I calculated it out, and it was actually cheaper to buy this NEW PRINTER than buy overpriced ink cartridges for my noisy ancient HP printer. (I still can't get over that!)
Pros:
1. Cost: great for price, especially considering it's functionality
2. Scanner: pretty good quality considering, but again, I'm used to my fossil of a printer... obviously wouldn't be the best for applications requiring intense scanning capabilities, but for everyday use, awesome
3. WIRELESS: Sorry, but this concept to me is still astounding. "you mean, I can have my printer on the other side of the house and still print things from it?!" Much better than keeping the printer within two feet of the computer, and it reduces the number of unmanageable tangled cords by at least one [no usb connection needed] (two [power cord] if you located the printer away from the computer)
4. Fax, though I don't use it (or have a main line for that matter) is a nice additional feature. Maybe once they (maybe they already have) figure out a way to attach cell phones or go over the internet, this will be more useful for me. Still, good feature for others needing this, as fax is still a pretty common form of communication and document sharing.
5. Separate color ink cartridges: FINALLY! I hate having my HP color cartridge run out of ONE color and then having to figure out how to use it still; there's still two colors of ink in there... but they're pretty useless for full color images (and you better hope you don't forget which one of the three it is). Now they're all separate and easy to get to (front flap folds down) and change.
6. Cheap off-brand ink cartridges: Unlike other companies (cough cough) there seems to be an abundance of off brand ink cartridges for Brother printers... which is good! Saves you a LOT of money, as long as you're willing to put up with a dud every once in a while (for the money... about $1 per cartridge... it's totally worth it). Additionally, the pages per cartridge for this printer is much higher than HP's 21 and 22 cartridges- making the price per cartridge even more enticing.
7. LCD screen: it's in color! I didn't realize when I bought- nice surprise.
Cons:
1. hidden paper tray: I was initially very excited about this feature... so tired of papers sticking out of the printer and getting bent, folded, dusty, dirty, etc. However, it doesn't hold as many sheets as I would have hoped and it gets jammed a lot. I've used the printer for three days now, and of all three times, it got jammed twice. Hey, maybe it's just user error, but I re-read the directions, just to make sure I wasn't being an idiot.
2. Wireless: Wait, yes, I did have this listed as a pro above, but I at least HAVE to mention that obviously if your internet/router/service goes down, you literally can't print unless you manually haul the thing back over to your computer and dig out a usb cord. I know, not the end of the world, but still, a bit frustrating.
3. EVERY time it gets manually connected to a wireless network, it prints out this sheet saying so... completely stupid and not very sustainable.. plus it just wasted some of your ink and a page of paper. Can you stop this? I'm sure. However, it's still frustrating... especially for a sheet of paper you're just going to throw out anyways(or cut up and recycle as notes!).
4. Footprint: I was hoping it would be a bit smaller (I realize the dimensions are listed). It's still massive on my bookshelf.
5. Noise: I was hoping for a decently quiet machine... while this is quieter than my last printer, it's still pretty loud.
Overall: Good product for the price- The pros outweigh the cons, and seriously, some of those cons aren't even much of an issue. For someone who's just looking for something that prints and not necessarily too concerned about professional prints and a little noise (aka. students, home office?, etc.), this is a good deal. Again, especially for the price. Compared to others in it's $$ range, this probably has the most bang for the buck (gadget wise and cheap ink.. if nothing else) Brother Black Compact Inkjet All-in-One with Fax and Wireless Networking (MFCJ265W)
I recently purchased a Brother MFC-J265W printer to replace my MFC-210C that stopped printing in black after four years of great service. The J265W was an outstanding value on Amazon. I have a small home office for my artwork business and this MFC does everything I ask of it quietly and efficiently. Some of the comments I read about this printer said that it did fair color printing of photos. I have printed photos and several artworks using quality photo paper and the results are superb. It scans photos and artwork better than many professional scanners. The ability to make quick easy in-house copies is also a big plus. I have not used the fax or the card reader function as yet.
A marvelous feature of Brother MFC is the inexpensive ink cartridges, the name brand cartridges are cheaper that HP, Canon, Lexmark, and others. Amazon has great non-OEM Brother cartridges at veru low prices that work flawlessly with this printer.
I highly recommend this very quiet and dependable little workhorse fax, copier, scanner, printer. - Scanner - Inkjet Printer - Wireless - All-in-one'
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