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Brother MFC-J870DW review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £137
inc VAT

We love this MFP's interface and comprehensive features, but both print and scan quality are disappointing

Specifications

33ppm print speed, USB, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11n wireless, 180x410x374mm

http://www.printerbase.co.uk

The Brother MFC-J870DW is a small business-oriented MFP with a comprehensive specification. There’s a fax machine, direct printing and scanning from its USB port and memory card reader, wired and wireless networking and the ability to print from a smartphone or tablet using NFC. The MFP has a 6.8mm touchscreen and numeric pad which lights up when required.

Brother MFC-J870DW

When you plug in the MFP, you’re prompted to insert the ink cartridges into slots located behind a neat flap on the front right of the unit. As you push each of the four cartridges into place, they’re instantly recognised and removed from the on-screen list of required colours. The printer comes with a set of LC-121 cartridges, but our cost estimates are based on the larger, better-value LC-123 cartridges, which work out a somewhat expensive 3p per mono page and 9p per page of mixed colour and black printing.

The J870DW’s main paper tray takes up to 100 sheets of plain A4 paper. Mounted above it is a second tray capable of accommodating 20 sheets of 4x6in photo paper. To load and print on 6x4in paper, you have to manually pull this tray forwards with a blue plastic tab. If you want to print on normal paper, though, you have to remember to retract the 6x4in tray manually. It’s a little annoying, but at least the printer tells you if you’re trying to print on the wrong paper type.

We also found that the photo tray didn’t always hold our paper in perfect alignment, so there were sometimes bits of white at the edges of pictures. Photo printing is not this MFP’s strong suit, partly because of this alignment issue, partly because of poor contrast and shading, and partly because six 6x4in photos take a long 14m 15s to print. That said, its photos aren’t entirely dire, with colourful images looking pleasingly vivid.

Brother MFC-J870DW

Colour A4 print speeds were generally slow even by inkjet standards. A 24-page colour document printed at 1.9ppm, with occasional pauses. Our colour duplex text, which prints five double-sided pages, was completed at a fast rate of 2.7ppm, but this is because the printer pauses during long print jobs, creating a situation in which longer print jobs can print at a slower rate than shorter ones. High-quality colour prints looked unremarkable. Images were a little dull and large images had faint lines across them.

Close examination also revealed lines on our mono text print, but from a standard reading distance, text documents were solid and readable. They printed quickly, too, with an output speed of 12.1ppm. Switching to draft mode raises this to 16ppm but produces dull grey text.

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Basic Specifications

Rating ***
Maximum native print resolution 6,000×1,200dpi
Max optical resolution 2,400×1,200dpi
Output bit depth 24-bit

Quoted Speeds

Quoted speed, mono A4 33ppm
Quoted speed, colour A4 27ppm

Tested Print Speeds

Time for two 10x8in photos 1.0 8m 42s
Time for six 6x4in photos 1.0 14m 15s

Physical and Environmental

Standard printer interfaces USB, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11n wireless
Optional printer interfaces none
Size 180x410x374mm
Weight 9.3kg
Noise (in normal use) 50dB(A)

Paper Handling

Maximum paper size A4
Maximum paper weight 260gsm
Standard paper inputs 1
Standard paper input capacity 100
Maximum paper inputs 1
Maximum paper input capacity 100
Duplex (code, cost if option) Yes

General

Printer technology thermal inkjet
Supported operating systems Windows XP/Vista/7/8, Mac OS X
Other inkjet features 6.8cm touchscreen, NFC printing and scanning
Other inkjet options none

Buying Information

Price £137
Consumable parts and prices £12 each
Price per colour A4 page 6.0p
Quoted life of supplied black cartridge 300
Quoted life of supplied colour cartridge(s) 300
Quoted life of supplied photo cartridge(s) N/A
Warranty one year RTB
Supplier http://www.printerbase.co.uk
Details www.brother.co.uk

Print Quality

Number of ink colours 4
Number of ink cartridges 4
Maximum number of ink colours 4
Maximum number of cartridges 4

Tested Scan Speeds

Full scan area preview 13s
A4 document at 150dpi 15s
A4 document at 300dpi 23s
6x4in photo at 600dpi 30s
6x4in photo at 1200dpi 1m 24s

Tested Copy Speeds

Time for single A4 mono copy 1.0 22s
Time for single A4 colour copy 1.0 24s
Time for 10 A4 copies using feeder 2.0 2m 24s

Photo Features

PictBridge support Yes
Borderless printing up to A4
Direct (PC-less) printing Yes
Supported memory cards SDXC, MMC, Memory Stick Pro
CD printing Yes

Copy Features

Maximum number of copies 99
Max mono copy resolution 1,200×1,200dpi
Max colour copy resolution 1,200×1,200dpi

Fax Features

Max mono fax resolution 203x392dpi
Fax memory (maximum mono pages) 200