Issue #0838/3 – With no other A3 inkjet AiOs yet on the market, Brother recently expanded its A3 range with two additional new models, following the launch of its first A3 format inkjet All-in-One printer in June of this year. These new models include an entry-level four-function model with A4 scan platen but providing A3 printing capability. Now that the original model has settled into the channel, we consider these new models alongside appropriate A4 business-oriented inkjet AiOs.
Brother MFC-6490CWA3 AiO
Now offering three models, the A3 range from Brother comprises:
- MFC-5890CN, A3 Print with A4 Copy, Scan and Fax plus wired network interface
- DCP-6690CW, A3 Print, Copy and Scan plus wired and wireless network interface (DCP-6690CW not available in the US)
- MFC-6490CW, A3 Print, Copy, Scan and Fax plus wired and wireless network interface
For the original review on the first device launched, MFC-6490CW, see "Brother breaks new ground with A3 inkjet AiO".
These products, selling within a range between £150 and £350 in the UK, between €137 and €575 in Germany and between $175 and $490 in the US, represent a superb first step into the A3 MFP for small organisations with neither the budget nor the print throughput to justify a high-priced A3 laser MFP.
| UK | Germany | USA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MFC-5890cn | £150 - £225 | €137 - €200 | $175 - $418 |
| DCP-6690CW | £200 - £350 | €415 - €575 | not available |
| MFC-6490CW | £140 - £293 | €350 - €490 | $250 - $490 |
Quoted print speeds are 35ppm in mono and 28ppm in colour. So, these are not the fastest inkjet devices on the market, but are fast enough for a small office environment and are a few pages per minute faster than Brother’s previous generation A4 models. Curiously, the A4 member of this new Brother family, MFC-5490CN, is also rated at 35ppm and 28ppm, suggesting that print speed for the A3 devices is not measured for sideways feed printing.
Whether or not this is the case, one major advantage of these A3 printers is that they will print borderless images at A3 size, making them an ideal choice for the printing of high quality posters, photographs and marketing collateral for that extra degree of impact. There is no end to suitable applications for this feature – from menus, through brochures, signage and (as the product brochure says) school homework, to high resolution photographic images for either display or for sale.
Photo print quality is maximised when using Brother’s own photo media through the use of small 1.5pl drops from the print head.
Brother DCP-6690CWA3 AiO
Combine this feature with A3 scanning capability on the DCP-6690CW and MFC-6490CW, and the owner has a device that will handle copying and printing for virtually any situation that is likely to arise in the office (or home). Think how often you have wished you could scan or copy an A3 original? For me personally, this is a situation I would have liked to have had the equipment to handle on many occasions.
And, one step further, the MFC-6490CW comes equipped with colour fax capability, with all the usual trimmings, but including faxing in the A3 format. The device automatically scales an A3 page to A4 when the receiving device is restricted to A4. The MFC-5490CN also includes fax capability but, with an A4 scan platen, copying and faxing are restricted to A4. However, the device will handle copying from an A4 original to A3 print.
Wireless connectivity is standard on the CW models, as an addition to wired networking. The CN model has only wired network capability. All models are equipped with memory card slots and USB/PICTBridge interface for direct printing of photographs. In addition, all three models feature a widescreen colour LCD display.
In attempting to pair these models for a comparison, we must be aware that there are no A3 competitors to bring to the table. Therefore, in making comparisons, we need to remember that the A3 format is a [very significant] bonus and must be worth a slightly higher Total Cost of Printing. The big question is, and one that only the user can answer, how much more?
Epson Stylus OfficeBX600FW
We’ve also included the Epson Stylus Office BX600FW, launched recently (see "Serious wireless business inkjet All-in-One devices take up battle positions"), in the comparison because it is the most significant of the other business-oriented inkjet AiOs on the market. The Stylus Office BX600FW is a very competitively priced A4 model, offering wireless networking and an ADF, with a purchase price falling close to the Brother MFC-5890CN.
Purchase Price - Business Inkjet AiO
Bearing in mind, however, that the Brother AiOs are all A3 printing format, the price comparison is generally very favourable to Brother, except on the one particular DCP model (DCP-6690CW). Perhaps it would be fair to say, though, that the 22% price differential between the DCP-6690CW and Photosmart C8180 is fully justified on the basis of A3 printing and scanning, together with the presence of the ADF, while it is the two 4-fiunction models that are priced particularly competitively against their A4 competitors.
Considering running costs, we see that the cost of colour ink from Brother is actually the lowest in the group – except for the prime business ink set, the HP88. Colour ink for Epson’s BX600FW falls close to the Brother level and Epson does actually beat Brother on the cost of mono printing, as does the HP363XL ink for Hewlett-Packard’s Photosmart C8180.
Nonetheless, this is an impressive starting point for Brother, which, combined with the aggressive hardware pricing, leads to a Total Cost of Printing for the entire period of ownership that is lower than each of the equivalent Hewlett-Packard models – except, again, for the HP88-driven Officejet Pro device. As there is no printer device on the market that undercuts Total Cost of Printing on the Officejet Pro series, this is hardly surprising (the day there is a real competitor to the Officejet Pro range will be a day for celebration!).
Total Cost of Printing - A3 Inkjet AiO
What we should particularly note at this point, is that the Epson device comes in with a Total Cost of Printing that is exceptionally low – lower than any of the Brother devices. But, again remember that it is only Brother’s devices that offer the A3 format.
So, with Hewlett-Packard’s Officejet Pro devices reigning supreme as the primary low-cost option for small businesses looking for an alternative to expensive laser printing, what we really need from Hewlett-Packard is an A3 Officejet Pro All-in-One device based on the HP88XL cartridge series!
Back to Brother though for the final summary – offering the A3 format places Brother in a very strong position, not just because the A3 format is currently a unique offering in the AiO market but also because the offering comes at no premium over A4 printing with only a very small increase in physical size.
Brother MFC-5890CNA3 AiO
The key comparison here is between the A3 MFC-5890CN and its A4 sister, the MFC-5490CN, where the additional size is for the A3 print capability only rather than the additional constrictions of placing an A3 platen on the top. Here we see a minimal increase of only 12% in its footprint and an increase of only 22% in volume.
As we add the A3 platen to the top of the machine as well, the size increases to a fairly significant 49% on footprint – but this is still a relatively minimal increase for the format. After all, an A3 sheet of paper is 100% larger than an A4 sheet and its dimensions are 41% greater!
|
Relative size of A3 to A4 |
MFC-5890CN | DCP-6690CW & MFC-6490CW | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| footprint | volume | footprint | volume | |
| Brother MFC-5490CN | +12% | +22% | +49% | +116% |
| Epson BX600FW | +24% | +27% | +65% | +126% |
|
Hewlett-Packard OJ J6410 |
-12% | -18% | +17% | +47% |
|
Hewlett-Packard PS C8180 |
+13% | +26% | +50% | +124% |
|
Hewlett-Packard OJ Pro L7680 |
-7% | -37% | +23% | +12% |
More to the point, the MFC-5890CN, with its A4 platen, is smaller than either of the Hewlett-Packard Officejet models and has a footprint not much larger than the Photosmart C8180! Furthermore, it is only around 25% larger, in both footprint and volume, than Epson’s BX600FW and also on volume than the Photosmart model.
Clearly, the two A3 models with A3 platen were always going to be larger than any of the A4 models. But, they have a footprint less than 25% larger than either of the Officejet models and a volume only 12% greater than the Officejet Pro L7680!
Thus, even the top-end Brother models with A3 platen as well as A3 print capability can still be considered to be desktop devices for the small office and fill a gaping hole in the overall inkjet AiO market offering. Significantly, the MFC-5890CN will sit fairly comfortably on top of a standard filing cabinet, with only a few millimetres overhanging each side – or – sitting sideways, the two larger machines will sit on a filing cabinet, again only overhanging by a few millimetres.
~End~
