A Printer, Fax, Phone, and Copier - Still no Coffee.
02/10/09 22:37 Pigeon Holed in: Printers, Fax Machines, Copiers, Office Equipment, Phones, All in one
The Brother IntelliFax 2580c is a printer, copier, fax machine , cordless phone, and answering machine in one. Thats pretty amazing. What is missing from the list (yes I know I'm asking for the world) is the software to scan. The technology is already built into this machine in that you lay your original on a small platen glass and it is "scanned" and produces a copy at a very decent speed (specs say '18cpm' but its closer to 15cpm for decent coverage copies), in order to do this, it must function the same way as a scanner but lacks the firmware, software/drivers, to produce an image digitally.
Brother IntelliFax 2580c: A decent MOST-in-one printer/ fax/ phone/ copier for small offices
I purchased this fax/printer for my home office with the hopes of getting a truly "ALL" in one printer. I wasn’t asking for the world mind you, I just wanted a “well rounded” all-in-one printer, fax, phone, copier, scanner, and coffee maker. Is that so much to ask? Needless to say, it didn’t have the espresso feature but it did have most of the features helpful for a small office.
So here we go, let me break this one down for you (not like in Office Space but in a more friendlier, gentler, and precise manner.)
The Overview:
The Brother IntelliFax 2580c is a printer, copier, fax machine , cordless phone, and answering machine in one. Thats pretty amazing. What is missing from the list (yes I know I'm asking for the world) is the software to scan. The technology is already built into this machine in that you lay your original on a small platen glass and it is "scanned" and produces a copy at a very decent speed (specs say '18cpm' but its closer to 15cpm for decent coverage copies), in order to do this, it must function the same way as a scanner but lacks the firmware, software/drivers, to produce an image digitally.
On that note, it has USB connect ability to use with either PC or Mac (I use it for the mac) and it prints at about 25ppm B/W, and 20ppm color. I like the supplied software for Brother fax machines which enables user friendly control over the details of the printer. I do want to note here that with "all in ones" they tend to be the jack of all trades and master of none (how cliche). This is especially true with the printer functions of the 2580c. It will take from 5 and 5/8" up to 14" stock but is not built to handle anything over 24# paper (copy paper - laser paper - letterhead) which means, no card stock and envelopes will probably max the capacity on this thing.
The footprint of this machine is, relatively speaking, moderate - (WxDxH) 18.7"x14.6"x7.1" not small, not big. Its size and space consumption is small when used in a large office (which I wouldn't recommend for this machine) but for a small home office like mine, it can eat up about a third of your average size desk. I bought a 2 drawer filing system to use as a type of "IntelliFax" pedestal, and my workaround is working fine.
How Does it Fax?
The fax machine works great. Very simple to set up and get going. There are two cat5 ports on the back which enables us to use additional phones/caller id boxes/answering machines (which you won't need). Once it detects a dial tone, there is the typical LCD 'toggle' menu which is SUCH an outmoded system of setup...but they ALL use this. You toggle to the feature you want to set: i.e answer 2, 4, 6 rings, forward to messaging system etc. The print quality on the fax is excellent. I like that this machine holds up to 100 sheets of paper, though when loaded to capacity, the feeding is adversely affected. Nevertheless it holds a decent quantity.
It also has 16mb of memory and will hold up to 300 of your past fax pages (thats right I didn't say 'numbers' I said 'pages' of faxes) in storage in case you need to refax or recall past actvity. It has limited 'fax spamming' capabilities, I can broadcast fax with the 2580c to over 150 different locations if necessary. I can access my faxes remotely although just in black and white, and the overall fax speed is only at about 14.4kbs which makes the transmission a bit slow.
Does it Do Phone?
The phone features are great, it comes with a single handset that has built in caller ID. You know, that wondorous 80's invention? Along with the ability to program up to 100 numbers in the memory system. Its 5.8Ghz and the reception is good throughout the house. The great thing here is, if I were to use this system in an office of 5-7 people, I can expand the system up to 5 handsets which means it can act like an ultra-cheap-poor-man's office phone system - PBX HERE WE COME! Well I don't want to get ahead of this little machine.
Regarding the built in answering machine, again very easy to set up if you are used to the 'toggle' lcd nonsense. You set your greeting like a typical answering machine and then you set it to either answer fax/phone or while a fax is coming in, send the call to the messaging system. Not bad.
Oh Yeah, And One More Thing...
One last thought is, replacement cartridges: They are cheap and aplenty from 3rd party manufacturers and are pretty easy to replace. Not too terribly messy. Don't succumb to the scare tactics that you MUST use the manufacturer's ink only or your warranty is threatened. This was outlawed way back in the 80's when Xerox tried to bully their customers into using "Genuine Xerox" paper and toner. Its all the same and Brother will honor your warranty within the 1 year that they give on this machine. OK...enough preaching.
Overall, I'm pleased with my purchase. I picked it up from Costco about 6 months ago for about $170 and they seem to be about in that price range today. 6 months no problem - excellent so far.
Pros: A good range of capabilities and features for the price. Easy set up.
Cons: Missing the ability to scan! Dated menu navigation, large size for small capabilities.
The Bottom Line: I recommend this machine for very small offices because of the variety of features and capabilities. Good price for a small office start up.
Andrew Hamilton
Audio, Video, and Computer Electronics
http://www.preciseplus.com
Preciseplus Electronics
Recommended:
Yes
Purchase Price: 170.00
Machine age (Months in use): 6 months
Suggestion Of The Day:
Brother Color Inkjet All-in-One with Wireless Networking - MFC990CW
This is the bigger “Brother” to the printer I’ve reviewed above. If I were shopping for one of these today, I would probably look at this one a little closer, it has better networking than the older 2580c that I’ve reviewed above. I found this 990cw at a couple places. As I find it at other stores, I’ll post them here as well.
I found it here at ecost.com for about $230
Brother MFC990CW at PC Connection - for about $245
You can check out our tutorial section to see an overview of this printer and a cool blue tooth function that allows this printer to work with your cell phone. Well, at least SOME of the cell phones out there.
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