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Epson EcoTank ET-3850 Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 Brother MFC-J4335DW Brother MFC-L8905CDW [MFC-L8895CDW, MFC-L8900CDW] Epson EcoTank ET-2850 Epson EcoTank ET-2800/ET-2803 Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Canon PIXMA MG3620 Brother MFC-L2750DW [L2710DW, L2717DW, L2730DW] HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M283fdw Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw/MF654Cdw Epson EcoTank ET-4800/ET-4810 HP OfficeJet Pro 8025e [8022e, 8028e, 8035e] HP Smart Tank 7301 [6001, 7001] Canon PIXMA TR8620a Epson Expression Home XP-4200 Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 Canon PIXMA TR4720/TR4722 Epson WorkForce WF-2930
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  4. Brother
  5. Brother
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Intro
  3. Review Updates
  4. Best Printer
  5. Best Upper Mid-Range
  6. Best Mid-Range
  7. Best Budget
  8. Comparison
  9. Lineup
  10. Page Updates
  11. Conclusion
  12. Discussions

The 4 Best Brother Printers of 2023 Reviews

Updated
Best Brother Printers

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 print out forms. They have a small lineup of color inkjet printers that use a hybrid between a supertank and a traditional cartridge system, so adding a splash of color to graphs is easy. Overall, they maintain quick print speeds so you can get your report out the door as quickly as possible.

Updates

Best Brother Printers


  1. Best Brother Printer

    Brother MFC-L8905CDW [MFC-L8895CDW, MFC-L8900CDW] Design Photo
    Brother MFC-L8905CDW [MFC-L8895CDW, MFC-L8900CDW] In-Test Picture
    Brother MFC-L8905CDW [MFC-L8895CDW, MFC-L8900CDW] Color dE Graph
    Brother MFC-L8905CDW [MFC-L8895CDW, MFC-L8900CDW] Color dE Picture
    Brother MFC-L8905CDW [MFC-L8895CDW, MFC-L8900CDW] In the Box Picture
    Brother MFC-L8905CDW [MFC-L8895CDW, MFC-L8900CDW] 9
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    Family
    8.2
    Small/Home Office
    9.2
    Student
    8.7
    Black & White
    9.1
    Photo
    4.7
    Type All in One
    Technology Laser
    SuperTank
    No
    Color Yes
    Wireless Yes
    See all our test results

    The best Brother printer we've tested is the Brother MFC-L8905CDW, a color laser all-in-one designed for small and home offices. It doesn't take long to warm up, prints quickly at up to 32 pages per minute, and produces amazingly sharp documents. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, USB, and Ethernet, and there's support for Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service, making it easy for everyone to access. It has a large, Legal-size flatbed (8.5" x 14") scanner as well as an automatic feeder with single-pass duplex scanning. Optical character recognition is present; it lets you scan documents into PDFs for quick keyword searches.

    The regular toner cartridges yield around 2,900 black and 1,400 color prints, so they don't need frequent replacement. You can also buy XL cartridges that'll last even longer, with the largest TN437 cartridge yielding up to 8,000 to 9,000 pages. The drum is a separate unit you'll have to spend extra to replace, but you won't have to do it often as it's usually good for around 30,000 prints. All in all, it won't cost much to maintain the printer over time. With its incredible feature set, great performance, and easy maintenance, this is definitely the best Brother printer for small business we've tested.

    If you want to save money and don't mind compromising on features, you can go with the Brother MFC-L8900CDW variant, which performs identically but has a smaller display. The Brother MFC-L8610CDW variant is also cheaper; it has an 8.5" x 11" flatbed scanner and doesn't support duplex scanning. You can see more details about the variants in the full review.

    See our review

  2. Best Upper Mid-Range Brother Printer

    Brother MFC-L2750DW [L2710DW, L2717DW, L2730DW] Design Photo
    Brother MFC-L2750DW [L2710DW, L2717DW, L2730DW] In-Test Picture
    Brother MFC-L2750DW [L2710DW, L2717DW, L2730DW] Color dE Picture
    Brother MFC-L2750DW [L2710DW, L2717DW, L2730DW] In the Box Picture
    Brother MFC-L2750DW 1
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    Family
    6.6
    Small/Home Office
    8.6
    Student
    8.3
    Black & White
    9.1
    Photo
    1.4
    Type All in One
    Technology Laser
    SuperTank
    No
    Color No
    Wireless Yes
    See all our test results

    If 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 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 scanning multi-page and double-sided documents a breeze. 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 2,000 prints and is relatively cheap, so you won't have to spend too much on replacement toner.

    If budget is a concern and you're willing to compromise on some features, 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.

    See our review

  3. Best Mid-Range Brother Printer

    Brother MFC-J4335DW Design Photo
    Brother MFC-J4335DW In-Test Picture
    Brother MFC-J4335DW Color dE Graph
    Brother MFC-J4335DW Color dE Picture
    Brother MFC-J4335DW In the Box Picture
    Brother MFC-J4335DW 0
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    Family
    8.2
    Small/Home Office
    8.2
    Student
    8.4
    Black & White
    8.5
    Photo
    7.3
    Type All in One
    Technology Inkjet
    SuperTank
    No
    Color Yes
    Wireless Yes
    See all our test results

    If you need a printer for your household, the mid-range Brother MFC-J4335DW is the best Brother printer for home use and one of the best Brother all-in-one printers we've tested. 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. You won't need to worry about maintenance costs, 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 damaged.

    See our review

  4. Best Budget Brother Printer

    Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Design Photo
    Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W In-Test Picture
    Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Color dE Graph
    Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Color dE Picture
    Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W In the Box Picture
    Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W 1
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    Family
    7.9
    Small/Home Office
    7.2
    Student
    8.0
    Black & White
    7.3
    Photo
    7.6
    Type All in One
    Technology Inkjet
    SuperTank
    No
    Color Yes
    Wireless Yes
    See all our test results

    For 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 wide color range, but printed photos still look very detailed and reasonably color-accurate. It's a great option for those on a tight budget who don't mind a few compromises.

    If you only need to print black and white documents, go with the Brother HL-L2325DW instead, one of the best Brother printers we've tested. It produces sharp documents, prints quickly, and is cheap to maintain. The downside is that it's a print-only unit, meaning it doesn't have a scanner.

    See our review

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. Check out our list of the best Canon printers to see our recommendations.

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

  1. Sep 15, 2023: Small text changes to include the Brother HL-L2325DW as an alternative to the Brother MFC-J1205W. No change in recommendations.

  2. Jun 20, 2023: Replaced the Brother MFC-L3770CDW Laser with the Brother MFC-L8905CDW because the MFC-L8905CDW prints faster, supports external USB flash drives, and yields more prints.

  3. Mar 23, 2023: Minor text changes to provide more information regarding variants. No change in recommendations.

  4. Dec 23, 2022: Verified accuracy of picks; no change in recommendations.

  5. 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.

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 disappointing if multiple people share a printer.

Test Results