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Brother MFC4420C Color Flatbed MFC Color F/p/c/s/pc Fax/media Center

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  • Brother MFC-4420c

Brother MFC4420C Color Flatbed MFC Color F/p/c/s/pc Fax/media Center Review

by Roy Santos

The shortest multifunction printer in our roundup is also one of the slowest, but its output quality will suffice for most home-office needs.

WHAT'S HOT: The compact Brother MFC-4420C yielded the best overall scores in our scan quality tests. The device's built-in fax lets you send and receive documents without switching your PC on. The 4420C's Memory Stick, CompactFlash, and SmartMedia card reader lets you print digital photos using the included ArcSoft PhotoPrinter software, and you can use the reader to access the contents of memory cards on your PC, too.

For people who want to reduce the number of bulky machines in their office, the MFC-4420C is a space-saver. Its low profile (only 5.2 inches tall) will help make a home or small office feel roomier.

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WHAT'S NOT: The MFC-4420C is an underachiever at making text copies (and predictably, monochrome prints as well). The text documents it duplicated in our tests looked smudgy and somewhat blurred. The device's software is functional but could use clearer explanation.

Unlike the Canon and HP MFPs, the MFC-4420C doesn't let you print photos directly from memory cards, without going to your PC (the Canon and HP drivers handle printing from media cards). With the Brother you have to use the device's ArcSoft PhotoPrinter software. The MFC-4420C doesn't read Secure Digital cards.

WHAT ELSE: The MFC-4420C uses one black and three color-ink cartridges that can be replaced individually. Its TextBridge stand-alone OCR software worked well in our tests, with few hiccups. The device did a fine job converting a scanned newsletter into a text file, but it failed to scan a multicolumn newspaper article accurately.

An icon called SmartUI installs itself in your Windows system tray, with no indication that it's Brother's software. When you click it, a window with mysteriously labeled icons appears. Unexplained tabs labeled 'Hardware' and 'Software' divide the interface further. After much exploration of the software, we discovered that the Hardware section lets you set functions normally accessed from the MFP control panel, while the Software settings let you choose the programs to perform your scans, copies, and faxes. These are useful functions, but their practical value is limited by the ambiguousness of the icons' purpose.

UPSHOT: The Brother MFC-4420C is slow, and the quality of its color prints was rated only Fair, but the device's scans are good enough for most home offices.


SUMMARY
Brother MFC-4420C





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User Reviews for Brother MFC4420C Color Flatbed MFC Color F/p/c/s/pc Fax/media Center

  • Reviewed by: pocosmom

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: Prints well from computer, easy set up

    Weaknesses: Panel shorts out, LOTS of error messages

    Overall Evaluation: We bought one of these and had to exchange it for another within 2 weeks, the panel buttons stopped working- thus no faxing. Then worked fine for about 6 months and then again- shorted out by touching it to make a copy! called the company, NO help. worked for a while as just a printer and could scan using the feature from the computer. Now does not work at all.

  • Reviewed by: jonroth

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: Lots of functions for the price. Small size.

    Weaknesses: Postcards and envelopes.

    Overall Evaluation: As long as you are not wanting to run postcards or envelopes through the machine, it will work fine.Scanning is tricky but does work. I use mine mostly as a printer and copier, with some light to moderate faxing.The problem I have is when I try to run postcards or envelopes, it starts to feed, then stops feeding... but it thinks it has fed properly and continues to print onto nothing, making a mess. Then the next several sheets through come out unusable due to the extra ink sploches.I even spoke to Brother about this issue and they basically deny the problem. "If the envelopes and postcards are within specifications, it should work."I tell them they are and it does not work, and they say that "there is nothing wrong and that I'm using the wrong envelopes and postcards"... like the mechanical functions of the machine are flawless or something. That really pissed me off.I'm shopping for a Canon or HP today!

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