Brother MFC-7225N Toner Cartridges

Brother MFC-7225N Printer Review

The Brother MFC-7225N is a multifunction monochrome laser printer designed for the small office network environment. Its print quality and speed are impressive for the price, but a large control panel might be complicated for some users.

The design of the MFC-7225N, similar to the more expensive Brother MFC-9420 toner printer, immediately shows its focus on faxing. The control panel features a full keypad and many buttons dedicated to faxing features, and the unit even includes a handset, rare for all-in-one machines. Consequently, users who have serious faxing needs will find the MFC-7225N to be a good choice for a multifunction unit, while those looking for a multifunction laser printer might find its control panel overwhelming and its focus on faxing unnecessary.

Despite its focus on faxing, the MFC-7225N is a well-rounded multifunction unit, able to print, fax, scan, and copy. Each of these functions is very well-implemented. An automatic document feeder on the top of the unit can hold 30 pages at once for scanning, copying, or faxing. The printer engine with a speed of 20 pages per minute means printing, copying, and faxing are all capable of that speed. Scanning resolutions up to 1200 dpi are possible, but strangely, the MFC-7225N only supports monochrome scanning, not color. A multitude of "Scan To" options are available, including email, OCR (optical character recognition), image, and file.

Print speed, as mentioned, is up to 20 pages per minute, quite impressive for a multifunction printer at this price point. IF you need a slightly faster print speed and also need all the multi-function capability, the Brother MFC-7340 toner printer should be considered. Print quality is very good for text, with sharp characters even at smaller font sizes. Graphics quality is a bit below average, but adequate for most uses.

The MFC-7225N lacks expandability. It comes with a starter Brother MFC-7225N toner cartridge that only has a capacity of 1,500 pages. Its maximum toner cartridge capacity is 2,500 pages, with no higher-yield Brother MFC-7225N cartridges available. The printer's paper capacity is limited to 250 sheets with no expansion options available; growing offices may hit the limit of the printer's capacity very quickly.

Overall, the Brother MFC-7225N is a well-designed multifunction for the price. Limited expandability and small capacities limit its appeal to small offices not expecting to grow in size.