Standing 55.4cm tall and weighing about 18kg, the MFC-8840DN is smaller and lighter than most other laser MFPs we have tested recently. Its simple, well-conceived front panel holds one-touch buttons for faxing, scanning and copying. A phone pad allows you to dial fax numbers, a speed-dial pad accommodates up to 40 fax numbers, and a large LCD reports on the unit's status and helps you navigate through myriad options.

The MFC-8840DN printed text at a speedy 15.5 pages per minute during our tests. The unit also printed graphics fast, at 7ppm. Its scan speeds, however, were unremarkable: the MFC-8840DN took 24.3 seconds to scan a 4" x 5" photograph at 100 dots per inch.

During testing, the MFC-8840DN printed dark, razor-sharp text. It also produced very good printed greyscale graphics that showed smooth transitions, good contrast and fine detail. Colour scans were impressive, too. Copies of a text document looked close in quality to the original.

Using the unit's scan button and LCD menu, you can scan to email or to the bundled PaperPort application, or save a scan as an image file.

Setting up the 8840DN over a network was similar to setting it up via USB. I installed the driver directly onto a client PC; from there, the setup application automatically installed the printer, scanner, and fax drivers along with the same software you get with a local connection. By typing the IP address you've assigned to the MFP in a standard browser, you can access the 8840DN's Web server, where you can handle an array of tasks. For example, you can view usage reports on fax transmission and activity, auto dialling, fax verification, fax forwarding and notification.

From this same page you can obtain maintenance information about the toner and drum, pages printed and scanned, paper jams and device status. As an administrator, you can also set and change passwords, and configure ports and network addresses (such as TCP/IP, Netware, DLC, AppleTalk, NetBIOS, POP3/SMTP) via the Web interface.

The MFC-8840DN comes with 32MB of memory, expandable to 160MB. It can hold 300 sheets of letter- or legal-size paper; and for an extra charge, you can add a 250-sheet paper tray.