Brother DCP-J715W review
This MFP does everything adequately, but nothing particularly well. High print costs compound these problems.
Despite Brother’s competitive speed figures, the DCP-J715W turned out to be one of the slowest printers we’ve seen recently. Draft text appeared at a reasonable 13.3ppm, but returning the quality to its normal settings slowed the output down to just 3.4ppm in black, and only 2.6ppm in colour. Far from taking 30 seconds, each 6×4 inch photo print took three minutes and 40 seconds at the highest quality setting. This did drop to one minute 42 seconds when printing directly from a memory card, but the results – though fair – weren’t quite lab quality, with some visible grain and a lack of definition in the darkest areas. The direct print menu hung each time we tried to access one of our test images, so we had to substitute it with an alternative version.
On plain paper, black text wasn’t as crisp as the best inkjets and colours lacked vibrancy. This was particularly noticeable in colour copies, while the graphics in mono copies were far too dark. During our 10-page copy test, the ADF didn’t leave the original documents in a tidy stack.
We were more satisfied with the performance of the DCP-J715W’s scanner, which is reasonably quick, delivering all but our 1,200dpi photo scan in less than 30 seconds. Colours were captured accurately, if a little too bright, and the focus was sharp without overt signs of processing. While it’s good enough for many creative applications, however, it wasn’t able to resolve the very lightest shades in our Q-60 target, or several of the darkest, meaning that it’s not ideal for detailed photography work.
Ultimately, this MFP would be suited to occasional creative jobs in a small office if not for its print costs, which are some of the highest around. For only a little more, Epson’s PX720WD is faster, better quality and cheaper to run.
Basic Specifications | |
---|---|
Rating | ** |
Maximum native print resolution | 6,000×1,200dpi |
Max optical resolution | 1,200×2,400dpi |
Output bit depth | 36-bit |
Quoted Speeds | |
Quoted speed, mono A4 | 35ppm |
Quoted speed, colour A4 | 28ppm |
Tested Print Speeds | |
Time for two 10x8in photos 1.0 | 16m 18s |
Time for six 6x4in photos 1.0 | 21m 57s |
Physical and Environmental | |
Standard printer interfaces | USB, PictBridge, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11 b/g wireless |
Optional printer interfaces | none |
Size | 390x375x180mm |
Weight | 7.5kg |
Noise (in normal use) | 50dB(A) |
Duty cycle | 2,500 |
Paper Handling | |
Maximum paper size | A4/legal |
Maximum paper weight | 220gsm |
Standard paper inputs | 2 |
Standard paper input capacity | 120 |
Maximum paper inputs | 2 |
Maximum paper input capacity | 120 |
Duplex (code, cost if option) | No |
General | |
Printer technology | piezo inkjet |
Supported operating systems | Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X 10.3.9+ |
Other inkjet features | 8.2cm colour screen, lifetime technical support |
Other inkjet options | none |
Buying Information | |
Price | £104 |
Consumable parts and prices | £8 |
Price per colour A4 page | 7.0p |
Quoted life of supplied black cartridge | 300 pages (ISO/IEC 24712) |
Quoted life of supplied colour cartridge(s) | cyan, magenta, yellow 240 pages (ISO/IEC 24712) |
Quoted life of supplied photo cartridge(s) | N/A |
Warranty | one-year RTB |
Supplier | http://www.oyyy.co.uk |
Details | www.brother.co.uk |
Print Quality | |
Number of ink colours | 4 |
Number of ink cartridges | 4 |
Maximum number of ink colours | 4 |
Maximum number of cartridges | 4 |
Quoted photo durability | 100 years |
Quoted photo durability source | Brother |
Tested Scan Speeds | |
Full scan area preview | 14s |
A4 document at 150dpi | 15s |
A4 document at 300dpi | 20s |
6x4in photo at 600dpi | 25s |
6x4in photo at 1200dpi | 1m 19s |
Tested Copy Speeds | |
Time for single A4 mono copy 1.0 | 31s |
Time for single A4 colour copy 1.0 | 42s |
Time for 10 A4 copies using feeder 2.0 | 5m 46s |
Photo Features | |
PictBridge support | Yes |
Borderless printing | A4 |
Direct (PC-less) printing | Yes |
Supported memory cards | USB flash, SD, SDHC, Memory Stick Pro |
CD printing | No |
Copy Features | |
Maximum number of copies | 99 |
Max mono copy resolution | 1,200×1,200dpi |
Max colour copy resolution | 600×1,200dpi |
Fax Features | |
Max mono fax resolution | N/A |
Fax memory (maximum mono pages) | N/A |