Brother MFC-290C Color Inkjet Multifunction Center

 (38 customer reviews)

So far so good. Absolutely no paper jams for the past year of use. Very good quality for black prints. Color printing on the other hand, is very dull. Even the black comes out looking gray.

Positive:
* Quick and easy setup. Software included does quick and simple scanning.
* Print time is decent for both color and black
* Very sturdy construction
* 4 separate print cartridges
* Printer cleans itself
* Auto feeder for copying multiple pages. (very useful while filing tax documents and making copies of it.)
* Also, has an open door option for manual feed scanning.

Negative:
* Black prints comes out looking dark gray. Not as rich as it should be.
* No USB cable provided (Like selling a car with no steering wheel)
* Printer uses INK to clean itself. 2-3 times a month. Even when the printer is OFF. ???
* Color photo prints on regular paper comes out dull. Very dull. haven't tried printing on photo paper...Read more

Fairly large in size, solidly built, and well designed printer. The set-up with a CD was a breeze and the written instructions were easy to follow. The four "starter" ink cartridges were no problem to install and the paper loading and discharge system is neat and efficient. An enclosed manual explains most details well. The buttons are not bad to figure out, although the LCD window providing instructions is too small and has NO backlighting -- you are better off going up by one model for much larger and better display.

The quality of the bw text is fine, and the bw and color photos look good. For me, a very desirable feature is that it is a QUIET printer, without all the clang-bang of every other inkjet printer I have listened to at Office Depot. I do not need FAX, but the scanner and photo capture devices work well and the speed is fast enough. Use a good quality USB cable to avoid any hassle.

Hey, brother, for about $100 or less, the avergae home-office user...Read more

I purchased this unit when it was on sale for $39, and I would not recommend it even at that price. The all-plastic construction is flimsy and I'm constantly afraid I'll break off a critical piece in the paper tray or elsewhere. The paper jams ALL. THE. TIME. Once it goes into sleep mode, it will not wake up for an incoming fax. I usually end up having to turn it all the way off and on again to get the fax function to work again, while fielding numerous calls from contractors who can't send me a fax. When sending a fax, I often can not get it to grab the sheets to send. It also doesn't properly print many of the fonts I use regularly - they all end up looking like a slight variation of Times Roman. The USB port is oh-so-conveniently located in the middle of the inside of the machine, under the scanner glass. No, I'm not kidding. After plugging it in, you're required to snake the cable through a series of tabs for it to come out the back of the machine. Not only does this eat up almost...Read more