- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Updates
- Comparison
- Best Printers
- Conclusion
- Discussions
Brother is a company that produces printers that closely fit the needs of small businesses, whether working from home or in a small office. They focus on laser printers, which help you maximize your page yields and are great if you're printing out forms. They also have a couple of inkjet printers, so it's easy to add a splash of color to graphs. Overall, they maintain quick print speeds so that you can get your report out the door as quickly as possible.
Updates
- 09/03/2021 Brother MFC-J4335DW reviewed
- 08/04/2021 Brother MFC-J6945DW reviewed
- 07/30/2021 Brother MFC-J1205W reviewed
- 11/09/2020 Brother HL-L2350DW reviewed
- 07/13/2020 Brother MFC-J497DW reviewed
Best Brother Printers
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Best Brother Printer For Home/Small Office
Type All in OneTechnology LaserWireless YesColor YesSuperTankNoThe best Brother all-in-one printer for small or home offices we've tested is the Brother MFC-L3770CDW Laser. This laser model yields an incredible amount of pages at an excellently low cost-per-print. It's made with hard plastic and feels solid and sturdy, with well-designed input and output trays with width sliders for different paper formats. It has a flatbed scanner with a high scan resolution and an automatic document feeder that can perform duplex scanning. Though it takes a while to warm up and print the first page, subsequent pages come out very quickly, so you won't have to wait around for reports or a large batch of shipping labels to come out. There are many connectivity options, like an Ethernet port and Wi-Fi. It also supports Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service, meaning you can print without installing drivers. It's compatible with the Brother iPrint&Scan app, which lets you print the most common printable file types and check toner levels.
Unfortunately, while it has great connectivity options, it doesn't support Bluetooth printing or printing from a USB thumb drive. Also, like most laser printers, it isn't good at printing photos. Colors look muted and inaccurate, and there's quite a bit of banding when printing green and blue. While we don't recommend it for print media or graphic design, it should be good enough to print color-coded graphs for a report. With that said, it's an excellent option if you're looking for a home or small office printer.
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Best Brother Printer For Family Use
Type All in OneTechnology InkjetWireless YesColor YesSuperTankNoThe best Brother all-in-one printer for families we've tested is the Brother MFC-J4335DW. It's the replacement for the Brother MFC-J805DW INKvestment Tank, and this unit has a sturdy body with easy access to the ink cartridges and potential paper jams. It also uses the INKvestment Tank, a hybrid cartridge–tank system, for amazing page yields at a superb cost-per-print. It prints documents very quickly overall and warms up at a great speed to get the first page out. There's a flatbed scanner with a good scan resolution, an automatic document feeder, and built-in fax, as well as a full array of physical buttons and a numerical keypad to make it easy to navigate through print and scan tasks. You can print from many devices, as there are great connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, Apple AirPrint, and Mopria Print Service.
Unfortunately, it's slow at printing pictures, and even at "High" quality, photos still come out with plenty of grain and washed-out blacks. Also, because there's no automatic duplex scanning, you have to manually flip over double-sided documents. It can't print via Bluetooth or any external media; however, on the bright side, you can use the Brother Mobile Connect app to print, scan, copy, and perform maintenance tasks directly from your phone. All in all, this is an excellent printer for family use, and it's among the best printers with cheap ink that we've tested.
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Best Brother Printer For Black & White Printing
Type Printer OnlyTechnology LaserWireless YesColor NoSuperTankNoThe best Brother laser printer for black and white printing we've tested is the Brother HL-L2370DW. This printer-only unit feels well-built and offers easy access through a back panel for any potential paper jams, and you can easily replace the toner cartridge by opening a panel in the front. Its page yields are fantastic, so you won't have to replace the toner frequently, even if you print a lot, which keeps the cost-per-print remarkably low. You also won't have to wait around for long documents to print as its printing speeds are incredibly fast. While you can't connect to the printer via Bluetooth, you can connect wirelessly using Wi-Fi, Apple AirPrint, Mopria Print Service, or the Brother iPrint&Scan companion app. If you're looking for a wired connection, this printer has an Ethernet port.
Unfortunately, this is a printer-only unit that lacks a scanner, so you won't be able to digitize documents or fax reports like you can with an all-in-one unit. However, if you're looking for an all-in-one printer that performs similarly, check out the Brother MFC-L2750DW. Also, its drum unit is separate from the toner cartridge, meaning you'll have to purchase and replace it separately, which could add additional costs over time. With that said, it's an amazing choice for a black-and-white printer, and it's also among the best laser printers we've tested.
Compared to other brands
- Can yield a high amount of pages. Both their laser and inkjet printers tend to yield many pages before you need to replace their ink or toner cartridges, which is great if you're constantly printing off several pages at a time.
- Low cost-per-print. Although their cartridges can cost a little more to replace, you have to do it less often, which results in a very affordable cost-per-print.
- Quick print speed. Most Brother printers can print black-only text documents very quickly.
- Sturdy and well-built. Brother generally makes well-built printers that feel sturdy and have good access to their ink tanks or cartridges.
- No Bluetooth support. While they have excellent wireless connectivity, and some even have NFC capabilities, none of the Brother printers that we've tested support Bluetooth, which is a bit disappointing.
- Not really for printing photos. Most of Brother's printers are monochrome, so they only have a black ink or toner cartridge. Some printers can't even print on glossy photo paper.
Brother makes well-built printers with a straightforward design. They mostly focus on laser printers suited for office use, so you can expect that their products have a quick print speed and high page yields. They also make monochrome printers better suited for those who primarily need to print off documents rather than scan multiple pages at a time. That said, they also make a couple of color inkjet printers, which are great if you want to add a splash of color to your quarterly report.
Recent Updates
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Jan 17, 2022: Picks verified for availability and accuracy; no changes to picks.
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Oct 19, 2021: Replaced the Brother MFC-J995DW with the Brother MFC-J4335DW for 'Best Family'. Verified availability of picks.
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Jul 21, 2021: Verified accuracy and availability of picks, and updated text for clarity.
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Apr 22, 2021: Minor changes for text clarity and accuracy.
Conclusion
Brother is a well-known brand that offers practical and efficient business solutions in the form of their printers. They tend to produce sturdy and well-built printers with high page yields at an affordable cost, and their ink or toner cartridges tend to need replacing less. However, their ink or toner cartridges tend to be a bit more expensive than their competitors. Their printers also don't usually have Bluetooth support; this can be a little disappointing if you have multiple people sharing a printer.
For other options, check our recommendations for the best printers for small businesses, the best home printers, and the best black and white printers.