Hi there - thanks for coming back to visit! While you're here, why not sign up for the Legal Practice Pro Newsletter?
Disclosure: The reviewer was not paid to provide this review. The reviewer was sent the machine at no cost for the purpose of reviewing the product. Though the company was originally supposed to take the unit back after the review, they opted to let the review keep the unit.
Ever since I purchased my first laser printer, I was sold on it. I swore off inkjets for good…and pretty much ended my relationship with color printouts as well. Color laser printers are still not cost effective in my book. Refills are quite expensive and frankly, I just don’t print color that often.
That said, there is a time and place for color presentation.
Recently, I was contacted by Brother to give the MFC 6490-CW a spin (here after, “6490CW” – official specs page here). My knee jerk reaction was that it was an inkjet and I was not going to like it. I agreed to check it. You know what? It ain’t bad…not bad at all.
Here’s the breakdown:
1. It’s a multifunction – scanning, printing, copying.
You can scan on the platen glass or run a stack through the sheetfeeder. Both the glass and the sheetfeeder appear to be high quality construction. No complaints whatsoever.
Copying is a breeze and fast. From powering on to finished copy, I had a beautiful page in 34 seconds flat. That’s faster than our leased (ugh) copier at the office on a completely cold start. If the machine is on, 23 seconds is all you need to get your first copy out.
This is a video of a color print which took about 47 seconds, again from a COLD start.
Now printing…printing is sweet. Beautiful precision, sharp fonts and well rendered images aside, this thing is WiFi ready! It took me about 2 minutes to get it “talking” to our Linksys router and voila!, I was printing from my laptop. (There was a bit of setup to add the printer to my laptop as well, but again, it was dead simple and I didn’t even have to refer to the manual.)
2. It’s wireless! Yes, I just mentioned this, but it’s so nice, I had to say it twice. The 6490CW is a good sized machine, not a huge footprint, but it needs a dedicated space (as do all workhorse MFC’s.) My wife and I found a home for it on the opposite wall from where our desks sit. Wires would NOT be an option. That said, the only wire coming from the 6490CW is the power cord. That’s it! You have no idea how wireless hardware changes your life until you try to organize your work space.
3. Intuitive Design. Do they still make VCR’s? Wonder if they are easier to program? Remember how intimidating it was just to change the clock? The 6490CW makes programming a cinch. The menu flows well and there isn’t any guessing when it comes to menu options. All buttons are clearly marked!
4. Photo preview. We had some photo paper lying around gathering dust because we rarely touched our old inkjet. With digital camera technology getting better and better, it’s frequently unnecessary to touch up photos these days. With the 6490CW, you walk up, insert your memory card or plug in your camera’s USB cable and instantly preview your pictures. Choose which one you want to print and you have a treasured memory captured in all it’s colorful glory.
5. High Yield Ink technology. I hate changing inkjet cartridges. Note the choice of the word “hate”. I had a seriously traumatic incident with an cyan inkjet cartridge years ago and my mother is still reeling about the stain on her carpet (which she replaced 5 years ago.) I haven’t had the machine long enough to confirm, but Brother has apparently invested in “high yield” cartridges which boast TWICE the capacity of the standard cartridge. Installing is stupid simple – so much so, that it doesn’t require explanation.
Look, laser printers rock. They are essential for business. I’m sure Brother makes a mean laser color multifunction machine too, but I’m quite pleased (and pleasantly surprised) at the capabilities and convenience that the Brother MFC 6490CW has introduced into our home office.
If you’ve been hunting for a practical workhorse solution, you need to seriously consider this machine.
Related posts:
This printer is great! I recommend this printer for businesses not because it has a large ink cartridge but also it's wireless. You can print your files from our laptop or even in your mobile.