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Brother MFC-J4335DW Printer Review

Tested using Methodology v1.2
Review updated Feb 19, 2024 at 10:47 am
Brother MFC-J4335DW Picture
8.2
Family
8.2
Small/Home Office
8.4
Student
8.5
Black & White
7.3
Photo

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is an all-in-one color inkjet printer. It uses a four-cartridge system and is compatible with Brother's LC406 ink cartridges. It has USB and Wi-Fi connectivity, supports Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service, and works with Brother's MobileConnect smartphone app. Scanner features include an 8.5" x 11" flatbed and an automatic feeder, but it doesn't support duplex scanning.

This printer has a variant, the Brother MFC-J4535DW. It has an additional 250-sheet input tray, a larger touch-sensitive display, and more connectivity options, including Ethernet, NFC support, and external storage support (USB flash drive). There's also a Costco-exclusive model, the Brother MFC-J4345DW XL, which is identical to the MFC-J4335DW but comes with additional longer-lasting XL ink cartridges. You can see more details in the Differences Between Variants section.

Our Verdict

8.2 Family

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is great for family use, with a superb cost-per-print and an outstanding mobile companion app. The scanning features are very good, so you can easily digitize old photos or process multi-page documents. Printed photos only look alright and have a lot of grain, but it's fine for casual use. Deep black and blues look noticeably different from originals, but it's okay for most non-professional color printing.

Pros
  • Feels very well built, with easy access to paper jams.
  • High page yields and low cost-per-print.
  • Automatic document feeder.
  • Produces very detailed photos.
  • Produces sharp documents.
Cons
  • Narrow color range and mediocre color accuracy.
  • Grainy photos.
  • Vertical bands when printing photos on 4" x 6" paper.
  • Small input tray.
8.2 Small/Home Office

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is great for small or home offices. It has excellent page yields to help minimize cartridge replacements, warms up in no time to get single pages out, and prints impressively quickly. There's easy access to paper jams from the rear or under the flatbed scan glass. Unfortunately, although it has an automatic document feeder, it can't duplex scan.

Pros
  • Feels very well built, with easy access to paper jams.
  • High page yields and low cost-per-print.
  • Prints documents quickly.
  • Automatic document feeder.
  • Produces sharp documents.
Cons
  • No duplex scanning.
  • Small input tray.
8.4 Student

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is great for students. The cost-per-print is outstandingly low, and it quickly prints out the single page so you can get your work out fast. There's also a flatbed scanner and automatic document feeder for digitizing notes. There's Wi-Fi connectivity, but it can't print via Bluetooth or directly from external storage.

Pros
  • Feels very well built, with easy access to paper jams.
  • High page yields and low cost-per-print.
  • Prints documents quickly.
  • Automatic document feeder.
  • Produces sharp documents.
Cons
  • Small input tray.
8.5 Black & White

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is excellent for black-and-white printing, with superb black page yields at a fantastic cost-per-print, and it's compatible with high-yield XL cartridges. It gets single pages out very quickly, prints longer documents at a good speed, and gives easy access to potential paper jams. There's an automatic document feeder, but unfortunately, it can't duplex scan.

Pros
  • Feels very well built, with easy access to paper jams.
  • High page yields and low cost-per-print.
  • Prints documents quickly.
  • Automatic document feeder.
  • Produces sharp documents.
Cons
  • No duplex scanning.
  • Small input tray.
7.3 Photo

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is decent for casual photo printing. Colors look reasonably accurate, but you need to set the quality to "High" to produce usable photos without any banding. Even then, there's plenty of grain, with washed-out blacks affecting small photo details.

Pros
  • Feels very well built, with easy access to paper jams.
  • High page yields and low cost-per-print.
  • Produces very detailed photos.
Cons
  • Narrow color range and mediocre color accuracy.
  • Grainy photos.
  • Vertical bands when printing photos on 4" x 6" paper.
  • 8.2 Family
  • 8.2 Small/Home Office
  • 8.4 Student
  • 8.5 Black & White
  • 7.3 Photo
  1. Updated Feb 19, 2024: We've updated the review for clarity and readability.
  2. Updated Jan 24, 2023: We've updated the review to improve clarity and added more information in the Expected Maintenance, Black and White Documents, Color Documents, Color Gamut, and Small Details sections.
  3. Updated Nov 10, 2022: We mistakenly indicated that the printer has an Ethernet port in the Connectivity section. It does not; it only has line ports for fax functionality. We've adjusted the score accordingly.
  4. Updated Aug 29, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
  5. Updated Jul 04, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
  6. Updated Apr 05, 2022: Updated the Photo Printing Time in the Printing Speed box. The result was initially very slow due to bad Wi-Fi connection, but it's much faster now.
  7. Updated Feb 28, 2022: Fixed mention of where the ink cartridges are located.
  8. Updated Jan 26, 2022: Reshot and updated the 'In Use Picture'.
  9. Updated Jan 05, 2022: Fixed error with Max Paper Weight test result.
  10. Updated Dec 14, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
  11. Updated Sep 03, 2021: Review published.
  12. Updated Aug 31, 2021: Early access published.
  13. Updated Aug 20, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
  14. Updated Aug 18, 2021: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  15. Updated Aug 11, 2021: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We tested the Brother MFC-J4335DW printer. It has a variant with slightly different features, the Brother MFC-J4535DW, and you can also get this printer in bundles that come with longer-lasting XL ink cartridges. You can see them in the table below.

Model Display Additional 250-sheet input tray Connectivity Bundle Versions Notes
MFC-J4335DW 1.8 in. (44.9 mm) TFT Color LCD N Wi-Fi, USB MFC-J4335DW XL - Includes additional high-yield cartridges -
MFC-J4345DW 1.8 in. (44.9 mm) TFT Color LCD N Wi-Fi, USB MFC-J4345DW XL - Includes additional high-yield cartridges Same printer as MFC-J4335DW - Costco exclusive, only available in bundle version
MFC-J4535DW 2.7 in. (67.5 mm) TFT Color Touchscreen LCD Y Wi-Fi, USB, Ethernet, external storage (USB), NFC MFC-J4535DW XL - Includes additional high-yield cartridges -

See our unit's label here.

Compared To Other Printers

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is among the best all-in-one inkjet printers for home use. It yields a large number of prints, doesn't cost much to maintain, and produces high-quality documents. For photo printing, it's outstanding at producing fine details, but there are many printers in its class with a wider color range and better color accuracy.

For more options, check out our recommendations for the best home printers, the best all-in-one printers, and the best inkjet printers.

Epson EcoTank ET-2850

The Brother MFC-J4335DW and the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 are both good options for a home office. If you scan often for work, the Brother is a better choice since it has an automatic document feeder that scans very quickly. It also prints much faster. On the other hand, if you print often, the Epson is a better choice. It has much higher page yields, and its ink bottle costs are much cheaper than the Brother's cartridge prices.

Epson EcoTank ET-2800/ET-2803

The Epson EcoTank ET-2800/ET-2803 and the Brother MFC-J4335DW are both inkjet models, but the Epson uses a refillable supertank ink system, while the Brother uses a hybrid high-yield cartridge–tank system. The Brother performs better for home office, student use, and black and white printing, as it prints significantly faster and supports duplex printing. Additionally, it has an automatic document feeder that scans multi-page documents quickly. The Epson yields significantly more black and color pages at a much cheaper cost-per-print, produces significantly better-looking photos with deeper contrast, and produces a much wider range of colors with better accuracy.

Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W

The Brother MFC-J4335DW and the Brother MFC-J1205W areboth all-in-one inkjet printers designed for home use. The J4335DW is better overall because it has better page yields, faster printing speed, and more scanner features like an automatic feeder and duplex scanning. It also has a better display console with more buttons to help navigate the settings menu. As for the print quality, the MFC-J4335DW is better for documents, but the MFC-J1205W has a slightly wider color range and better color accuracy.

Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4830

The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4830 and the Brother MFC-J4335DW are both all-in-one inkjet printers. The Brother is better overall as it produces higher-quality documents and scans, and its cost-per-print is much lower due to its significantly better page yields. However, the Epson has more features, like duplex scanning, a larger input tray capacity, and support for USB flash drives.

Brother MFC-J995DW

The Brother MFC-J995DW and the Brother MFC-J4335DW both use the proprietary INKvestment Tank hybrid cartridge–tank system for superior page yields compared to traditional cartridges. The J995DW is better for families and casual photo printing thanks to its significantly higher page yields, cheaper cost-per-print, faster photo printing speed, and significantly better-looking photos. It can also print directly from USB flash drives and SD cards. On the other hand, the J4335DW is better for small and home offices and black-and-white printing thanks to its much faster document printing speeds and faster scanning speed.

Canon PIXMA TR8620a

The Brother MFC-J4335DW and the Canon PIXMA TR8620a are both all-in-one family printers. The Brother produces higher-quality documents, prints faster, and yields significantly more prints, so it's a better choice if you need to print a lot of documents for work, school, or hobbies. For photo printing, the Brother produces more fine details, but the Canon produces a wider range of colors with better accuracy.

HP Smart Tank 5101

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is much better than the HP Smart Tank 5101. The Brother produces higher-quality documents and photos, prints faster, and supports automatic duplex printing. It also has an automatic feeder to scan long, multipage documents and extendable lid hinges to accommodate thicker items like textbooks. The HP yields more prints, but it may need more maintenance, as its printheads clog easily.

Epson EcoTank ET-2720

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is a better printer overall compared to the Epson EcoTank ET-2720. The Brother prints faster, supports automatic duplex printing, and produces far more accurate colors. It also feels better built, has a better display and physical keypad, built-in fax, and an automatic document feeder. On the other hand, the Epson uses a supertank ink system for far better page yields and a cheaper cost-per-print, and aside from the disappointing color accuracy, produces much better-looking photos.

HP OfficeJet Pro 6978

The Brother MFC-J4335DW performs better overall than the HP OfficeJet Pro 6978. The Brother can print lots more pages than the HP before its cartridges run out, resulting in much lower running costs. Also, the Brother prints and scans much faster, and its flatbed lid's hinges can extend to scan thicker items. On the other hand, the HP can automatically scan double-sided sheets and print directly off a USB flash drive.

Canon PIXMA TR7820/TS7720

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is better than the Canon PIXMA TR7820/TS7720 for most uses. The Brother produces higher-quality documents and scans and prints faster. It also yields significantly more pages, resulting in a lower cost-per-print. However, the Canon produces more colorful and color-accurate photos, and its scanner supports manual duplex scanning.

HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e/8139e

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is better than the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e/8139e in basically every relevant way. The Brother has a sturdier build, a more user-friendly interface, a higher page yield, faster printing speeds, and superior print quality. Its scanner also has an ADF that processes pages much faster than that of the HP, and its flatbed scanner has a height-adjustable hinge to accommodate thicker source material.

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Video

Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
8.0
Design
Build Quality
Type All in One

This printer feels very well-built, with a design that allows easy access to the ink cartridges and potential paper jams. However, the power cord isn't removable, making it hard to replace if damaged, and the input tray feels a tad flimsy. Also, the USB-B port for connecting directly to a computer is under the scan bed, shortening the cable's usable length.

Design
Dimensions
Height 7.1" (18.0 cm)
Width 17.3" (44.0 cm)
Depth 13.5" (34.3 cm)
Height When In Use
8.1" (20.5 cm)
Width When In Use
17.3" (44.0 cm)
Depth When In Use
18.3" (46.5 cm)
Weight
18.6 lbs (8.4 kg)
6.0
Design
Expected Maintenance
Ink Related Maintenance
Expected
Drum Unit
No Drum Unit

Like most inkjet printers, the printheads can clog if you don't print anything for an extended period. There are a few maintenance functions built-in to help resolve clogging or other print quality issues, like Printhead Cleaning and Improve Print Quality (for white, dark, or uneven lines). As for regular ink maintenance, the ink cartridges yield a large number of prints, so you won't have to replace them all that often unless you print a lot. You can access the ink cartridges through the large opening at the front of the printer. The input tray holds only 150 sheets, which is on the smaller side. If you have a large print load or want to reduce maintenance, the Brother MFC-J4535DW variant has a secondary input tray that holds 250 sheets of paper, bringing the maximum capacity to 400 sheets. For paper jams, the sheet rollers are accessible by lifting the scanner bed or through a panel on the back. The back panel is small, so there isn't much space to maneuver.

See the user manual here.

7.0
Design
Display Screen
Display Screen Yes
Display Screen Size
1.8" (4.5 cm)
Touchscreen No

The display is decent. It's visible whether you're seated, standing, or off to the side. It isn't a touchscreen, but the full array of physical buttons makes navigating the user interface easy. There's audio feedback when pressing the buttons, although you can turn this off if it bothers you. The Brother J4535DW variant has a larger 2.7-inch, touch-sensitive display and fewer physical buttons.

9.2
Design
Cartridge
Technology Inkjet
SuperTank
No
Photo Cartridge
No
Color Yes
Number Of Color Cartridges
3
Black Cartridge Model
LC406 BK
Tested Black Page Yield
120 prints
Estimated Black Page Yield
2,280 prints
Color Cartridge Model
LC406 C/M/Y
Tested Color Page Yield
36 prints
Estimated Color Page Yield
825 prints
Third Party Cartridge
No Cartridges
Ink Type
Dye And Pigment
High Yield Cartridge
Yes

The ink cartridges yield a large number of prints, so you won't need to replace them often, and you can further increase the yield with XL cartridges (LC406XL). However, if one cartridge runs out of ink, you'll need to replace it before the printer lets you print anything else.

7.6
Design
Scanner Features
Scanner
ADF + Flatbed
ADF Capacity
20 pages
Scan Speed
20 PPM
Duplex Scanning
No
Max Flatbed Scan Size
8.5" x 11"
Max ADF Scan Size
8.5" x 14"
Flatbed Hinge Adjustability
0.96" (24 mm)
Fax
Yes
Copy
Yes
OCR Included
Built-in
9.5
Design
Scan Quality
Max Scan Resolution
1,200 DPI
Max Scan Color Depth
24Bit

The scan quality is exceptional. Text looks clear, colors look vibrant, and fine details, like the lines in the graph, are present.

Design
In The Box

  • Quick Setup Guide
  • Telephone line cord
  • Brother LC406 starter cartridges:
    • 1x LC406 black
    • 1x LC406 cyan
    • 1x LC406 magenta
    • 1x LC406 yellow

Design
Battery
Advertised Battery Life
N/A
Tested Charging Time
N/A

This is a corded printer.

Document
9.0
Document
Black & White Documents
Color Ink Needed For Black & White
Yes

The print quality of black-and-white documents is outstanding. Text looks sharp, and most fine details are present. The only complaint is that the colored areas look a tad washed out and grainy.

9.0
Document
Color Documents

The print quality of color documents is outstanding. Text looks clear, and colors look vibrant without being oversaturated. Finer details are visible, but not as much as when printing in black-and-white.

9.5
Document
Cost-Per-Print
Black Cartridge Price
32.99 US$
Color Cartridge Price
64.49 US$
Black-Only Printing Cost
0.014 US$/print
Color Printing Cost
0.078 US$/print
Photo Printing Cost
0.202 US$/print
Ink Subscription
Optional

The cost-per-print is exceptionally low, thanks to its high page yields and relatively cheap ink cartridges. It's eligible for Brother's Refresh Auto-Fulfillment Service, a service that ships ink to you when your printer runs low (with no limit); however, it isn't compatible with the Brother Refresh EZ Print Subscription, which gives you a fixed allowance of prints per month for a flat monthly fee.

8.1
Document
Printing Speed
Black Only Text Document
17 PPM
Color Document
15 PPM
Photo Printing Time
55.6 s
Single Page Out Time (Black Only)
11.3 s
Duplex Printing
Automatic
Input Tray Capacity
150 pages

If you want a larger input tray capacity to reduce maintenance, the Brother MFC-J4535DW variant has an additional 250-sheet input tray, bringing the maximum capacity to 400 sheets. The output tray holds a total of 100 sheets.

For photo printing, the "Normal" photo printing quality setting causes thick vertical banding. As such, we used the "High" quality instead, which produces a better-looking image. We recorded this print speed as our photo printing time result since we expect more people will use this setting for photo printing.

Document
Document Printing Sizes
Letter (8.5" x 11") Yes
Legal (8.5" x 14") Yes
Tabloid (11" x 17") No
A6 (105mm x 148mm) Yes
A5 (148mm x 210mm) Yes
A4 (210mm x 297mm) Yes
Max Paper Weight
220 g/m²

This printer has a manual-fed, one-sheet multipurpose tray on the back.

Photo
6.0
Photo
Color Gamut

This printer has a mediocre color gamut. It has trouble producing bright, saturated tones, as well as darker shades of blue, green, and yellow. Color transitions look grainy and patchy.

As mentioned in the Printing Speed section, printing photos in the 'Normal' quality setting causes vertical banding; however, setting the quality to 'High' or 'Best' fixes the issue. There are also bands when printing borderless on 4" x 6" paper, but this issue isn't present when printing the same image on letter-size paper.

6.1
Photo
Color Accuracy
Average Color dE
8.09

Color accuracy is passable. Most colors are inaccurate, but not enough to make pictures look bad or unnatural. That said, it still isn't ideal for professional work that requires perfect accuracy.

9.0
Photo
Small Details
Max Print Resolution (DPI)
1200 x 6000

This printer is outstanding at reproducing small details. Although the advertised print resolution is 1200 x 4800, it can print at a higher resolution of 1200 x 6000 if you set the print quality to 'Best.' Fine details look clear and well-defined, and while the use of halftones (dots) causes some loss of detail, it's not too bad.

8.0
Photo
Photo Printing Sizes
Glossy Paper (4" x 6") Yes
Glossy Paper (5" x 7") Yes
Glossy Paper (8" x 10") No
Glossy Paper (8.5" x 11") Yes
Glossy Paper (13" x 19") No
Borderless Printing
Yes
Mobile App And Connectivity
7.0
Mobile App And Connectivity
Connectivity
Ethernet
No
USB Input To Computer
Yes
Wireless Yes
Bluetooth
No
Wi-Fi via Router
Yes
Wi-Fi Direct
Yes
External Storage Support
No
Apple AirPrint
Yes
Mopria Print Service
Yes

The Brother MFC-J4335DW's USB-B direct-to-computer port is under the scanner as seen here. The Brother MFC-J4535DW variant has an Ethernet port and NFC support, and it can print directly off a USB flash drive.

9.5
Mobile App And Connectivity
Mobile App
Mobile App Yes
App Name Brother Mobile Connect
iOS Yes
Android Yes
Photo (JPEG, PNG)
Android and iOS
PDF
Android and iOS
Microsoft Office Files
Android and iOS
Text Files (TXT)
Android and iOS
Webpages (HTML)
No

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is compatible with the Brother Mobile Connect, not the older Brother iPrint&Scan app. You can use the Mobile Connect app to print, scan, and copy directly from your mobile device, check ink levels, perform maintenance tasks, and even order supplies. The maximum supported scan resolution is 300 DPI when scanning with the smartphone's camera, as opposed to the 1200 DPI on the desktop software.

Mobile App And Connectivity
OS Compatibility
Windows Fully
macOS Fully
Chrome OS Fully

You need to install drivers to use the printer on Windows devices, which you can find here. On Chrome OS devices, you need to install the Brother iPrint&Scan app from the Google Play Store to get full functionality. There's no need to install drivers on Macs.