Printer Review: Brother MFC-J6930DW colour inkjet multifunction

Sometimes bigger really is better. Once upon a time, A3 printers were specialist items with price tags putting them beyond the reach of most small businesses, let alone households. So if a project called for large-format output, that normally meant a visit to the local copy shop.

But that's no longer the case thanks to a new generation of printers that have appeared over the last several years from well-known manufacturers including Brother, Canon, Epson and HP.

A popular model from Brother's range is the MFC-J6930DW  colour inkjet multifunction device. With a list price of $499 (or just $375.65 from Ink Depot ) it's well within reach of most businesses that need larger-format printing.

The two main paper trays each have a capacity of 250 sheets, so it's possible to load a full ream of paper at once - though most users would likely use one for A3 and the other for A4. Other combinations are possible, because the upper tray can accommodate smaller sizes including A5 and A6 paper, C5 and DL envelopes, and 3.5x5in, 4x6in and 5x7in photo papers.

There's also a multipurpose tray that - like the upper tray - can take heavier media such as index cards, photo paper and envelopes. This is a handy feature if you use the main trays to hold two sizes of paper but occasionally need to print an envelope or other item.

Like most printers in its class - and as implied by the D (duplex) suffix - the MFC-J6930DW can automatically print on both sides of the paper. While it generally works better when there are no heavily inked areas such as photos or large slabs of text on coloured backgrounds (unless speciality papers are used to avoid show-through), this capability not only saves paper and therefore money, but also reduces the storage space needed by the finished documents (eg, when printing file copies).

The scanner also handles double-sided documents, scanning both sides in one pass. And where some A3 multifunctions are limited to A4 scanning, the MFC-J6930DW's glass bed accommodates originals up to 297mm wide and up to 431mm long (A3 is 420mm on its long side). When the automatic document feeder is used, the originals can be as long as 900mm although the maximum size for duplex scanning is A3.

Scanned files can be directed to a computer or a flash drive (the USB socket is adjacent to the control panel), sent by email, or uploaded to CIFS or FTP servers. If you have several smaller items such as business cards to scan at once, the auto crop feature can separate up to 32 items on the glass as long as they are at least 10mm apart. The output can be a multi-page file, or separate files for each original.

Another useful feature is that Brother provides Windows and Mac software support for OCR (optical character recognition) allowing scanned documents to be converted into editable text.

The scanner also works with the copier and fax functions

Copying supports enlargement and reduction, including condensing two or four originals onto one page, or blowing up a single original to a two, four or nine-sheet poster. While the MFC-J6930DW can be used as a standalone fax machine with the ability to store up to 200 pages if it runs out of paper, there's also software support for sending and receiving faxes from Windows plus send-only support for Mac and Linux.

The MFC-J6930DW is strong on the connectivity front, with 100Mbps Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi and USB 2.0 interfaces. AirPrint, Mopria and Google Cloud Print compatibility plus Wi-Fi Direct and NFC support simplifies connection to various mobile devices. And it's not just about local connectivity: if the MFC is on a network with Internet access (which is a given in contemporary workplaces), it can scan to and print from a range of services including Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, Flickr, Google Drive and OneDrive.

Brother's secure function lock feature is useful in environments where it is necessary to restrict the use of certain functions. For example, permission to use the scanner or web connectivity features can be granted to selected people, and the number of pages an individual user may print can be limited. The option of automatically resetting these page counters every day, week or month makes life easier for the administrator.

So the MFC-J6930DW is an A3 multifunction at an affordable price with a number of features that make it particularly attractive for use in business environments.

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WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAY

Pros

• "competitively low running costs" PC Magazine
• "text quality is pristine" PC Magazine
• "terrific-looking photos" PC Magazine
• "dispels the myth that business inkjets are more expensive to run than lasers" IT Pro
• "Excellent connectivity" IT Pro

Cons

• "graphics output could be better" PC Magazine
• "Slow print and scan speeds" IT Pro
• "you can't have the wired connection active simultaneously [with Ethernet]" IT Pro