Brother DCP-9020CDW review
A low price and decent print quality are let down by some of the highest print costs we’ve seen from a laser-class MFP
PRINT COSTS
The cost of toner for the DCP-9020CDW is surprisingly high. The highest-yield cartridges available are a £58 2,500-page black toner and 2,200-page colour cartridges priced at £81 each. That alone gives you an inordinately high (for a laser-class printer) mono page cost of 2.3p and a mixed black and colour cost of 13.4p. That’s before you take into account other consumables, including a drum unit and belt. Include these, and a full-colour page costs 14.1p.
Total Ownership Costs are also high, although low-yield users who take their time going through the supplied 1,000 pages worth of toner will do better than heavy-duty business users, thanks to the printer’s relatively low purchase price of £237. If you do a lot of printing, as in our high-yield example of 2,000 mono and 1,000 colour pages a month, the cost of consumables will sting you for a massive £6,422 over three years. Light users end up paying a somewhat more reasonable £538.
CONCLUSION
The DCP-9020CDW has generally good print quality, but its slow print speeds and high costs make it a poor buy for most businesses, despite its surprisingly low purchase price. This is a pity, as we love the MFP’s interface and particularly its ability to print from and scan to our favourite cloud storage services. Unless you’re a very light user who requires these specific features, though, the Xerox WorkCentre 6605DN has an equally approachable interface and costs less to run.
Basic Specifications | |
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Rating | *** |
Maximum native print resolution | 2,400x600dpi |
Max optical resolution | 1,200×2,400dpi |
Output bit depth | 24-bit |
Quoted Speeds | |
Quoted speed, mono A4 | 18ppm |
Quoted speed, colour A4 | 18ppm |
Tested Print Speeds | |
Time for two 10x8in photos 1.0 | 1m 1s |
Time for six 6x4in photos 1.0 | 1m 8s |
Physical and Environmental | |
Standard printer interfaces | USB Hi-Speed, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11n wireless |
Optional printer interfaces | none |
Size | 483x410x410mm |
Weight | 18.3kg |
Noise (in normal use) | 53dB(A) |
Duty cycle | 30,000 pages |
Paper Handling | |
Maximum paper size | A4 |
Maximum paper weight | 163gsm |
Standard paper inputs | 1 |
Standard paper input capacity | 250 |
Maximum paper inputs | 1 |
Maximum paper input capacity | 250 |
Duplex (code, cost if option) | Yes |
General | |
Printer technology | single-pass colour LED |
Language(s) | PCL6, BR-Script 3 |
Supported operating systems | Windows XP/Vista/7/8, Mac OS X 10.6.8+, Linux |
Maximum printer memory | 192MB |
Other laser features and options | £15 |
Buying Information | |
Price | £237 |
Price per colour A4 page | 11.1p |
Price of 2nd paper cassette | N/A |
Warranty | one year RTB |
Supplier | http://www.printerbase.co.uk |
Details | www.brother.co.uk |
Tested Scan Speeds | |
Full scan area preview | 13s |
A4 document at 150dpi | 14s |
A4 document at 300dpi | 18s |
6x4in photo at 600dpi | 19s |
6x4in photo at 1200dpi | 57s |
Single 35mm negative at 2400dpi | N/A |
Tested Copy Speeds | |
Time for single A4 mono copy 1.0 | 17s |
Time for single A4 colour copy 1.0 | 17s |
Time for 10 A4 copies using feeder 2.0 | 48s |
Copy Features | |
Maximum number of copies | 99 |
Copier zoom range | 25-400% |
Max mono copy resolution | 600x600dpi |
Max colour copy resolution | 600x600dpi |
Fax Features | |
Fax modem speed | N/A |
Max mono fax resolution | N/A |
Fax memory (maximum mono pages) | N/A |