3 ms·
As much as people extoll the virtues of Brother printers, they should know that there are people that do more than print B/W documents. Brother is far behind t
by rchaud 3y ago
As much as people extoll the virtues of Brother printers, they should know that there are people that do more than print B/W documents.
Brother is far behind the competition from Epson and Canon when it comes to prosumer color inkjet/inktank printing, as I discovered to my cost. I'm referring to SMB printers in the $400-$1000 range, not the $80 consumer injkets that crap out after 50 pages.
Brother colour printers top out at 4 inks (CMYK), which will make most images look washed out, greens resembling blue, etc.
Yes they are economical with the ink use, but the difference between a Brother and an Epson/Canon (which support 6 inks) for colour is night and day. You'll get way better quality color printing at Staples printing from a rental workstation .
That isn't to say I support this ridiculous model of subscriptions. It's just to say that "Buy Brother" isn't the answer for everybody.
- thiht 3y agoI don’t know where you’re coming from. I bought a color inkjet Brother printer years ago and I’m extremely satisfied. After using Epson and HP for years, it… just works. Every time I click "print", it prints. "Buy Brother" is still my answer. If you need high quality prints, don’t buy a consumer grade printer.
- oldnetguy 3y agoIf I need a good print there are places to send to and get good quality prints..I am personally done with HP
- lvspiff 3y agoBetween Walgreens and Fedex the have made it crazy convenient to upload my images to get them printed in high quality format in any size I want for a fairly cheap price. If you don't have one nearby the library offers decent priced alternative. A b/w printer is all I need and will definitely be avoiding subscriptions however possible
- wrp 3y agoCan anyone comment on what is the best quality color printing option at a moderate cost, and how much volume does it take to make it more economical than using a print shop?
- nullindividual 3y agoA high quality 8x10 runs $9 at a local print shop. 4x6 is 60 cents. Extrapolate from there and think of how often you'd send pictures to a print shop. Even cheap inkjet printers aren't worth the cost for photos.
- tmaly 3y agoYou can get a Canon that supports 12 colors, but you have spend $800+ every time you need a new set of inks.
- hn_throwaway_99 3y ago> Brother is far behind the competition when it comes to color inkjet/inktank printing Because inkjet printing for consumers generally sucks. It's just an awful technology for consumers who may go days/weeks/months between needing to print something. I tell any non-tech friends that I can to avoid inkjet printers like the plague - they always have a tendency to break down and be non functional at the moment you need them the most.
- treflop 3y agoBuying an inkjet printer should be like buying a circular saw. Not everything needs a circular saw but if you need one, you need one. The people who actually need an inkjet printer are people who do a lot of crafts or projects who need quick turnaround. I personally have a middle option of a color laser printer and while tbh the prints look like shite, they are good enough for my projects.
- johnea 3y agoAlso not mentioned, inkjet prints are water soluble. If you have to print anything that might come into contact with even very small drops of water, inkjet will be a disaster for you. Laser prints are heat fixed and not water soluble...
- acdha 3y agoI don’t think that analogy works because my circular saw will sit on the shelf unused for years and still work perfectly when I need it. Ink dries out on a much faster scale.
- jonathankoren 3y agoAlso given the price of ink, I honestly found it cheaper to just buy a whole new printer rather than the four ink cartridge. So fucking wasteful.
- timbit42 3y agoNo, if you need to print photo quality, take it to a photo centre. There is no need to buy an inkjet printer. If you need color but don't usually need photo quality, buy a color laser.
- raesene9 3y agoFWIW I recently got a color Laser brother printer (MFC-L3740CDW) that's been working well. My needs aren't for super high resolution or anything but it does the basics well enough, and doesn't appear to have any subscription nonsense attached to it.
- turtlebits 3y agoWhen I need to print in color, which is rare - I just go to my library. They offer free printing credits, and if I need to go over, I'm happy to support them.
- CharlesW 3y agoFor folks who want to do "prosumer" level color print, I recently bought an Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 and am very happy with the prints. In addition to high-quality CMYK inks, it adds "Photo Black" and "Photo Grey". The Epson replaced a Brother color laser printer that served me well 5+ years, but of course color laser prints don't approach the quality of color inkjet prints.
- paulmd 3y agoYeah, if you are someone who needs inkjet, epson ecotank is 100% the best option on the market. also, the "just a tank of ink" model makes it super easy to try out different kinds of ink - you mentioned "photo grey" and "photo black" but there are actually specialty inks for B+W prints that you can experiment with etc.
- orev 3y agoMost people looking to print at home need it for things like printing assignments, plane/concert tickets, and other general documents, and that’s who those recommendations are for. Color laser printers are designed for these kinds of documents, not photo printing. If you have a need for something specific, you’d need to investigate the right product. At this point in time, printing pictures at home is a special requirement, as most people either don’t print them at all, or they use the convenience store down the street where it’s much cheaper than maintaining the equipment at home.