- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Updates
- Comparison
- Best Printers
- Conclusion
- Discussions
Brother is a company that produces printers that closely fit the needs of a small business, whether you're working from home or from a small office. They focus on laser printers which help you maximize your page yields, which is great if you're printing out a lot of forms. They also have a couple of inkjet printers available too, 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
- 07/13/2020 Brother MFC-J497DW reviewed
- 06/26/2020 Brother HL-L3270CDW reviewed
- 06/22/2020 Brother HL-L2390DW reviewed
- 06/19/2020 Brother MFC-L2710DW reviewed
- 06/17/2020 Brother MFC-L2750DW reviewed
Best Brother Printers
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Best Brother Printer For Home/Small Office
Type All in OneTechnology LaserWireless YesColor YesSuperTankNoThe Brother MFC-L3770CDW is the best Brother printer for home or small office use that we've tested so far. This laser printer has high yield cartridges that help to keep each page you print affordable. Its toner cartridges also come with drum units attached, and while it slightly adds to the overall price of the cartridges each time you replace them, you don't need to worry about changing the drum unit. This printer has all the scanning features you need, such as an automatic document feeder so that you can quickly process a lot of forms, and it can even do duplex scanning. While it can be a little slow to print off the first page of your black-test document, subsequent pages are actually outstanding quick as well.
There's no external storage support for devices like a USB thumb drive. It has mediocre color accuracy and photo printing is expensive, which can really add up over time. Although it can print in color, it isn't meant to print photos as it can't print on glossy photo paper, and images reproduced look muted and soft. That being said, this printer has a quick print speed and affordable cost-per-print, making one of the best Brother printers that we've tested so far.
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Best Brother Printer For Family Use
Type All in OneTechnology InkjetWireless YesColor YesSuperTankNoThe best Brother printer for family use that we've tested so far is the Brother MFC-J995DW. This highly versatile inkjet printer can print in both black and color, thanks to its outstanding supertank cartridge system. It has a low cost-per-print for black and color documents as well as photos, making it very affordable to print whatever document or image you like. It also has a flatbed scanner for saving old family photographs as well as an automatic document feeder, for when you need to process multi-page documents like forms. There's even an integrated fax feature, which can be handy if you need to send something off to the office. It has a great photo printing quality too, reproducing your favorite family memories as detailed and vivid images. There's external storage support, so it's easy to print directly off of your camera's SD card or from your USB thumb drive.
Unfortunately, while it has a decent print-speed for color documents as well as photos, its black-only text documents print off much slower. It also can't duplex scan, which means you need to manually scan each side of your document, and it doesn't have Bluetooth support. That being said, it's versatile enough to handle almost anything your family can throw at it and is well-suited for home use.
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Best Brother Printer For Black & White Printing
Type Printer OnlyTechnology LaserWireless YesColor NoSuperTankNoThe Brother HL-L2370DW is the best Brother printer for black and white documents we’ve tested to date. It uses a single black toner cartridge that yields a high amount of pages before you need to replace it. It even comes in higher yield cartridges, which is outstanding if you tend to print off a high volume of documents. It has a very low cost-per-print ratio, and it can print exceptionally quickly, which is great if you need to get your essay out the door as soon as possible. Although it doesn't have Bluetooth, it offers several other wireless connectivity options including Wi-Fi via your router, Apple AirPrint, or Mopria Print Service, so you can print from virtually anywhere including your smartphone or home desktop.
On the downside, it doesn't have a scanner, which can be quite disappointing for those who need to copy or digitize their documents. Its display screen is fairly small, and it can be hard to see the screen clearly if you're not looking at it from directly head-on. It should also be mentioned that the drum unit is separate from the toner cartridge, and it needs to be replaced at a different rate from its toner cartridge, so it's another reccurring cost you need to keep in mind.
Compared to other brands
- Can yield a high amount of pages. Both their laser and inkjet printers tend to yield a lot of 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 of them even have NFC capabilities, none of the Brother printers that we've tested so far support Bluetooth, which is slightly 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.
- No automatic document feeder. A couple of Brother printers don't have an automatic document feeder, as their primary function is to print off documents, not scan them.
Brother makes well-built printers with a straightforward design. They mostly focus on laser printers that are suited for office use, so you can expect that their products have a quick print speed as well as high page yields. They also make monochrome printers, which are better suited for people who primarily need to print off documents rather than to scan multiple pages at a time. That being said, they make a couple of color inkjet printers too, which are great if you want to add a splash of color to your quarterly report.
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 that have 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 and they don't usually have Bluetooth support, which can be a little disappointing if you have multiple people sharing a printer.
Check our recommendations for the best printers for small offices.
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