Best printer brands Brother printers

Brother produces inkjet and laser printers

Brother produces a wide range of affordable printers including all-in-one printers, colour and mono lasers, and a number of A3 printers. 

Brother printers range in price from around £70 to £130 for an A4 all-in-one inkjet printer, £90 to £200 for a home office mono laser and upwards of £200 for a colour laser. 

Testing Brother printers

Brother printers aren't as widely available in high street stores as those from the likes of HP and Canon - you're unlikely to see more than a couple in a high street store - but there are many available online. 

We've tested around 20 Brother inkjet and laser printers, and our tests have highlighted some Best Buy models. 

Find the best Brother printer for you in our printers review. 

Brother ink cartridges and running costs

The ink costs per page for Brother printers have proven variable in our tests - some produce reasonably low-cost prints, others have proven more expensive when we combine the cost of the cartridges with the number of text, graphics and photo prints we were able to produce from three sets of cartridges. 

Brother inkjet printers use individual cartridges. 

Overall, the Brother inkjet printers we've tested which are compatible with code LC1240 or LC980 cartridges cost slightly less per printed photo than the Brother printers tested using LC985 and LC1100 cartridges. 

However, one of the most important factors in keeping running costs as low as possible is to shop around for ink - we've seen some retailers charge almost twice as much as others for the same cartridge. 

You can find out more about how Which? lab tests printers on our How we test printers page.

Brother printer ranges

Brother's all-in-one inkjet printers are generally quite square and smaller than the models from other brands - particularly in height. Even Brother inkjets that have automatic document feeders on top for sending faxes or copying multiple pages tend to be less than 18cm high. 

There are a few prefixes and suffixes to look out for when shopping for a Brother printer that will help you quickly find a model that includes some key features:

• MFC prefix - These are 4 in1 printers, so they include a fax function as well as being able to print, copy and scan.
• DCP prefix - These are 3 in 1 printers so they print, copy and scan, but don't include a fax.
• J before the model number - this identifies inkjet printers, rather than laser models. However, some older Brother inkjet printers don't include the 'J', so don't rely on it - check the specification of the printer before you buy.
• W suffix - A 'W' after the model number in the product name means the printer has wi-fi connectivity, so you don't have to connect the printer to your computer with a wire if you have a wireless router at home. 
• D suffix - A 'D' after the model number in the product name means the printer has auto-duplexing, so it can be set up to automatically print on both sides of a page.

If you want a printer with auto-duplexing, use our compare features tool to highlight only those printers with auto-duplexing.