Brother is best known for its affordable printer line that offersgreat valuefor consumers . The company also make some more feature - fertile all - in - ones like the one I ’m refresh here : the Brother MFC - L3780CDW color laser printer . It ’s designed to meet the indigence of small businesses and meddlesome home situation .
Before you indue in a heavy - responsibility printer like the Brother MFC - L3780CDW , you need to know about the print quality for coloring and monochrome , compatibility with your computer and telephone set , and the long - condition costs . We essay Brother ’s all - in - one color laser to uncover those authoritative details in real - world usage .
Design
appearing is n’t the most decisive aspect of a clientele printing machine , but you still want something that appear courteous . When you put a Brother MFC - L3780CDW on your printing machine stand , it ’s clear that you ’re quick for serious body of work . It ’s a high - profile , off - white office printer with grey accents , an automatic written document bird feeder ( ADF ) on top , and a 3.5 - column inch color touchscreen extending from the flatbed digital scanner .
It ’s a large , hard pressman count 47.8 pound and standing 15.8 inches high . The footprint is 16.1 by 18.2 inch , which is n’t that big , but Brother recommends leaving 6 in of room on each side , 8 inch at the back , and 12 inch of clearance above for cooling during a heavy workload . Adding those figures up , you need quite a bit of empty space : 28 inch wide of the mark , 26.2 inches deep , and 27.8 inches marvellous .
A chunky printer is usually a sturdy printer , and the Brother MFC - L3780CDW specifications indicate it can handle a sound - tariff bicycle . This small concern printer includes walk - up convenience with a USB thumb effort port and an NFC card lecturer for office certificate and price control .
The removable main paper tray located at the bottom holds up to 250 rag , while the multipurpose tray above make it promiscuous to insert alternate size for single print and can curb 30 sheets . An optional small tray add-on expand composition capacity by an additional 250 sheets .
Printing performance
Brother ’s MFC - L3780CDW is a robust all - in - one color optical maser pressman that can manage a heavy workload of 4,000 pages monthly with a maximal duty oscillation of up to 50,000 pages per calendar month . It ’s clearly designed for small- to medium - sized businesses .
colour and monochrome print look great . tenacious document and multiple copy are completed quickly , with print speeds of up to 31 pages per arcminute .
After passing through the Brother MFC - L3780CDW , the paper has a noticeable ringlet , no matter of the heaviness . I feared that would obstruct duplex printing , but double - sided documents rolled back and forth , printing on both side with no difficulty and delivering a clean document without pine away paper .
Printing just a page or two feels a trivial slow , particularly when using the mobile app . The first Sir Frederick Handley Page takes about 13 second once data point is sent . From Windows and Mac , that slim wait is n’t a job .
However , when using the Brother Mobile Connect app with my iPhone , it sometimes contain as long to post a single page to the pressman as it did to print , despite my truehearted Wi - Fi connection . Android performance was sound . I also find out that using AirPrint instead of Brother ’s app carry off the delay . Overall , the printing machine seemed quick despite a few issues .
Even the best color optical maser printers struggle to match the mark quality of an inkjet . The Brother MFC - L3780CDW is no exception . Its photo photographic print quality on evident paper is okay for a optical maser printer , but colors are damp and grainy , scramble the most with cerise hues that tend toward orangish and icteric tones .
The results are slightly better on matte photo composition , butthe HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw offers skillful picture qualityin a color laser . There ’s no borderless selection , which is n’t surprising for a business - oriented laser pressman .
Of naturally , the best photograph printer useinkjet technology for more vibrant colors than a laser printercan output . Some models , likeEpson ’s EcoTank ET-8500 , include a six - color ink systemfor a blanket active range .
Special features
The Brother MFC - L3780CDW is an all - in - one color laser printer built for business use . It include a flatbed scanner and a well - build ADF that can scan exclusive and twofold - sided documents up to 50 pages in distance . Walk - up use is gentle with its built - in USB thumb campaign port located on the front control panel . The prominent color touchscreen and well - designed carte system simplifies printing , scanning , faxing , and copying .
The Brother iPrint&Scan computer software for computers provides up to 1200 acid - per - inch ( DPI ) scanning resolution , which isas in high spirits as some dedicated scanners . The app can hold optical character identification to the scanned electronic image to carry through a searchable PDF , a commodious room to archive papers on a computing machine while celebrate the content accessible .
Brother ’s fluid app limits the maximal scan solution to 300 dpi , while scan to a ovolo drive allows up to 600 dpi . I often see this arbitrary limitation from all manufacturers , but it varies from example to exemplar . For example , Brother ’s DCPL2550DW , a monochrome laser printer , supports 600 DPI from the mobile app .
Scans have salutary color and active range . The scanning hardware is also quite profligate , and copies are completed just as quick as prints . Duplex copying works with no outcome and include an choice to glance over undivided - sided documents and output doubled - sided to salvage report .
I do n’t have a need or a means to test the NFC badge reader , but this could be a valuable feature for large offices to restrict usage to authorized personnel . The toll of color toner can total up in a hastiness with a fast laser printer like the Brother MFC - L3780CDW .
Software and compatibility
facility was simple with the quick starting guide . The toner is stack away inside the simple machine and must be polish off and replaced after uncapping the ends . That only took a moment , and color - steganography manoeuver me through the process .
After powering on , the touchscreen displays a QR code to download the peregrine app . The mobile app simplifies connecting to Wi - Fi , and the Brother MFC - L3780CDW supports both 5 gigacycle and 2.4 GHz . The printer was set up and quick to go within about five minutes .
Connecting to a Windows or Mac computer over Wi - Fi is easy , and you may use an Ethernet or USB cable if you prefer . Wi - Fi speeds are loosely degraded enough that a wired connection only helps when your Wi - Fi signal is n’t strong enough at the printing machine .
Using the printer from a computer is casual . Windows and macOS identify the Brother MFC - L3780CDW outright , and you only necessitate to download the iPrint&Scan app if you need to scan to your calculator at the maximal 1200 DPI answer .
The mobile app works well with an Android earphone but is less authentic for iPhone users . To achieve the sound photo answer , I judge publish motion-picture show from the Brother Mobile Connect app , which was quite inert . After selecting a photo , my iPhone show a grey background instead of the picture in the print prevue . I canceled and essay again , look about seven irregular before a prevue of the picture appear .
As I mentioned above , sending a photo to the printer from the app is also very slow . Brother take to update the iPhone app to be more reactive . In the meanwhile , it ’s best to publish directly from Apple ’s Photos app .
Priced for business
Brother designed the MFC - L3780CDW color laser printing machine for small to medium - sized commercial enterprise . While the $ 500 price tag make it a reaching for home offices , the initial investiture is small if it serves as a share printer in a meddling office . What ’s more important are the foresightful - term costs of toner and the intersection ’s strength .
The Brother MFC - L3780CDW is a giving , heavy printer that feels sturdy . I print freely but barely scratched the 50,000 - page maximal monthly duty rhythm , but I suspect this printing machine is built to last .
Brother offers three sizes of toner , with the largest offering the beneficial value . The MFC - L3780CDW ships with standard - size cartridges that furnish 1,200 color pages and 1,500 in black and white .
Color pages are expensive , with medium costs of 10 , 13 , or 17 cents per Sir Frederick Handley Page , depend on whether you rank the standard , gravid , or additional large capacity . Printing monochrome documents is much more affordable since black toner cartridges average 2 , 3 , or 4 centime per Thomas Nelson Page .
Is this the printer for you?
Some printers that are designed for businesses also exercise well in the home . Brother ’s MFC - L3780CDW colouring material laser pressman is more definitively designed for a heavy work load . Color optical maser printers are not your good option if you wish to publish pictures . You might likeHP ’s OfficeJet Pro 9015 , a dissolute inkjet with practiced exposure quality .
However , the Brother MFC - L3780CDW prints colour documents just as fast as monochrome and is slap-up for brochures , presentations , and flyers . A officious business office will make good use of this printer .
