Brother is renowned for its budget-friendly printers, but the MFC-L3780CDW color laser printer targets small businesses and busy home offices with a more feature-rich all-in-one solution. This review dives into the MFC-L3780CDW’s print quality, compatibility, long-term costs, and special features to determine if it’s the right fit for your needs.
Design and Build
Brother MFC-L3780CDWThe Brother MFC-L3780CDW is a substantial office printer.
The MFC-L3780CDW is a substantial printer, weighing 47.8 pounds and measuring 15.8 inches high with a footprint of 16.1 by 18.2 inches. While the footprint itself isn’t excessively large, Brother recommends ample clearance for ventilation, resulting in a required space of 28 inches wide, 26.2 inches deep, and 27.8 inches tall. Its robust design suggests durability, and it boasts a high monthly duty cycle, suitable for demanding print environments. The printer features a 3.5-inch color touchscreen, an automatic document feeder (ADF), a USB thumb drive port, and an NFC card reader for enhanced security and cost control. The main paper tray holds 250 sheets, with a 30-sheet multipurpose tray for various paper sizes, and an optional additional tray can expand capacity further.
Print Performance
Print QualityWhile suitable for documents, photo printing isn’t the MFC-L3780CDW’s strength.
Designed for a heavy workload, the MFC-L3780CDW boasts a 4,000-page monthly recommended print volume and a maximum duty cycle of 50,000 pages. Color and monochrome print quality is excellent for documents, with speeds reaching 31 pages per minute. While the paper exhibits noticeable curling after printing, duplexing functioned flawlessly. Single-page printing can feel slightly slow, particularly from the mobile app, with the first page taking around 13 seconds after data transfer. While Windows and Mac printing experienced minimal delays, the Brother Mobile Connect app on iOS exhibited slow transfer speeds, a problem less prevalent on Android or when using AirPrint. As expected from a color laser printer, photo quality on plain paper is acceptable but not exceptional, with muted colors and some graininess, especially in red hues. Matte photo paper yields slightly improved results, but other color lasers offer superior photo quality. Borderless printing is not supported.
Paper CurlPrinted pages exhibit a noticeable curl.
Special Features
ADFThe automatic document feeder performs flawlessly.
Beyond printing, the MFC-L3780CDW offers scanning, copying, and faxing capabilities. The ADF handles single and double-sided documents up to 50 pages, while the flatbed scanner provides high-quality scans. The Brother iPrint&Scan software for computers supports scanning resolutions up to 1200 dpi with optical character recognition (OCR) for searchable PDFs. Mobile scanning is limited to 300 dpi, while USB drive scanning reaches 600 dpi. Scan quality is good, with accurate color reproduction and a wide dynamic range. Copying is as fast as printing, and duplex copying works seamlessly. The integrated NFC badge reader allows for access control, a potentially valuable feature for larger offices.
NFC ReaderAn NFC reader enhances security and controls printing costs.
Software and Compatibility
Toner CartridgesColor-coded toner cartridges simplify installation.
Setup is straightforward, aided by a quick start guide and color-coded toner cartridges. The touchscreen displays a QR code for easy mobile app download, facilitating Wi-Fi connection setup (supporting both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). Windows and Mac compatibility is excellent, with automatic printer recognition and optional iPrint&Scan software for advanced scanning features. While the Android mobile app performs well, the iOS app suffers from sluggishness and preview issues, impacting the photo printing experience.
Cost Considerations
Color DocumentsThe MFC-L3780CDW excels at printing color documents.
The MFC-L3780CDW’s price point of around $500 might be high for home use, but it’s reasonable for a shared office printer. Long-term costs are crucial, and toner expenses vary depending on cartridge size. Standard cartridges yield 1,200 color pages and 1,500 monochrome pages. Color printing costs range from 10 to 17 cents per page, depending on cartridge size, while monochrome printing is significantly cheaper, ranging from 2 to 4 cents per page.
Conclusion
The Brother MFC-L3780CDW is a robust color laser printer built for demanding workloads. While photo printing is not its forte, it excels at producing high-quality color documents quickly, making it ideal for brochures, presentations, and flyers. Businesses with high print volumes will find this printer a valuable asset, but home users might consider alternative options if photo quality is a priority.
