Brother HL-L3280CDW [HL-L3220CDW, HL-L3295CDW] Printer Review

The Brother HL-L3280CDW feels well-built. It has a sturdy all-plastic body, with solid-feeling hinges and tray. The power cord is removable if you need to replace it. Its design gives you easy access to the toner cartridges, sheet rollers, belt unit, and waste toner box for maintenance. The only complaints are minor, like the display being in a fixed position and the lack of a cover to prevent dust and debris from falling into the output tray at the top. There are grooves on the sides so you can get a good grip when carrying the printer; they're quite handy, as the printer is heavy.

Here are the advertised measurements for the other variants:

• HL-L3220CDW/HL-L3240CDW
• Height: 9.4" (23.9 cm)
• Width: 15.7" (39.9 cm)
• Depth: 15.7" (39.9 cm)
• Weight: 33.5 lbs (15.2 kg)
• HL-L3295CDW
• Height: 10.8" (27.4 cm)
• Width: 15.7" (39.9 cm)
• Depth: 17.6" (44.6 cm)
• Weight: 36.8 lbs (16.7 kg)

This printer doesn't need much maintenance. Unlike inkjet printers, there's no risk of clogging if you don't use the printer for a long time. The toner cartridges yield a large number of prints, so you won't need to replace them often unless you print a lot. Replacing the toner cartridges is straightforward—you can access them by lifting the top of the printer. The drum is a separate unit you'll have to replace, but again, it isn't something you’ll have to do regularly, as it has a lifespan of around 20,000 prints. Having a separate drum is also less wasteful and might cost less in the long run, as, unlike cartridges with an integrated drum, you don't have to throw out the whole cartridge if the drum gets damaged. Also, drums usually last much longer than the toner. At the time of writing, we could only find the drum unit sold in a pack of four, whereas the toner cartridges are available individually. Other parts that will eventually need replacing are the waste toner box (to collect excess toner produced during printing) and the belt unit; both have an estimated lifespan of about 50,000 prints and are widely available through Brother, marketplaces, and third-party sellers. The belt unit is below the toner cartridges, and the waste toner box is below the belt.

For paper jams, you can access the sheet rollers via a panel on the back of the printer or by removing the paper tray. The input tray holds 250 sheets of paper; if you want a bigger input tray capacity to minimize maintenance, you can get the top-end Brother HL-L3295CDW variant, which supports an additional 250-sheet tray (sold separately), bringing the total capacity to 500 sheets.

See the user guide here.

The display is reasonably large, and its wide viewing angles make it easy to see whether you're sitting, standing, or off to the side. The lack of tilt and swivel adjustment doesn't affect its usability. Touch input feels responsive, and the interface is user-friendly. The screen's finish picks up a lot of fingerprints, though, which might bother some people.

The HL-L3295CDW variant has the same display, while the HL-L3220CDW and HL-L3240CDW variants have a 1-line monochrome LCD.

The regular TN229 toner cartridges yield a large number of prints and won't need regular replacement unless you print a lot. You can get high-yield cartridges; the TN229XL cartridges have an estimated yield of 3,000 black and 2,300 color prints, while the TN229V Value High-yield toner gets you around 3,300 black and 2,530 color prints. There are Super High-Yield cartridges (TN229XXL), which have an estimated yield of 4,500 black and 4,000 color prints; however, they only work with the top-end Brother HL-L3295CDW variant. The starter cartridges that come with the printer have an approximate yield of 1,000 black and 1,000 color prints.

The printer warns you when the toner is low; clicking on the message shows you which cartridge is running out, along with an ad for Brother's ink/toner subscription service. It stops printing entirely when a cartridge is empty and shows you a 'Replace Toner' message followed by instructions on replacing the cartridges.

This is a print-only unit.

• Power cord
• Documentation
• Set of starter toner cartridges:
• 1x Black
• 1x Cyan
• 1x Magenta
• 1x Yellow
• 4x Drum unit (installed in photo, DR229CL)
• Not shown (pre-installed):
• 1x Waste toner box (WT229CL)
• 1x Belt unit (BU229CL)

This is a corded printer.

The print quality of black-and-white documents is outstanding. Text looks sharp, and all of the fine elements are present.

The print quality of color documents is outstanding. Everything looks sharp and clean, and the colors look vibrant but not oversaturated.

The cost-per-print is great, as the toner cartridges aren't overly expensive and yield a large number of prints. You'll have to spend extra to replace the drums; however, they don't need regular replacement, as they have an estimated lifespan of 20,000 prints.

The print speed varies depending on the model. Here are the advertised print speeds (black and color) for the other variants:

• HL-L3220CDW: 19 PPM
• HL-L3240CDW: 27 PPM (same as this model)
• HL-L3295CDW: 31 PPM

The output tray holds 150 prints; this is the same for all variants. All models have a single-sheet multi-purpose tray except for the top-end Brother HL-L3295CDW variant, which has an increased capacity of 30 sheets. The HL-L3295CDW also supports an additional 250-sheet input tray (sold separately).

Prints come out slightly curled and remain so after they've cooled. If this bothers you, there's a 'Reduce Paper Curl' setting that can help. The posted max paper weight applies to the main input tray and the manual feeder.

The main input tray takes plain (thin or thick) and recycled paper. The multi-purpose tray takes plain paper, recycled paper, bond, envelopes, and glossy paper.

This printer has a poor color gamut. Its narrow color range makes photos look flat and causes a significant loss of fine details. Color transitions look grainy and patchy, and the printing pattern is clearly visible.

Color accuracy is sub-par. Most colors are visibly inaccurate. This isn't an issue if you just want to add some colors to a document, but it isn't ideal for photo printing.

This printer is bad at reproducing small details. It has a low print resolution, and like most laser printers, the printing pattern causes a significant loss of fine details.

Brother specifies in the manual that this printer can print on glossy paper (NewPage Futura Laser Gloss 80 lb Text paper suggested); however, we couldn't find any at the time of writing. As such, we consider the printer incapable of printing on glossy paper.

The Brother HL-L3220CDW variant doesn't have an Ethernet port. The Brother HL-L3295CDW variant supports NFC (Near-Field Communication), allowing you to connect an NFC-enabled device by tapping it against the printer, and it can also print directly off a USB flash drive.

Brother's Mobile Connect app is superb. It lets you print, order supplies, manage your toner/ink subscription, access the printer's support page, and perform maintenance tasks. You can print even when you aren't home or close to the printer, though this function requires a Brother account. This app can't print webpages directly, so you'll have to print them from whichever app or browser you use to view them.

Installing drivers or apps on Chrome OS and macOS devices is unnecessary. You don't necessarily need to do it on Windows devices to print, but we recommend doing so, as it'll ensure you get access to all the settings and functions. You can get the drivers here.