Brother is the first manufacturer in the industry to offer wireless connectivity on a laser printer for under $150, according to Linda Sanford, Brother's senior product manager for laser printers. The new HL-2100 Series also includes the HL-2140 ($119), successor to the HL-2040 personal laser printer. The new models feature faster print speeds and a new sleek look. Both models will be available starting late December through all Brother sales channels including office superstores, major retailers and distributors.

The HL-2170W (shown) and HL-2140 deliver fast print speeds of up to 23 pages per minute (ppm) and a monochrome print quality via Brother’s HQ1200 resolution (up to 2400 x 600 dpi). Both printers also feature an enclosed lower paper tray that holds up to 250 sheets of paper and a manual by-pass slot for easily feeding envelopes and letterhead.

In addition, the HL-2140 includes a USB1 interface, 8MB of memory, a one-year Express Exchange limited warranty, and has a dark charcoal/gray two-tone color scheme. The HL-2170W includes PCL 6 emulation, 32MB of memory, and Ethernet and wireless 802.11b/g network interfaces. Both printers weight 15 pounds (including drum and toner) and are Mac and Windows compatible.

The HL-2100 Series share the same patented two-piece toner/drum consumables. The user has the option of either choosing a standard-yield or high-yield toner cartridge. The standard-yield replacement toner cartridge ($44.99) has a yield of approximately 1,500 pages2 and the high-yield toner cartridge ($64.99) has a yield of approximately 2,600 pages. The drum unit ($99.99) has a yield of approximately 12,000 pages. Both printers ship with a starter toner cartridge that has a yield of approximately 1,000 pages and a DR-360 drum unit.