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Photograph: Rick Rizner
Brother MFC3820CN All-In-One Printer
Brother MFC-3820CN
MFC3820CN All-In-One Printer Review, by Lisa Cekan August 26, 2004
Although it costs only $200, the Brother MFC-3820CN includes an automatic document feeder so you don't have to place pages one at a time on the glass for scanning, copying, or faxing, as well as media card slots so you don't have to use a PC to print digital images. The fax is built in, a feature we saw in only one other inkjet MFP we tested this month.
The front panel includes buttons for copying, faxing, scanning, and uploading photos from media cards. The LCD menu and navigation buttons let you accomplish a lot of tasks without going to the driver, such as setting the paper size, paper type, and print quality. The front panel also lets you easily choose copy options and access a wide array of fax features.
The MFC-3820CN was the slowest inkjet MFP of our test group at printing text--just 3.1 ppm--but the quickest to print color graphics, at 1.8 ppm. On almost every test of print quality, it received a score of just Fair. Of the inkjet MFPs, the MFC-3820CN printed the least attractive text, which looked light and grayish with jagged edges. In other print quality tests, the MFC-3820CN printed line art that looked smudged and grainy, and graphics that had muted colors and appeared generally fuzzy. The highest score it earned on print quality was a Good for its glossy photos, which showed smooth transitions and good detail, though colors seemed somewhat muted.
The scan and copy speeds were similar to the print speeds. The MFC-3820CN scanned a 4-by-5-inch color photo at 100 dpi in 32 seconds, the second-slowest time of our test models; for scan quality it earned a score of Good. A page of text copied at 2.0 ppm--about half a page behind the average. Like most of the other inkjet MFPs we tested, the MFC-3820CN merited an image quality score of Good for its copy of a text document; copies of color graphics, which we didn't formally score, looked faded and fuzzy.
The driver has few bells and whistles. You can set the standard paper size and quality options, for example, but not much else. However, you can scan a document to e-mail, to the included Paper Port optical character recognition application, or to a file, as well as an image. Brother includes a well-written printed manual with a good troubleshooting section.
Upshot: With an automatic document feeder and built-in fax, the MFC-3820CN is designed for a home office, but busy workers won't appreciate its slow performance.
Brother MFC-3820CN
Print: Rated 14 ppm text/12 ppm graphics, 4800 by 1200 dpi maximum resolution, 100 sheets input, 50 output. Scan: 600 by 2400 dpi, 24-bit external color. Copy: 12 ppm black and white/10 ppm color; 99 copies. One-year warranty, 12-hour weekday toll-free phone support.
$200
800/276-7746
www.brother.com
Lisa Cekan
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User Reviews
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User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: garryau
Strengths: it can print and send -big deal
Weaknesses: Jams continously. Don't buy one!!!!
Overall: it is junk compared with previous faxes i have had. It jams continuously after being repaired twice.I'm replaciing it and would never buy another Brother product again
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Reviewed by: liuspring1
Strengths: Has everything from automatic document feeder to networking support
Weaknesses: No for photo printing
Overall: It is a good machine for home office. Acceptible text printing and satisfactory printing speed. Scanning, printing or copying on the MFC-3820CN can be done easily. But you should not expect much on its photo printing capability.
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Reviewed by: lynnnewcomer
Strengths: Top opens for bulky copying; cartridges are inexpensive
Weaknesses: low capacity cartridges; changed often
Overall: Definitely a workhorse considering it is a lightweight machine. Cartridges are inexpensive comparatively. Would be nice if high capacity cartridges were made for this machine as, in a small office we seem to go through them often.
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Reviewed by: sanxxx
Strengths: Very low price for all in one & relatively the refills are of low price.
Weaknesses: none
Overall: Setup was real fast, just have to go according to the instructions given and its done. I like the model due to less ink consumption because they are all separate & u can replace the color which is not there. Good networking, built-in multi-format card reader, OCR scanning, Great value for an all in one.
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Reviewed by: misslovanu
Overall: I've had the printer a little over a year, and it got an error message stating to call brother regarding message. Print quality is horrible... Not to mention the scan to PC feature is inadequate... Would not purchase again!
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