10/10/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/printers/0,39051175,43583875p,00.htm

How many manufacturers can boast of having a home office inkjet printer with nine functions and a 4.2-inch color display? Brother can with its multifunction MFC-885CW. The suite of additional functions such as cordless handset and message center are great for small businesses usage, and the wide range of connectivity options allow the printer to be shared over a network. With so many seemingly helpful features, it can be hard to fault this AIO, but we found the choice of ink system a little discouraging.

Upside

The Brother MFC-885CW's claim to fame would be its "9-in-1" capability. Besides the usual print, scan, copy and fax functions that most AIOs support, this inkbox can do much more. The printer has a cordless handset and messaging service, so there's no need for another telephone. Although it speaks of nine functions, there are actually only six main ones, while the other three are supportive features such as PC fax, answering machine and direct printing from USB devices.

A first for Brother would be the inclusion of a 4.2-inch color LCD on the front panel of the printer. You can preview incoming fax messages on it and print only what you require or view edited images on the screen after enhancing them in-printer.

Now, this is the part where most small offices would be most interested in--connectivity options. Besides the usual USB 2.0 port on the back, there is also an Ethernet port so you can hook the printer up to a router for sharing over a network. If your office is running off a wireless network, the MFC-885CW is Wi-Fi-enabled, too. The two card slots on the front accept most common flash media such as CompactFlash, SD/SDHC, xD-Picture Card and Memory Stick Pro/DUO.

An automatic document feeder is part of the package, but note that it can handle up to only 10 sheets of paper at one go.

Brother claims you can operate the various functions simultaneously on the MFC-885CW, which will be useful in multi-user home office environments.

Downside

For heavy-duty usage, the standard ink cartridge may not be able to handle high-capacity printing and could require frequent changing. It would be nice to see Brother develop a high-yield cartridge to meet the needs of those who print often.

The paper tray of the MFC-885CW has a maximum capacity of 100 sheets, which is typical in its class. However, a higher-capacity tray option would be good to have as it can save time from constantly replenish the paper supply.

We may be nitpicking here, but we wish the MFC-885CW has a better ink system rather than the usual four-color--black, cyan, magenta and yellow--setup. Although it is targeted at home offices and small businesses, we cannot deny the fact that having more colors will produce more vibrant and accurate tones. This may be important if you are compiling a proposal and images are an important component.

Bottomline

With its wealth of features and reasonable price tag, the MFC-885CW could very well be one of the more affordable printers in its class. If you have space constraints and require an AIO that can perform most daily tasks, do give this inkbox some consideration.