PROS:
- Two-sided printing
- quick printing for the price
- Fax capability
- uses mobile devices to print and scan
- combined with a cheap cost per page
CONS:
- Duplex scanning is not supported by ADF.
- Low font quality and some stylistic typefaces result in poor text quality.
SPECS:
- Type: Integrated
- Color against monochrome:
- Types of Connection: USB, WiFi, and Wi-Fi Direct
- Legal is the maximum standard paper size.
- 4 distinct ink colors total.
- 4 ink tanks or cartridges are present.
- Direct Printing From Media Cards: Absolutely Not
- Direct Printing From USB Sticks Is Not Supported
- Rated Speed (Color) at Default Settings: 19 ppm.
- Rated Speed (Mono): 20 ppm at Default Settings
- 250 to 2,000 duty cycles per month are recommended.
- Maximum Monthly Duty Cycle: 30,000 Pages Monthly
- LCD preview display: a no
- 150 + 1 inputs per printer
- 0.9 cents for each monochrome page.
- 4.7 cents per page (in color)
- Duplex Printing: Yes
- Yes, an automatic document feeder
- Flatbed with a 20-page ADF scanner type
- No duplexing scans
- Legal Maximum Scan Area
- Optical Resolution of the Scanner: 1,200 by 2,400 pixels per inch
- standalone fax and copier: fax, copier
The Brother MFC-J5330DW is a four-in-one multifunction printer that does a good job across the board. It is well-specified, just lacking NFC and an SD card slot, and it is quick, though not as quick as other competitors. Even though its footprint isn’t much larger than the typical A4 MFP, it is fairly well-designed in the way that it manages cables internally and can accommodate A3 paper.
Although this device is reasonably priced, its A3 capability—which makes it possible to print high-quality color posters and booklets—is likely to be the main selling point for many prospective consumers.
Build and design
The MFC-extra J5330DW’s desk space would be a problem if it were just an A4 multifunction printer, such to the Canon Maxify MB2750. Its ability to accept A3 places it in a totally different category, though. A4 sheets can be placed in the tray in portrait mode, which prevents the drawer from protruding uncomfortably like it does on most A4 printers. Alternatively, you can extend the tray and add 250 sheets of A3 paper to it. However, the A4-only scanner bed is a limitation.
The J5330DW is an inkjet printer that costs £190.80 (about $250, AU$325) and has four cartridges that are inserted through the front flap. To access the printer heads and to plug in the Ethernet and USB cords, the top half of the device opens. In order to prevent inadvertent cable disconnecting, Brother has placed these ports on the inside with the wires coming out the back.
As previously indicated, the machine has a 50-page ADF on the top for aligning scanning or copying tasks and a single document feed tray for envelopes, headed paper, and the like at the back.
A rather modest but yet extremely usable color touchscreen serves as the control panel. Along with a hard button numerical keypad, it pivots upward for simple access.
Features
This Brother four-in-one MFP is a solid performer when it comes to printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. Along with being well-featured, it is typical of models geared for small to medium-sized businesses. It has Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, the latter of which includes Wi-Fi Direct in case you wish to establish a wireless connection without using a router.
The fantastic companion software also allows you to wirelessly print and scan from a mobile device. Both iOS and Android users can download the Brother iPrint & Scan app for free.
Although this MFP is advertised as having print speeds up to 20 ppm for color and 22 ppm for mono, we found it to be a little slower. The capacity to print A5 booklets is a supplementary function available exclusively with A3 printers, and it does print on both sides of the page.
Due to the printer’s inkjet design, you will be need to purchase pricey cartridge refills for the remainder of its useful life, but the cost is comparable to that of competing brands. When one of the four colored inks runs out, you are not need to replace them all. If you choose the high-yield XL cartridges, which cost £20.30 (about $26 or AU$36 apiece), you can print up to 1,500 pages.
Setting up and running
The touchscreen display on the Brother MFC-J5330DW guides you through a time-consuming step-by-step setup process, including entering the date, time, and Wi-Fi information. The setup wizard then asked us to delete and reinstall the four ink cartridges after we had installed them. We probably made a mistake the first time.
Get it now on Amazon.comIf nothing else, the setup process is very comprehensive and includes printing a colorful test sheet to make sure the print heads are properly aligned, which they were.
Because to the MFC-logical J5330DW’s touchscreen display, operating was incredibly simple. Although it is quite small (2.7 inches), we were able to enter Wi-Fi credentials without pressing too hard on the tiny Qwerty keyboard.
The companion app’s inability to update the firmware over Wi-Fi was the only issue we encountered. To download and install it, we had to connect an Ethernet wire and make use of the touchscreen on the printer. Re-initializing the printer was required when switching from a wireless connection to a wired one.
Performance
The print quality in mono is excellent, and in color, it outperformed the Canon Maxify MB2750 in terms of quality. Bold, pigmented black, with smooth lettering and no indication of smearing or running, appears in plain text. Even though it appears heavier than it would on a laser printer, the ink is steady.
The powerful inks bring color to documents with charts and illustrations, and they are free of smudging or blocking ugliness. Additionally, it does a good job printing photos onto photo paper. Although office-focused inkjets are less adept at handling fine shading than their consumer-focused counterparts, these outputs managed to look both vivid and quite lifelike.
Get it now on Amazon.com
