Brothe Brother MFC-J5330DW MFP that’s quick to impress
Multifunction printer that handles A33
This is a great multi-function inkjet printer for 120 quid, which is what you could have bought it for the day we tested it. At the time of going to press, we can’t find it for less than £150. This happens a lot with printers, and it makes it very difficult to pass judgement on them. At £120, the MFC-J5330DW is only a tenner more than the HP Officejet Pro 6960 (see our review, Issue 483) and adds the ability to print A3 pages, which can come in very handy. At £150, you’d have to consider whether it’s worth it. But by the time you read this, it might be on offer at £99 or in short supply at £175.
The relatively bulky sideways-on print engine makes this feel and look more like a laser printer, and its print speeds – up to 16.7 pages per minute (ppm) in our tests – are beyond most inkjets. The practical 250-sheet A4 paper tray pulls out to take A3 (you’re not limited to one sheet at a time), andand the scanner has a 50-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF). Youou can print both sides of the paper (duplex),uplex) although photocopying is one-sided only. A full set of inputs includes Wi-fi and Ethernet as well as USB and SD card. The quality of prints isn’t amazing, but very acceptable all round, with bright colours and decent photo reproduction.
One explanation for the volatility of printer pricing is that manufacturers make most of their money from ink, so they can afford to manipulate the printer price to maximise sales. Using Brother’s XL cartridges, running costs work out at
SPECIFICATIONS
4800x1200dpi maximum print resolution • 1200x2400dpi maximum scan resolution • USB • Ethernet • 802.11n Wi-fi • Fax • SD card slot • USB memory drive slot • 304x530x398mm (HXWXD) • 16.9kg • One-year warranty www.snipca.com/24679 about 4.2p for a colourcolour page and only a penny for black only. That’s incrediblincredibly cheap, and, bearing in mind pages fufull of photos or graphics will use a lot more ink, the savings will soon add up to more than 30 or 40 quid. On that basis, we’d recommend the MFC-J5330DW – but do shop around and pay as little for it as you can.
VERDICT: Despite the wildly varying price, this is an excellent all-round home-office printer with more speed and versatility than cheaper models ALTERNATIVE: HP Officejetet Pro 6960 £110 Not quite as fast or cheap to run, and doesn’t print A3, but this all-in-one is also a good value buy
Fast, cheap to run and decent quality prints – but what would you pay for it?