Brother MFC-790CW All-in-One Inkjet MFP Reviews

If its spec sheet were a menu, the Brother MFC-790CW Inkjet MFP would seem to have something for everyone. First off, it covers pretty much every base in terms of connectivity with its built-in phone and answering machine, as well as Ethernet and Wi-Fi. In addition, it copies, faxes, scans, and prints at a reported 27 ppm in color and 33 in black and white. A 4.2” touchscreen, 15 page auto document feeder (ADF), dedicated photo tray, and PC-free photo printing options round out the feature set and make the Brother MFC-790CW that much more appealing for your home or small office. But does actual performance match the marketed features? The experts have spoken, and they uniformly endorse the Brother MFC-790CW with a couple caveats.

 

Melissa Riofrio of PC World gives the Brother MFC-790CW a solid 75/100 for its versatile feature set and affordable cost per page for color ink cartridges. However, she has a couple notable issues with the printer. First, she feels that the ADF and paper trays can be hard to load due to the compact design, which somewhat negates the convenience factor of those features. Riofrio also finds print speed lacking, and output quality is good, but not great.

 

Peter Piazza of About.com gives the Brother MFC-790CW 3.5 out of 5 stars for its Wi-Fi connectivity, big touchscreen, and excellent photo quality. However, he agrees with Riofrio to a degree regarding the less-than-impressive print speed, and he finds the photo paper tray a little difficult to load. That said, Piazza notes that packing a bunch of features into a compact frame that weighs under 20 lbs. is bound to come with a bit of a tradeoff.

 

Finally, Kristofer Brozio of Testfreaks gives the Brother MFC-790CW an impressive 9/10 for Design, 8/10 for Performance, and 8/10 Overall. He appreciates the phone and answering machine, and printer setup is simple and straightforward. Photo output is “near studio quality” in his opinion, and he finds the LCD touchscreen responsive and easy to use, but not as easy on the eyes as the LCD on the Epson WorkForce 600. Overall, he concludes that the Brother MFC-790CW provides solid overall value for your home or small office.