This compact inkjet pretty much prints everything, including A3 paper
Brother’s MFC-J5620DW is a versatile inkjet multifunction printer (MFP). It prints, scans, photocopies and faxes. It also supports duplex printing, has a 35-page ADF to take the strain out of copying and faxing multiple pages, and has a reader for memory cards and USB sticks. It also supports both wired and wireless networks, so it’s easy to use in conjunction with a number of PCs, smartphones and tablets. And to top things off, everything is controlled via an easily adjustable colour touchscreen
That’s an impressive list, but the MFC-J5620DW has one more trick up its sleeve. Despite its compact dimensions, you can print to (though not scan from) A3 paper. There are two paper trays that can handle A3, plus a single-sheet bypass slot that’s A3-capable. Flexible paper-input options like these are rare indeed.
It has four separate ink cartridges (cyan, magenta, yellow and black), instead of a single combined cartridge, which reduces waste and keeps running costs down. Each cartridge that comes with it are rated for a generous 550 pages. After these run out, you can replace them with high capacity versions rated for 2,400 black and 1,200 colour pages (at just 4.2p for an A4 page of text and colour graphics).
That’s the good news. However, the MFC-J5620DW’s compact size comes at a cost. Paper handling is clunky. The main input tray needs to to be manually extended or collapsed to suit the paper size being loaded. This would be fine, but some sizes load with a landscape orientation, while others load with a portrait orientation. It can get confusing. With A4, you need to set the output tray carefully to avoid it becoming untidy.
More significantly, print quality was disappointing, with colour graphics in particular looking washed out and lifeless. Scan quality was more impressive, but the images we scanned lost a little detail in the darkest shades.
As inkjet printers go this is pretty fast, delivering 20 pages of text in just 54 seconds, equivalent to 22 pages per minute or 35 ppm, and 5 pages of colour graphics in 25 seconds (8.6ppm). It even prints A3 quickly, with five pages of text taking 34 seconds (9ppm) and 5 pages of colour graphics just 58 seconds (5ppm).
Overall this is a decent MFP with fast performance, reasonably low running costs and A3 capability in a space-saving design. However, the trade-off is lacklustre print and scan quality, making it only average value and not suitable for everyone.
VERDICT
We love its fast performance and low running costs, but not its underwhelming print quality.
SPECIFICATIONS
6000x1200dpi maximum print resolution • 20ppm colour/22ipm mono quoted speeds • 2400x2400dpi maximum scan resolution • USB2 • 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi • One-year warranty