PCWorld Evaluation Team Review - Brother MFC-L8900CDW Colour Laser Multi-Function Centre

"The Brother MFC-L8900CDW is an absolute stand out. I struggle to fault it." 

The box the printer came in was enormous! However after the ceremonial unpacking it fitted perfectly in the spot in which we have always kept our old printer. Phew! The Brother MFC-L8900CDW is higher than – but otherwise a fairly similar footprint to – our old ink blotter. And it looks like the real deal; a piece of equipment you would expect to find in a large modern office.

So let’s get down to the nitty gritty – after all, it may look good but looks count for nothing if it can’t do what we want it to. Our business needs fast and reliable printing, scanning and photocopying. The Brother delivered on all levels no matter the task.

I recently had to print a copy of a 250-page catalogue. I would not have tried to do this on our old “multi-function” printer – it would have taken too long and the quality of print wouldn’t have been good enough. Instead, I would have taken it to a local printing service. However, the Brother did the job with ease, the print was fantastic, and I was very impressed with the scanning ability. It was easy to use and the scan quality was great – this feature alone sold me. And it handles double-sided scanning and printing as well!

The MFC-L8900CDW really doesn’t have any limitations. It’s a serious bit of printing kit without the price tag. Importantly, it doesn’t sound like a red rattler – the printer is very quiet and operates smoothly.

When it comes to speed the Brother delivered again. We have always invested in a quality printer after learning early on in business that you can’t get by without one – time is money. However, this printer is the fastest small office printer we have ever used and is vastly different, in our experience, from other printers in this price range.

So the Brother ticked the boxes for versatile, fast, efficient, quiet and clean. But a big box that needs ticking with me is ease of operation. There is nothing worse than having to spend hours on end wading through an operating manual and multi-levels on a touchscreen to understand how the printer works and the options it offers. It has to be easy, especially as the staff have to be able use it without a long-winded, time consuming training session.

The MFC-L8900CDW has 12.6cm screen which is great but, more importantly, once I downloaded the Brother control centre, using the printer was a walk in the park. I haven’t had a single hitch since! Anybody with a basic level of knowledge can set up this printer – if you can work a smart phone you can set up the MFC-L8900CDW.

And, once the Brother is up and running, it doesn’t need constant attention as the paper tray holds 250 sheets. This is a great feature – it’s like not having to fill up the car with petrol every week! It’s the little time savers that make doing business easier. To be honest, there are plenty of other functions I haven’t used yet but will be exploring later. It is good to have options.

I have no hesitation in recommending this printer. I have used two other major brands that I rate as top end for SMB but were of varying results. The Brother MFC-L8900CDW is an absolute stand out. I struggle to fault it.

Read the original review on PC World here