Brother MFC-J805DW INKvestment Tank Printer Review

The Brother MFC-J805DW has a great design. The body of the printer feels good and sturdy and there's easy access to the ink cartridges through the front left compartment. The scanner lid can also raise for bulkier items like books or magazines, and the full numerical keypad on the display panel is a nice touch. On the downside, you can't unplug the power cord from the printer, so if it gets damaged, you may have to replace the entire printer. If you want to connect your printer to your computer using a USB connection, the input is underneath the scanbed, and routing it shortens the cable by about a foot.

This printer is tall and wide. Opening the scanner lid requires space so putting this printer underneath a short shelving unit probably isn't a good idea.

Update 07/07/2020:We previously reported the size of the display screen as 5.1cm, which is wrong. It has been fixed and the score has been updated accordingly.

The Brother MFC-J805DW INKvestment Tank has a good display screen. It's a small screen that lacks a touch interface, but it has physical buttons to its right so that you can punch in commands. They give off audible feedback when pushed, but if you don't like the sound, you can turn them off. You can also vertically tilt the display panel for better visibility as it ensures good viewing angles whether you're sitting or standing. While there's no horizontal tilt, you can still see the screen okay if you're viewing it from the side.

• Fax/phone cable
• 1x LC3033BK Black
• 1x LC3033C Cyan
• 1x LC3033M Magenta
• 1x LC3033Y Yellow
• User guide
• Installation CD

The Brother MFC-J805DW has an exceptional cartridge system thanks to its INKvestment Tank Ink System, which can hold more ink per cartridge. It can yield a lot of black or colored ink pages before it needs to be replaced and Brother also carries even higher yield cartridges if you're constantly printing off things.

This printer will accept third-party cartridges, but this could void its warranty, and special attention must be paid as this printer uses a combination of dye and pigment-based inks.

The Brother MFC-J805DW has great scanner features. The flatbed scanner is great for more delicate items like film photos or bulky items such as books. There's also a sheetfed scanner for processing more pages as it has an automatic document feeder, which can help streamline your workflow. On the downside, it doesn't have duplex scanning so if you have double-sided documents, you'll have to scan each side manually.

The Brother MFC-J805DW's cost-per-print ratio is outstanding and is an economical choice for those who print a lot of things. Whether you're printing off black or colored documents, the cost remains very low. Printing photos is also very affordable too, but if you're looking for a printer with an even lower cost-per-print, check out the Epson EcoTank ET-2720.

Keep in mind that even if you print only in black, most inkjet printers continue using the color cartridge for servicing tasks, so you'll likely still need to replace it eventually.

The Brother MFC-J805DW has a mediocre printing speed. While the first page of a black-text document is fairly quick to print, subsequent pages are much slower. Color documents and 4" x 6" photos are even slower to print.

The Brother MFC-J805DW has disappointing color accuracy. While it may not be a dealbreaker for those who like to add a small splash of color to their reports, it's not recommended for tasks that demand more precise color accuracy.

The photo printing quality of the Brother MFC-J805DW is decent. Colors appear vibrant but yellow is a little washed out. The photo looks quite grainy and there's a lot of banding throughout the photo. Even though this printer has borderless printing, there's still a thin border around the photos.

The Brother MFC-J805DW INKvestment Tank has a front input cassette that has sliders for length and width. There's also a rear manual feeder with a width slider. Each tray supports most popular paper formats and types.

This printer has decent connectivity options. You can hook it up to your Wi-Fi via your router or by Wi-Fi Direct. If you're on a mobile device, you can also use Apple AirPrint or Mopria Print Service. However, this printer lacks Bluetooth connectivity and you won't also be able to print off photos directly from external storage like a USB key or an SD card. Still, if you're using this printer in your home office, it has a phone line for faxing, which is nice.

The Brother MFC-J805DW is compatible with the Brother iPrint&Scan app, which allows you to print, scan, and copy directly from the app. You can check ink levels as well as order ink, and if you scan a document using this printer, you can see it directly on your mobile device.