Brother's color inkjet multifunction printer (MFP), the MFC-6490CW, adds wide-format printing capability to an already long list of functions. Unfortunately, extremely slow performance is the tradeoff.
Brother MFC-6490cw All-In-One Printer (28 PPM, 6000x1200 DPI, Color, 64MB, PC/Mac)

Pricing
$199.99 - $329.99 From 11 Vendors Get Best Prices »
- Spec Navigator
- Core Components
- Media Handling
- Display
- Network
- Connectivity
- Platform Support
- Dimensions
- General Features
- Green
- Included Software
- Resolutions
- Scanning
- Faxing
Media Handling
| Manual Feed Slot | No |
| Maximum Number of Input Trays | 2 |
| Maximum paper size, height | 17.0 inches |
| Maximum Sheets With All Paper Trays | 400 |
| Output Tray Capacity | 50 |
| Standard Number of Input Trays | 2 |
| Maximum paper size, width | 11 inches |
| Standard input sheet capacity | 400 |
| Duplex printing | No |
Connectivity
| Other Interfaces |
|
| Parallel Port | No |
| Serial Port | No |
| USB 1.1 | Yes |
| USB 2.0 | Yes |
General Features
| Printer Emulation Type | GDI |
| Media slots |
|
| PictBridge compatible | Yes |
Included Software
| Included Software | ScanSoft PaperPort 11 SE with OCR by Nuance software for Windows®Presto! PageManager with OCR software for Mac |
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Printers »
Pros
Wide-format printing and scanning
Roomy dual input trays; easy to use
Cons
Very slow
Plain-paper prints look fuzzy and drab
Bottom Line
Its wide-format capability is nice, but not its slow performance and variable print quality.
Brother MFC-6490CW
MFC-6490cw All-In-One Printer (28 PPM, 6000x1200 DPI, Color, 64MB, PC/Mac) Review, by Melissa Riofrio and Susan Silvius, PC World October 2, 2009
For $300 (at this writing), the MFC-6490CW gives you features galore. The integrated scanner takes wide-format media, as do the two input trays, which together take a generous 400 sheets of plain paper. The trays feel a bit flimsy, and their lids can be tricky. You also get a 50-sheet output tray and a 50-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF). Automatic duplexing is not available, but its cousin, the MFC-6890CDW, offers it for a slightly higher purchase price. Connectivity includes USB, ethernet, and Wi-Fi. The first two ports are hidden within the machine, under the scanner unit, which is odd. Media slots take CF, MS, SD, SM, and xD cards. There is also a USB/PictBridge port.
The control panel is mostly easy to understand. A 3.3-inch, color LCD shows menu items, photo images, and other info; it also divides fax buttons on the left from major-function and navigation buttons on the right--all labeled clearly. Our one quibble: It's sometimes unclear which button you use to back out of a menu.
Ink costs are very fair. Brother ships the unit with high-yield cartridges to compensate for the ink typically lost during the initialization process. The 900-page black (K) cartridge costs $31.49 to replace, or 3.5 cents per page. The 750-page cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) cartridges each cost $16.99, or 2.3 cents per color, per page. A page with all four colors would cost an economical 10.3 cents. Standard-size ink costs are average. One oddity: None of the ink cartridges are keyed; you can put them in the wrong slot. The unit performs normally anyway, but we're surprised at this oversight.
The MFC-6490CW's subpar performance overshadows its many nice attributes. In our tests, it did everything slowly: Plain text exited at a snail's pace of 5.7 pages per minute (ppm), while the best graphics speed was just 2.4 ppm. Even its scanning and copying speeds were far slower than average. Wide-format output would take even longer. On plain paper, text looked fuzzy and charcoal-like instead of black, while photos looked dull and grainy. Brother's own photo papers improved photo quality considerably.
Brother's MFC-6490CW is hobbled by its lackluster speed and variable print quality. If you really need wide-format printing, check out options such as HP's OfficeJet 7000 (a stand-alone inkjet), which is faster and has better print quality.
For other choices in inkjet MFPs, see our chart of Top 10 Inkjet Multifunction Printers.
--Melissa Riofrio and Susan Silvius
0 Comments | 0 Topics | Print Only This Review
- Rating Breakdown
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66
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90
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90
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Printers
66
74
82
82
Performance
| 300dpi Line Art Image (secs) | 19.58 |
| 4 by 6 Color Photo (secs) | 23.55 |
| 4 by 6 Grayscale Photo (secs) | 23.33 |
| Color Output Quality | Fair |
| Color Photo Quality | Superior |
| Copy Output Quality | Very Good |
| Copy Quality | Very Good |
| Final Scan Time, 2-by-2-Inch Document, 600 dpi | 17.91 |
| Final Scan Time, 4-by-5-Inch Document, 100 dpi | 13.27 |
| Final Scan Time, One-Page Word Document, 300 dpi | 20.41 |
| Grayscale Glossy Output Quality | n/a |
| Grayscale Output Quality | Fair |
| Line Art Output Quality | Good |
| One-Page Copy | 28.55 |
| One-Page Copy (secs) | 28.55 |
| One-Page Line Art, Maximum Resolution | Good |
| One-Page Webpage (secs) | 28.74 |
| One-Page Word Document, 300 dpi | Good |
| Overall Scan Quality | Good |
| Preview Scan, 2-by-2-Inch Document, 600 dpi | 14.92 |
| Preview Scan, 4-by-5-Inch Document, 100 dpi | 14.88 |
| Preview Scan, One-Page Word Document, 300 dpi | 13.09 |
| Sports Action Shot (secs) | 91.2 |
| Ten-Page Word Document | 136.33 |
| Ten-Page Word Document (secs) | 136.33 |
| Tested Color Speed (ppm) | 2.4 |
| Tested Glossy Photo Speed (ppm) | 3.1 |
| Tested Grayscale Speed (ppm) | 2.6 |
| Tested Text Speed (ppm) | 5.7 |
| Text Output Quality | Fair |
| Three-Page Word Document | 47.41 |
| Three-Page Word Document (secs) | 47.41 |
| Total Scan Time, 2-by-2-Inch Document, 600 dpi | 17.91 |
| Total Scan Time, 4-by-5-Inch Document, 100 dpi | 13.27 |
| Total Scan Time, One-Page Word Document, 300 dpi | 20.41 |
| Two-Page Excel Document | 47.73 |
| Two-Page Excel Document (secs) | 47.73 |
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
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Reviewed by: craigsymons
Strengths: Handles ledger (11X17) paper4 ink cartridgesSimple but functional softwareNetworking options
Weaknesses: No duplexSlowBig and bulky
Overall: I have been using this printer now for a year. I print,copy,fax, and scan and have never experienced a paper jam including 11X17 size which I use for large spreadsheets. I especially like its networking capability and it currently supports 5 PC's (PC's and Macs) over a Wireless G network. If it had a duplex option and printed a little faster it would be the perfect printer.
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Reviewed by: unsatisfiedwithservice
Strengths: Great idea behind the all-in-one that prints 11x17 borderless.
Weaknesses: poor color out put and terrible customer service when delivering a working product
Overall: I had this machine for 2 whole weeks when it just powered off and NEVER turned on again. Problem with Brother is you either get a great product or a lemon!!So I called them and emailed them, "tried plugging it in different outlets," and at their request took it to the service center (30 miles away). The service center ordered new parts, then ordered more parts when those didn't solve it. Then I waited several weeks while the part (a power pack!) was on backorder. When it came in, and the machine STILL did not power on, is when the real fun with BROTHER began!Every time I or the service center rep called BROTHER, we would get all kinds of different answers, lies, stall tactics...My absolute favorite, however, happened after BROTHER insisted that I speak with them again (as if the service center did not know what they were talking about) and explaining to them that the machine is completely dead with a black screen, they wanted me to "print trouble shooting reports from the machine and fax it to them from the machine" that DOES NOT TURN ON!!!BRILLIANT!!So, since I originally contacted them on November 24th, and here it is December 31st.....I STILL DON'T HAVE MY PRODUCT OR MY MONEY!!!!
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