Brother printers

My old HP Office Jet has bit the dust. I have been researching printers on the web. The Brother MFC-495CW seems interesting. I do not know anything about Brother printers. Are they any good? Especially are they reliable and nuisance free? I just want a basic all-in-one. I do not print much, and never print graphics. As long as the text is relatively readable I am happy. Mostly I want bomb proof and idiot proof, and do not care about high speed performance and extra features. Comments? Suggestions?

 

I have only ever used Brother printers, and i think they are great.

They don't rip you off for cartridges either!

 

Brother has a fine reputation for making quality printing products. That said, you might want to look at the cost of consumables. Brother's cost per page is on the high side of average.

I note the following from Computer Shopper's Review

 

That model looks very similar to my Brother MFC-790CW, which I've had about 1 year and been pleased with. I wouldn't put much stock in the review Digerati posted. I read it and had to chuckle; I think it's a bit distorted. Regarding ink cost, the good thing about these Brother printers is that they use separate cartridges for each color, so you only replace the color that's running low, as opposed to replacing all colors in printers that use a single cartridge for all colors.

If you can buy from newegg.com, they have a good deal on it now. See http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828113453 Newegg.com is a good place to buy ink cartridges also.

Oh, BTW, if you get this printer and notice it coming on and making sounds when you've done nothing, it may have a feature mine has, which is an automatic print head cleaning cycle. If I don't print often, my printer will do this about once a week.

 

lol - seems better than the review you posted. Oh wait! You didn't. And you don't even have the same printer. Note I said Brother has a reputation for making good printing devices.

That said, I did not post it for the review of features - but to show the comments about the price of consumables - which for the life of the printer, can be much more than the printer.

 

I did not post a review but newegg.com has buyer reviews posted on their site which can be helpful to shoppers in making a decision.

No, I don't have the same model as the one he's thinking about but some of these printers are very similar in features and design.

I fully agree with you that prospective buyers should assess the cost of consumables, i.e. ink, photo paper, etc., in making a decision. I'm just skeptical about the review you posted because they don't give any details about how they calculate the ink cost for all printers they evaluate and, as has been stated, the use a separate cartridges for the three base colors is usually advantageous. And, as burell implied, the cost of Brother cartridges compares favorably to other brands.

 

Then you obviously didn't read the review! They went in to great detail over 7 pages explaning how they calculate costs per page. So please - before you tell people to ignore other's advice, I would request you verify and know what you are talking about first.

As for NewEgg reviews - you should always take them with a grain of salt. Users typically have no means of testing anything - and very limited, if any, competing products to compare with. Nor do they have any experience reviewing products. The only time I really pay attention to NewEgg user reviews is if several reviewers complain about the same problem which might indicate a trend to watch out for.

Ok. So? I agree this is true, thanks to Kodak. But it just makes your point pointless. But as I noted, this particular Brother costs more to operate - even if just a little. And that may be something some cost conscience people want to be aware of.

Ok. But again, so? All multifunction printing devices have similar features. The $320 Brother MFC 6890 and the $90 Brother MFC 495CW have nearlly identical specifications and even use the same ink. Yet I would not not assume print quality of the $90 model would very similar to the one costing 3 times as much.

I note again I said Brother makes fine printers.

 

Wow,thanks for the assistance guys! It sounds like this companys quality is pretty good. A quick question: Do Brother printers give you any grief (like hp's do) if you use remanufactured cartridges? My hp has given good service, but some things hp does especially in regard to ink cartiridges is begininng to really bug me.

 

I can't say since I have not yet used remanufactured cartridges. But, I can tell you the User's Guide for mine says "Our warranty coverage does not apply to any problem that is caused by the use of unauthorized third party ink and/or cartridges." So, I think I would avoid using remanufactured cartridges during the warranty period.

 

If you talk to the 3rd party ink makers, they will say no problem. And often they're are not. But too often the ink used is not the same quality or formulation.

The printer makers, including HP, felt the pinch when users stopped buying their overpriced (but high profit margin) consumables and most have lowered their prices significantly - at least for the new models. I agree with my fellow AF veteran, stick with originals.

 

Thanks! You have both been very helpful.