Issue #0504/2 - Brother’s new ink jet All-in-One devices are a break from tradition, attractive, novel and exceptionally well specified.
As the trend in ink jet printing continues to drive inexorably towards All-in-One products and specialist photographic printers, while single function ink jet printers take an ever increasing back seat, Brother has introduced a pair of All-in-Ones that demonstrate real originality, creativity and thoughtfulness.
For instance:
- not only are the devices standalone copiers, but
- they can print up to 99 copies of an original, and
- 25% reduction and 400% enlargement capability is available, and
- poster copying to 3×3 A4 size can be achieved, and
- DCP-110C can undertake n-to-1 copying of up to 4 images in mono, or
- DCP-310CN can undertake n-to-1 copying of up to 4 images in colour
More general features include borderless photo printing; direct printing from memory cards; scan to memory card (and scan to network, DCP-310CN); scan to email, OCR, image and file; and 2-way read/write to and from a variety of memory card slots.
Although not yet tested, the DCP-110C and 310CN have all the hallmarks of being a very attractive proposition for users.
Print quality should be good with a variable dot engine with a minimum drop size of 3 picolitres.
Print speed is up to industry averages with 20ppm mono capability and 15ppm colour capability.
Copy speeds are claimed to be rather more acceptable than some low-cost AiOs. This is quoted at 17ppm mono and 11ppm colour. Of course, one can never actually achieve that because there is no ADF to feed the originals at up to 17ppm. There is actually also a 4-function device using the same engine, MFC-620CN, that comes with an ADF.
Interfaces on the DCP-110C and 310CN are both USB 1.1 and 2.0 compatible and the DCP-310CN has an integrated 10/100 network interface. Both machines can be upgraded with optional wireless network print server.
It is this network interface that is the main differentiator between the two models, except that the DCP110C has just 8MB of memory against the 16MB of the DCP-310CN, which accounts for the restriction to mono for n-to-1 copying in the DCP-110C.
In amongst all these advanced features and functions, we mustn’t forget some of the rather more mundane but practical features of the devices.
| UK | Purchase | Nominal CPP |
Mixed mono/colour CPP over 3 years |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brother DCP-110C | £85.00 |
Mono Colour |
2.80 pence 8.79 pence |
5.34 pence |
| Epson RX420 | £82.26 |
Mono Colour |
2.01 pence 8.03 pence |
4.69 pence |
| Lexmark P3150 | £68.09 |
Mono Colour |
2.87 pence 10.08 pence |
5.72 pence |
|
Hewlett-Packard PSC 1350 (No. 56/57) |
£111.00 |
Mono Colour |
3.02 pence 8.55 pence |
5.73 pence |
| Brother DCP-310CN | £119.00 |
Mono Colour |
2.80 pence 8.79 pence |
5.72 pence |
| Epson CX6600 | £126.81 |
Mono Colour |
2.33 pence 8.60 pence |
5.42 pence |
| Lexmark P6250 | £127.65 |
Mono Colour |
3.15 pence 7.14 pence |
5.78 pence |
|
Hewlett-Packard PSC 2355 (No. 339/344) |
£129.00 |
Mono Colour |
2.45 pence 7.36 pence |
5.30 pence |
Note that for this level of machine, the mixed mono/colour CPP over three years shown in the accompanying table is calculated on the basis of 250 pages per month using maximum capacity ink cartridges and takes into account any standard, or starter, cartridges shipped with the printer and includes the purchase price.
First of all, this is one of the very few inkjet devices, other than those from Hewlett-Packard, where the paper feed is from the front, meaning that the device is compact and can be positioned on a shelf or virtually flush against a wall to the rear. Because of the overall design of these AiOs, with fully integral paper tray, they are deeper than the Hewlett-Packard PSC-1200/1300 series models, which have fold out paper trays that can overhang the edge of the shelf. This will restrict the potential for shelf positioning but otherwise, these are the most compact devices on the market.
Secondly, it has often been said that a four-ink system is less likely to result in ink wastage than a tri-colour ink system and these new devices from Brother are cleverly designed with ink tanks inside the machine, accessed by lifting the entire top half of the machine.
Brother claims that ink jet technology development has progressed to the point where the separated tanks/heads do not give rise to the nozzle clogging that has been such a annoyance for Epson owners over the years. An ink reservoir in the print head helps prevent air entering the critical parts of the ink system and Brother claims that head purging is very rarely required, even if the machine is left unused for an extended period.
Also discovered inside on lifting the lid are the interface sockets, with a channel to feed the cables neatly to the rear of the machine.
In terms of pricing and Cost of Printing, Brother’s new All-in-One devices are ‘competitive’ but not ground-breaking. Indeed, at the lower end of the spectrum it is Epson that stands out with a long term CPP on its RX420 that is 12% lower than the Brother DCP-110C and 18% lower than Hewlett-Packard’s PSC 1350.
At the upper end, again Epson appears to be the best value but the Brother DCP-310CN more than makes up for it with its excellently specification and functionality.
Essentially, the consumables pricing (since both models use the same consumables) have clearly been priced for the lower-end DCP-110C, which proves to be a handicap to the higher priced model, whereas each of the other manufacturers use different ink systems, with appropriate pricing structure, in the models compared.
On the downside, these machines have no preview screen, meaning that print selection from memory card has to be undertaken through use of a printed index sheet.
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