The design is cool, but it’s the results that matter
On paper (heh), the Brother Business Smart has everything.
The multifunction inkjet handles paper from 3.5x5 up to 11x17, in a footprint
barely bigger than that, just 18.9 by 11.4 inches, and 7.3 inches high. It can
be so compact even while holding 150 sheets of 8.5x11 paper because the paper
is loaded, and printed, in landscape orientation, something we haven’t seen
before. When not in use, it folds into an unassuming, completely closed
rectangle.
The Business Smart connects to your Mac over Wi-Fi, USB, or
10/100 Ethernet, and printing from ¡OS is a cinch using AirPrint, Google Cloud
Print, or the free Brother iPrint&Scan app for iPhone and iPad. The large,
flip-out control panel has a touchscreen that lets you swipe between menus, as
well as a touch panel that lights up whatever keys you need at the time. The
inkjet tanks are giant, printing up to 1,200 pages, and they only cost about
$25.
But using it just isn’t a pleasurable business. The paper
tray in the front is clunky to install and remove, and the pass through tray in
the back only supports one sheet at a time. The touchscreen is responsive
enough for a printer, but the error messages are unhelpful more than once, it
insisted we had a paper jam, tried to walk us through removing it (we followed
the steps, but there was no paper jam), and refused to turn off until the
nonexistent problem was fixed. We had to unplug it and plug it back in, when,
surprise, it realized everything was fine.
But even when it works (which is most of the time), the
print quality is only so-so. Plain black text looks more like dark gray, and
lacks smoothness, even for an inkjet. A four-page color PDF printed in duplex
mode on plain paper came out feeling kind of soggy, with visible banding in the
graphics. Photos are dull and lifeless on plain paper, and only a tiny bit
brighter on photo paper. Scanning works well, but the auto feeder tops out at
20 sheets. Jobs you do frequently can be programmed in as presets, which are
easy to set up and reliable. We didn't test the fax capabilities, but it has
them, and the design actually routes the fax, Ethernet, and USB cables through
a common hole in the back to hidden ports under the printer's hood. It looks
nice, but we wonder if the newness of this printer's design, including the interior
ports and landscape paper loading, will be improved with next year's iteration this
version feels a little flimsy and first-generation.
While this is called Business Smart, it doesn't have the
paper capacity for a busy office, and no one's going to want to feed 11x17
pages into the back one at a time. If you're only printing spreadsheets and
emails, the quality might not bug you, but anything more than that, you might
want to look to Epson or Canon instead.
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Information
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Website: www.brother.com
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Price: $199
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Requirements: Mac OS 10.5.8 or later
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(+) Easy setup. Small footprint. Can print from and scan to
Flickr, Google Docs, and Picasa. AirPrint, Google Cloud print, and a
dedicated iOS app. Ink tanks last forever. Print speed is decent. Inputs for
SD card, MemoryStick, and USB thumb drives.
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(-) So-so print quality with muddy text and dull images. Can't use
wired and wireless connections at once. Build quality feels flimsy.
Passthrough slot only takes one sheet at a time. Unhelpful error messages.
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