Brother - INKvestment MFC-J985DW XL Wireless All-In-One Printer - Black

I've had the printer 2 days. Most of that time I've spent configuring the software to use the scanning functionality. Initially, the printer configuration went well. Even before I installed any printer drivers, I was able to print to it from multiple devices in my house (Windows PC's and Android) via WiFi. But scanning would not work without software installation. I have a Windows 10 PC. The basic 'Control Center 4' software needed for receiving scans does not work, period. I reinstalled it from the web rather than the CD, still no luck. I disabled all firewalls and security software too. Using the "Brother Utilities, " if you know what you are doing, you can reconfigure the scanner to use different, native windows scanner software rather than Control Center 4. This provides most functionality, but not OCR. In fact, when I was on tech support with brother, the support person told me that OCR doesn't work with CC4 either, and you have to install the optional 'PaperPort' software for that to work, even though that isn't specified when installing the software. And then "PaperPort" itself is unstable, with it's "Scanner Setup Wizard" locking up. After some backflips to get that to unfreeze, I was able to configure the scanner (a 1 time thing) to work and it now works well. But immediately after that, I couldn't print to the printer from the PC with PaperPort on it, even though I could print from my Android! I rebooted everything and it all seemed to come back. So it seems to be stable at the moment. At this point, I could not recommend to a friend that they put themselves through this, except that every printer I have owned lately has very poor software, so maybe they are all like this these days. Just way too much effort. If the printer remains stable and we get a lot of prints on the ink cartridges, and the scars of the past two days fade, maybe I would up this to a 4 star review. But if, like previous printers from other manufacturers, it develops communication problems and won't print, it would go down to 2 or 1. Printing and Scanning should not be this hard.

I like the idea of not having to worry about ink for two years, but time will tell just how long it really holds out. Overall print quality is good, but I did have to max out the settings to get a good print on a document with images. Photo prints at best quality were vivid, and true to the original. Scanning feature worked well, and the included software was easy to use, offering a basic GUI as well as a more advanced option. Scanning and copying were noticeably faster that the Epson MFP it replaced. My only real concern is with the build quality on the combination paper tray. (Which BTW, Brother, if you're listening, two trays next time, please, so I don't have to take it out and adjust the tray feeder to do photos...) The tray seems rather light weight and the design of the slide-forward-to-print-photos is stiff and gives me concern for the longevity of the tray. Hopefully if you're careful, it will just be a matter of do it slowly and hope for the best. One other note of caution - photo printing at best quality is slow, and nowhere near what the specs state.

The printer works excellent. All the settings are easy to navigate with the touch screen. My only complaints are: 1) it was incredibly challenging connecting it to the wifi and i am very computer savy. The only work around was to constanly reset router and restart printer until it was successful. The disc, printer setup help, and the website was no help and even conflicted each others guidence in fixing the issue. This is why i took away a star in the review. 2) i wish there was an option on the printer itself to change darkness. You can do this for the scan/copy/fax but not the print. Not a big deal because you can adjust these in printer preference on computer. It would just be better in the printers options. Overall an excellent buy. Does incredible for the price and has an extremely large capacity ink that is also really cheap to replace. Cost per page is ALOT cheaper than any printer anywhere near its price range. That alone saves you time and money making it a great purchase choice. Most printers near this price you will be replacing ink every 125-250 pages and $25 or more per replacement. This one you get 2400 pages per replacement and its $25. That pays for itself in one ink cycle. The print itself is good quality. There is better out there in excellent quality but you will spend more to get it.

Bought this printer to replace my old HP Officejet Pro printer that was getting just way too costly to maintain due to the expensive replacement costs for the ink cartridges as well as for the printheads. I also experienced many issues with my old HP Officehjet Pro printer constantly cleaning/realigning the printheads which excessively wasted too much ink. Bought this Brother MFC-J985DW XL printer and had absolutely no hassle in setting the printer up, joining my network or on any operational issued to date. Everything works really good and I can even print from my cell phone now - My old HP printer would not allow this feature to be activated due to constant error message.

I read a lot of the reviews where quite a few had a lot of trouble with the wireless connection so I didn't have my hopes up too high for that. I only needed a USB connection. When I got the printer, it was very easy to setup. I got daring & tried the wireless setup & voila! Perfect! on my PC and laptop. I even downloaded the Brother iPrint app for our cell phones & again - it works seamlessly! Very cool. I didn't have the expectation that I'd be able to print from my cell phone - but it works! & of course, I bought the printer for saving money on ink since I wound up spending about $70 a year in ink on my other 10 yr old Canon printer that I've now retired.

This is a great all in one. Does what is advertised for sure without a doubt. Hooking up to my MAC was not an issue like some other printers I have had. My only gripe is that the photo quality is not as good as the HP I replaced. NOTE: I will NEVER buy another HP product...no service options to fix one that wasn't even 3 years old. Our only option was to replace a print head for $70 (which we did and didn't work) or to buy a replacement product. Alas, this was a solid alternative and for the price, the year long supply of ink in the box was worth the investment. For my office at home, great add. For my wife's scrap booking and crafting projects...not so much...the color quality is not nearly as accurate as we would have hoped for.

My fiance and I have used this printer to print address labels, RSVP cards, and other wedding related print jobs on a variety of media (glossy labels, cardstock, plain paper) without issue. I've also used the copier function for some financial documents. The quality is high and the cost per page is low -- eliminating the need for professional printing in all but the most formal of applications (and saving us a TON of money!) The interface is a little clunky and the noise is a little loud while printing, but these small negatives are far outweighed by the outstanding value and variety of uses. I am VERY happy we made this purchase.

Recently purchased this printer, my first ever non-HP printer. Reasons for buying: Price, reported economical ink usage (haven't had it long enough to verify), all in one, size. So far so good. I feel it prints a bit slower and some parts seem a bit flimsy. I did like that i could load paper easier with my old HP (Just sits in the bottoms vs. Now having to remove a tray) but these aren't reasons not to purchase. Had never set up a fax before but sending faxes were simple (once I realized to use regular line in for VoIP). Printing from phone worked well too with the Brother app. Time will tell, but so far so good.