Brother MFC-490CW Ink Cartridges

Following the trend of machines that combine office features with consumer-friendly features, the Brother MFC-490CW does a decent job at both tasks, in a compact and affordable package. Rated print speeds are 33 pages per minute for black and 27 pages per minute for color, though actual speeds at high resolutions will be lower. Ongoing costs may be a bit higher than competing models, as Brother MFC-490CW ink is a little more expensive.

While its affordable price is very attractive, especially when looking at its excellent feature set, it is important to look at ongoing costs. Brother MFC-490CW ink cartridges tend to be a bit higher than competing models, negating some of its upfront savings. Using third-party compatible Brother MFC-490CW inkjet cartridges will help somewhat, but costs will still be higher than the competition.

The machine can print, scan, copy, and fax. Unlike some of Brother's budget models, the Brother MFC-490CW includes support for Super G3 faxing speeds at up to 33.6 kbps. This means much faster faxing, assuming the other machine supports it. If not, it can also scale down its transmission speed to accommodate slower machines. The 15-sheet automatic document feeder adds the ability to quickly and easily scan multiple pages at a time, unlike models with only a flatbed scanner. This makes it more viable as a small office machine.

Cnet's review of the Brother MFC-490CW inkjet is largely positive. They rated it 2.5 stars out of 5, and liked its multiple connectivity options including wireless and wired networking, as well as USB. They found its compact and stylish design pleasing. They disliked its slow printing speeds, which never reached its rated speeds, and thought the photo quality could be better.

Overall, home and small office users will like its numerous excellent features and affordable price, but may find its ink costs are a bit high. Wireless networking is a nice feature, but the printer will only support a small number of users.