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 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 a 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.
Updates
- 04/04/2023 Brother MFC-L8905CDW [MFC-L8895CDW, MFC-L8900CDW] reviewed
- 03/03/2023 Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W updated
- 01/24/2023 Brother MFC-J4335DW updated
- 11/17/2022 Brother HL-L2390DW/HL-L2395DW updated
- 10/13/2022 Brother MFC-L2750DW [L2710DW, L2717DW, L2730DW] updated
Best Brother Printers
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Best Brother Printer
Family7.6Small/Home Office8.5Student8.1Black & White8.4Photo4.5The best Brother printer we've tested is the Brother MFC-L3770CDW Laser. This all-in-one model has an exceptionally sturdy build and a design that allows easy access to toner cartridges and paper jams. Its high-resolution ADF-equipped scanner processes up to 21 pages per minute and double-sided sheets in a single pass, saving you precious time. Connectivity options include USB, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet, and there's also support for Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service, allowing you to print without installing any drivers or third-party apps. It's compatible with Brother's mobile app, which you can use to print, scan, copy, and perform maintenance tasks.
Printing-wise, this model produces outstanding quality black and color documents, but like most laser printers, it doesn't print very good photos, as printed pictures look grainy, muted, and lacking in detail. It prints very quickly at 26 black or 25 color pages per minute; it just takes a while to warm up and get a single page out. As for its page yield and cost per print, although the toner cartridges are on the expensive side, they yield a large number of prints, so you won't have to replace them often. You need to replace the drum separately, though, which is an added expense, and the drum doesn't last as long as Brother claims, meaning you may have to replace it more often than other similar printers. Nonetheless, this model is a great addition to any office and the best Brother printer for small business use that we've tested.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Brother Printer
Family6.6Small/Home Office8.6Student8.3Black & White9.1Photo1.4If you only need to print in black, get the Brother MFC-L2750DW instead, one of the best Brother laser printers we've tested. This all-in-one monochrome model has nearly all the features you'd need for a small or home office. It has Wi-Fi, USB, and Ethernet connectivity, and it supports NFC, so you can simply tap your NFC-enabled device on the printer to connect. The scanner produces high-quality scans and has an ADF with single-pass duplex scanning, making it a breeze to scan multi-page and double-sided documents. It delivers incredibly sharp documents, doesn't take long to warm up, and prints quickly at 36 pages per minute. The toner cartridge is good for around 2000 prints, and it's relatively cheap, so you won't have to spend too much on replacement toner. You have to replace the drum separately, which is an added expense; however, you likely won't need to do it often because it usually lasts a long time.
If budget is a concern and you're willing to compromise on some features, know that this printer has many variants, including cheaper models like the Brother MFC-L2710DW, which lacks duplex scanning and prints slightly slower. You can also find bundles that include longer-lasting XL toner cartridges, like the Brother MFC-L2750DW XL, which might be cheaper than buying the cartridges separately. You can see all the variants and their differences in the full review.
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Best Mid-Range Brother Printer
Family8.2Small/Home Office8.2Student8.4Black & White8.5Photo7.3If you need a printer for your household, the mid-range Brother MFC-J4335DW is the best Brother printer for home use we've tested. It's the best Brother all-in-one printer we've tested, as it has plenty of features and all-around great performance. You can connect to the printer via USB or Wi-Fi, and it's compatible with Brother's mobile companion app, which you can use to print, scan, copy, perform maintenance tasks, and order supplies. The scanner produces high-quality scans and processes up to 20 pages per minute through its automatic feeder; however, it doesn't support duplex scanning, so you'll still have to flip the pages manually when scanning double-sided sheets.
Printing-wise, this model produces amazing-looking documents and does so quickly, churning out 17 black or 15 color documents per minute. As for photos, they look detailed but slightly grainy with washed-out blacks. One thing you won't need to worry about is maintenance cost, as its ink cartridges last a long time and are relatively cheap. XL cartridges are also available if you want to increase the yield further. The printer feels sturdy and well-built overall; the only downside is that the power cord isn't removable, making it hard to replace if it gets damaged.
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Best Budget Brother Printer
Family7.9Small/Home Office7.2Student8.0Black & White7.3Photo7.6For our best budget pick, we chose the Brother MFC-J1205W, also known as the Brother MFC-J1215DW at Walmart. This color inkjet model is a great option for people who print more than the occasional one-off project. It feels sturdily built despite its affordable price, with a design that allows easy access to paper jams and ink cartridges. You still get Wi-Fi and USB connectivity, as well as Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service support. It has a scanner with extendable hinges to accommodate thick items like textbooks, but it lacks an automatic feeder, so you'll have to scan each page manually.
This model's four ink cartridges yield a large number of prints, so you won't need to replace them often. On top of that, the ink cartridges are fairly cheap, resulting in an exceptionally low cost per print. It produces high-quality black and color documents; it's just on the slower side as it can only push out nine black or six color pages per minute and doesn't support double-sided printing. It doesn't have a particularly wide color range, but printed photos still look very detailed and reasonably color-accurate. Overall, it's a great option for those on a tight budget who don't mind a few compromises.
![Brother MFC-L2750DW [L2710DW, L2717DW, L2730DW] Design Photo](https://i.rtings.com/assets/products/TPehiyZ7/brother-mfc-l2750dw-l2710dw-l2717dw-l2730dw/design-small.jpg)
![Brother MFC-L2750DW [L2710DW, L2717DW, L2730DW] In-Test Picture](https://i.rtings.com/assets/products/icf4Fchr/brother-mfc-l2750dw-l2710dw-l2717dw-l2730dw/in-test-small.jpg)
![Brother MFC-L2750DW [L2710DW, L2717DW, L2730DW] Color dE Picture](https://i.rtings.com/assets/products/B7UCDrWd/brother-mfc-l2750dw-l2710dw-l2717dw-l2730dw/color-de-small.jpg)
![Brother MFC-L2750DW [L2710DW, L2717DW, L2730DW] In the Box Picture](https://i.rtings.com/assets/products/j6iCNOsB/brother-mfc-l2750dw-l2710dw-l2717dw-l2730dw/in-the-box-small.jpg)
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. It's 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 we've tested support Bluetooth, which is 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 vs Epson
Brother and Epson are both major printer manufacturers. Brother makes inkjet and laser models, while Epson focuses almost exclusively on inkjet models. Brother printers usually produce higher-quality documents, but Epson printers are better for photos as they usually have a wider color range. If you're concerned about running costs, it's best to go with an Epson EcoTank printer, as these models yield significantly more prints than almost all Brother printers. To see the best options at each price point, check out our recommendations for the best Epson printers.
Brother vs Canon
Brother and Canon are among the largest printer manufacturers in the world. While both companies offer a wide range of printers, only Canon makes professional photo printers. Canon home printers generally produce higher-quality photos but yield fewer prints than Brother printers. As for laser printers, Canon usually makes better color models, while Brother usually makes better monochrome models. To see our recommendations, check out our list of the best Canon printers.
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.
Lineup
Brother has a straightforward lineup of inkjet and laser printers, including:
- Black and White Laser: Print-only monochrome laser models.
- Color Laser Digital: Print-only color laser models.
- Black and White Laser Multifunction: All-in-one monochrome laser models.
- Color Laser Digital Multifunction: All-in-one color laser models.
- Color Inkjet Multifunction: All-in-one color inkjet models.
- INKvestment Tank: All-in-one color inkjet models with Brother's proprietary INKvestment technology, which combines traditional ink cartridges with an internal ink tank to increase page yield.
Recent Updates
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Mar 23, 2023: Minor text changes to provide more information regarding variants. No change in recommendations.
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Dec 23, 2022: Verified accuracy of picks; no change in recommendations.
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Sep 26, 2022: Restructured article to better match user expectations. Removed the Brother MFC-J4535DW and the Brother MFC-L2710DW. Added the Brother MFC-L2750DW as the 'Best Upper Mid-Range' pick, the Brother MFC-J4335DW as the 'Best Mid-Range' pick, and the Brother MFC-J1205W as the 'Best Budget' pick.
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Aug 02, 2022: Replaced the Brother HL-L2370DW with the Brother MFC-L2710DW because it has a better page yield and a scanner.
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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.
Conclusion
Brother is a well-known brand that offers practical and efficient business solutions through its 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 need replacing less. However, their ink or toner cartridges are 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.