- 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 have a small lineup of color inkjet printers that use a hybrid between a supertank and traditional cartridge system, so it's easy to add a splash of color to graphs. Overall, they maintain quick print speeds so you can get your report out the door as quickly as possible. While your final choice will depend on your needs, below are our recommendations for the best Brother printers you can buy.
Updates
- 02/08/2022 Brother MFC-J4535DW reviewed
- 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
Best Brother Printers
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Best Brother Printer For Small Business
Family5.7Small/Home Office8.6Student7.4Black & White8.1Photo4.5If you're looking for a printer for your small business, we recommend the Brother MFC-L3770CDW Laser. This 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 a small business that's looking for the best Brother all-in-one printer for your home office.
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Best Brother Family Printer
Family7.8Small/Home Office7.9Student8.9Black & White8.4Photo7.0If you want a Brother printer that your entire family can use, the Brother MFC-J4535DW is the way. You'll rarely have to worry about printer maintenance thanks to its 400-sheet total input tray capacity and its hybrid cartridge–tank ink system that yields over 2,000 black pages and roughly 800 color pages. Additionally, the cost-per-print is superb, which helps keep your prints economical in the long run. This printer gets your prints out quickly, so nobody has to spend extra time waiting. To satisfy all your scanning needs, there's a fast-scanning automatic document feeder for multi-page documents, a high-resolution flatbed scanner for more fragile media, and built-in fax.
Unfortunately, its color accuracy is disappointing, so even though it does print decent-quality photos, they look washed out compared to the originals. It doesn't support Bluetooth, but you can still print with ease using your smartphone or laptop and even directly from flash drives, thanks to its outstanding array of connectivity features. Also, the Brother Mobile Connect app makes it easy to perform print, scan, and maintenance features right from your mobile device. Because of all these reasons, this is the best Brother printer for home that we've tested.
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Best Black and White Brother Printer
Family2.7Small/Home Office5.9Student6.4Black & White8.3Photo2.8Don't need anything too complex? If you're just looking for a simple monochrome model to print with, the Brother HL-L2370DW might be just what you need. This printer-only unit feels well-built and offers easy access through a back panel for any potential paper jams. 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 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 can't 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 if you're looking for the Best Brother laser printer that prints in black only.
Compared to other brands
- Can yield a high number of pages. Both their laser and inkjet printers tend to yield many pages before you need to replace their ink or toner cartridges. This 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. Their inkjet printers typically print worse-quality photos compared to other brands.
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. 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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Apr 15, 2022: Renamed the 'Best Home/Small Office' category to 'Best Small/Home Office'. Replaced the Brother MFC-J4335DW with the Brother MFC-J4535DW for 'Best Family' since the J4535DW performs better overall. Verified availability of picks.
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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 through their printer lineups. 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 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.