
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Can't print on glossy photo paper.
The Brother HL-L2350DW is sub-par for small or home offices. The lack of color printing and a scanner might be a dealbreaker for most offices. Also, it doesn't have an Ethernet port, which can be an issue for offices that use a wired network. That said, if you only need to print in black, this printer has a high page yield and fast printing speed.
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High black page yield.
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Fast printing speed.
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Can't print in color.
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No Ethernet port.
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No scanner.
The Brother HL-L2350DW is mediocre for students. Its black toner cartridge can yield a high number of pages before needing replacement, keeping the long-term cost low. It has great printing speed, but it does take a while to warm up and get the first page out. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a scanner, and it doesn't support external storage devices like USB thumb drives. It can connect through Wi-Fi, though, and it's compatible with Brother's superb mobile app.
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Outstanding cost-per-print for black only printing.
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Fast printing speed.
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No scanner.
The Brother HL-L2350DW is great for printing black and white documents. Its high page yield means you don't have to replace the toner cartridge as frequently, making it very cost-effective for printing in bulk. It's well-built and designed to give easy access to the toner cartridge and paper jams. It's a bit slow at getting the first page of a document out, but it gets significantly faster for subsequent pages, pushing out around 33 pages per minute.
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High black page yield.
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Outstanding cost-per-print for black only printing.
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Fast printing speed.
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No scanner.
Like most monochrome laser printers, the Brother HL-L2350DW is awful for printing photos. Printed photos have a lot of banding and lack fine detail. Also, it can't print on glossy photo paper.
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Can't print in color.
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Bad photo printing quality.
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Can't print on glossy photo paper.
- 1.9 Family
- 5.5 Small/Home Office
- 6.3 Student
- 8.1 Black & White
- 1.5 Casual Photo
- Updated Nov 09, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Nov 03, 2020: Early access published.
Test Results
The Brother HL-L2350DW has a great build quality and design. Although it's mostly plastic, it feels sturdy, and there aren't any apparent issues with the construction. The toner and drum unit are easy to access from the front, and you can clear paper jams just by opening the panel on the back. Unfortunately, the power cord isn't detachable, and it's hard to see the display screen unless you're directly above it.
The Brother HL-L2350DW is a relatively compact printer since it doesn't have a scanner, making it suitable for tight spaces like small home offices or dorm rooms.
The display screen is bad. It's a one-line monochrome LCD with narrow viewing angles, and there's no swivel or tilt adjustment to improve visibility. It's responsive, but the menus are tedious to navigate, as you can only use the physical buttons located below. That said, this is a fairly simple printer with few functions, and you don't have to interact with the display screen often beyond the initial setup.
- Quick setup guide
- Drivers and utilities CD
- Brother TN-730 starter toner cartridge
- Brother DR-730 drum unit
The cartridge system is excellent. It has an impressive page yield, which leads to less frequent replacement of the toner cartridge, and there's an even higher-yield cartridge available separately. It accepts third-party cartridges as well, but using them may void the manufacturer's warranty. If you want a monochrome printer with a high page yield, check out the HP LaserJet M209dwe.
The Brother L2350DW doesn't have a scanner. If you need a similar printer that includes a scanner, check out the HP LaserJet MFP M234dw.
The cost-per-print is outstanding. Due to its high yield, you don't have to replace the toner cartridge as often, making it very cost-effective in the long run. The toner cartridge is fairly cheap, but keep in mind that the drum is a separate unit and isn't factored into the cost. The drum unit is advertised to last for 12000 pages; however, it isn't something that we test. If you want a printer with an even lower cost-per-print, check out the similar-performing Kyocera ECOSYS P2235dw.
The Brother HL-L2350DW has excellent printing speed. It takes a while to get the first page of a document out, but it gets much faster once it's warmed up. The input tray is relatively large, so you don't have to reload it as often during big print jobs.
The Brother HL-L2350DW is a monochrome laser printer and isn't intended for printing photos. Printed photos lack fine detail, and there's a lot of banding present. Also, it can't print on glossy photo paper; we printed the test image on a regular 8.5" x 11" paper.
These results are based on the actual physical photo, not the scanned image provided for reference above, which may not be representative of the printer's photo print quality.
Both the input tray and feeder support most paper sizes up to the standard legal size.
The Brother HL-L2350DW has decent connectivity options. It supports most wireless connections, except for Bluetooth. The lack of an Ethernet port might be an issue for some small offices that rely on a wired network connection.
Brother's iPrint& Scan app is fantastic. It lets you scan, copy, and print various file types. You can also perform maintenance tasks like updating the firmware, check the toner level, and order replacement toner online.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Brother HL-L2350DW, which is essentially a more affordable, less featured variant of the Brother HL-L2370DW. The HL-L2370 has an Ethernet port, a higher page yield, and faster printing speed.
Our unit of the Brother HL-L2350DW was manufactured in June 2020; you can see the label here.
Compared To Other Printers
The Brother HL-L2350DW printer is great for printing black and white documents. However, it doesn't have a scanner and can't print in color, making it extremely limiting. Also, the lack of an Ethernet port can be a problem for offices that rely on a wired network connection. For more options, check out our recommendations for the best black and white printers, the best printers for small businesses, and the best laser printers.
The Brother HL-L2370DW and the Brother HL-L2350DW are very similar. They're both compact, monochrome laser printers with no scanner; however, the HL-L2370DW offers more. It has a higher page yield at a lower cost-per-print, and it also accepts two higher-yield cartridge sizes instead of just one like the HL-L2350DW. It also prints slightly faster, and it has an Ethernet port for those who want to print via a wired connection to their router.
The Brother HL-L2350DW is much better than the HP LaserJet Pro M15w. The Brother has a better build quality, faster printing speed, and a better mobile app. On the flip side, the HP has a higher page yield and a slightly better cost-per-print.
The Lexmark B2236dw is better than the Brother HL-L2350DW. The Lexmark has a slightly higher page yield, an Ethernet port, and faster printing speed. However, the Brother has a better build quality, and its mobile app can print Microsoft Office Files, which the Lexmark's can't.
The Epson EcoTank ET-3760 is an all-in-one supertank inkjet printer, while the Brother HL-L2350DW is a monochrome printer-only unit. The Brother is better if you only need to print black-only text documents, as it has a much faster printing speed. However, the Epson is better if you want more flexibility, as it has a scanner and can print in color. It also offers a better page yield and has a cheaper cost-per-print.
The Brother MFC-J995DW is an all-in-one color inkjet printer that's better for a variety of tasks, while the Brother HL-L2350DW is a monochrome laser printer-only unit that's great for simple black-and-white printing. The MFC-J995DW's INKvestment Tank system gives it far superior page yields at a much cheaper cost-per-print, and it prints great-looking color photos. It has both a flatbed scanner and automatic document feeder, an Ethernet port, and can print directly from USB flash drives and SD cards. On the other hand, the HL-L2350DW prints black text documents significantly faster.
The Brother HL-L2350DW is a monochrome laser printer-only unit that's great for black-and-white printing, while the Brother MFC-J4335DW is a color inkjet printer that's well suited for a wide variety of tasks. The HL-L2350DW has no scanning features, but it prints black text documents significantly faster. On the other hand, the MFC-J4335DW can print in color, has a flatbed scanner and automatic document feeder, a better display, and an Ethernet port. It has decent color accuracy and prints okay-looking photos.
The Brother HL-L2350DW is a monochrome laser printer that's better if you only need to print frequently in black and white. It prints out black-only text documents at an amazing speed and has an impressive black page yield. On the other hand, the Brother MFC-J805DW INKvestment Tank is an all-in-one color inkjet printer suited for a wider variety of tasks, with a flatbed scanner and ADF, a superb color page yield, even better black page yield than the L2350DW, and a fantastic cost-per-print as a result.
The Brother MFC-J6945DW is an all-in-one color inkjet better for small or home offices, while the Brother HL-L2350DW is a printer-only monochrome laser unit that's better for black-and-white printing. The MFC-J6945DW has better page yields at a cheaper cost-per-print, prints fairly good-looking color photos, and supports printing and scanning 11" x 17" sheets. Also, it has a flatbed scanner and duplex-scanning automatic document feeder, an Ethernet port, and can print directly from USB flash drives. On the other hand, the HL-L2350DW prints black text documents significantly faster.
The Brother HL-L2390DW and the Brother HL-L2350DW are both monochrome laser printers, but the HL-L2390DW offers more. The biggest difference is that it has a flatbed scanner which the HL-L23750DW lacks. Also, it has a higher page yield and a lower cost-per-print. Neither printer has an automatic document feeder, duplex scanning, or an Ethernet port.
The Brother HL-L2350DW is a monochrome laser printer-only unit that's better at black-and-white printing, while the Brother MFC-J1205W is a color inkjet printer. The HL-L2350DW has a slightly better black page yield, and prints far faster, but it doesn't have any scanning features. On the other hand, the MFC-J1205W uses Brother's INKvestment Tank, a hybrid cartridge–tank system, for an outstandingly cheap cost-per-print. Also, it has a flatbed scanner, and can print decent-looking photos with moderately accurate colors.
The Brother HL-L2350DW and the HP ENVY 6455e are two very different types of printers. The Brother is a monochrome laser printer designed to print large numbers of black and white pages only. It doesn't have a scanner and can't print in color, but it has an excellent page yield and a very low cost-per-print. Also, it's very fast at printing documents. On the other hand, the HP is an inkjet printer designed for family use, with excellent color accuracy, decent photo printing quality, a flatbed scanner, and a sheetfed scanner. It yields a very low number of pages, which results in a high cost-per-print.
The Kyocera ECOSYS P2235dw and the Brother HL-L2350DW are both monochrome laser printers. The Kyocera has a significantly higher page yield, a much lower cost-per-print, and it prints somewhat faster. Also, it has an Ethernet port and supports printing off a USB thumb drive. On the other hand, the Brother supports Apple AirPrint, and there are higher-yield versions of its toner available if you want to increase its yield, but we didn't test them.
The Xerox B210/DNI is better than the Brother HL-L2350DW. The Xerox yields more pages per cartridge; however, its replacement toner is a bit more expensive. It has an Ethernet port, and it's faster at getting the first page of a document out. The Brother has a superior build quality, though, and its mobile app is significantly better.
The Brother HL-L2350DW and the HP LaserJet M209dwe are both monochrome office printers with no scanner. The HP may be a better choice since it has a higher black page yield, a lower cost-per-print, and an Ethernet port. Also, unlike the Brother, the HP's drum unit is included in the toner cartridge, so you don't need to worry about replacing it separately. On the other hand, the Brother does have a much faster printing speed, and its input tray holds more paper, so it might be a better option if those aspects matter a lot to you.