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Like the Brother MFC-J4510 reviewed recently, the DCP-J4110DW belongs to the breed of A4 multifunction devices that adds the capability to print A3 documents along with its more basic scan and copy functionality.  In order to achieve this expansive print option, Brother has turned the accepted print orientation through 90 degrees by opting for a landscape orientation rather than portrait paper delivery to the print mechanism.

See also: Multifunction printers

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One obvious result of this change of orientation is that this box, with its rounded corners, has a larger width than is usually with many A4 multifunction units currently available.  The DCP-J4110DW has dimensions of 480 x 163 x 290 mm (W x H x D).  I was pleased to note that the “Liquorice Allsorts” appearance used by Brother for the earlier model has been changed for a more pleasing on the eye look.  The DCP-J4110DW has a cream coloured paper tray, capacity of 150 sheets, supporting the black printer and flatbed scanner units. 

This paper tray is for A4 and smaller sizes of paper.  Sad to say this tray, as with the earlier model, would often object to being removed from the body of the printer when it needed refilling with paper.  A great of effort was generally required to extract it, yet it would then slide back into its compartment without any bother.  Brother really needs to look at this aspect as the plastically feel of the paper tray makes you worry that it might snap with the pressure being applied.  A3 paper is less of a problem as this is fed, a sheet at a time, from the rear of the printer unit.

Mounted on the front of the unit is a control panel which can be adjusted to various angles to suit the user.  This panel features a 1.9-inch colour touch screen which provides status feedback and helpful assistances for carrying out various tasks when required.  Various touch sensitive buttons light up at appropriate stages plus there is an on/off button and Wi-Fi activity light. 

The instructional information includes those for the initially setting up of the unit.  You also get pictorial help when inserting the four ink cartridges (black, cyan. magenta and yellow) into the easily accessible compartment that is located in the front right corner of the unit.  If only replacing paper in this unit was as easy as inserting ink cartridges into this Brother product.

Also located on the front of the unit, on the opposite side to the ink cartridge compartment, is a second hidden compartment for inserting various image storage devices.  Once this compartment is revealed you can insert a flask stick or memory card.  There is support for SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC and Memory Stick formats.  Images storage on the media can be displayed on the touch screen for selection and printing.

The usual collection of Brother software items and bundled offerings comes with the DCP-J4110DW that includes drivers, MFL-Pro Suite and Nuance PaperPort SE 12.  As part of the software installation procedure you can opt for USB, wired LAN or Wireless connectivity.  The necessary connections for the first two options are located at the rear of the unit along with the mains power socket.  With a wireless connection there is support for WPS automatic set up.

The A4 flatbed scanner mounted on top of the unit has a 48-bit optical resolution of 2400 x 2400 dpi, increasing to 1920 x 19200 dpi interpolated.  There is compliance with both TWAIN and WIA interfaces for Windows and ICA for the Mac when scanning to a computer.  In photocopy mode, when a scanned A4 image is sent direct to the printer, a reasonable quality document was produced in 32 seconds for colour and 14 seconds in monochrome.

Three different levels of print quality are available for printing documents.  These levels are designated as Fast, Normal and Best.  Using my standard 102-word document in monochrome and then in colour with the addition of a small image, the result I achieved are listed in the following table.

While Fast mode is best reserved for editing purposes, the other two modes would be suitable for general and important document work.  There are additional print options that include manual Duplex, booklet printing and fitting up to 16 pages of a document on a single sheet of paper.

As well as general types of documents, the DCP-J4110DW is capable of producing photos at a reasonable speed.  These can be printed from media accessed from the input slots or from a computer.  The timings listed below were obtained from images stored on a computer using the supplied Brother Control Center 4 software utility.

The DCP-J4110DW is priced at £164.80 which is £20 less than the J4510DW model.  You do get reduced functionality with no Fax, no ADF and manual rather than automatic Duplex.  The DCP-J4110DW does appear a little pricey in comparison.  Its output speed, apart from photo images, is hardly outstanding although print quality is reasonable.  Replacement ink cartridges are priced at £23.98 for black and £15.58 for each colour.  A bundle containing the four cartridges is available for £53.00.

http://www.brother.co.uk/g3v1/g3.cfm/s_page/215760/s_level/36230/s_product/DCPJ4110DWZU1/searchkey/dcp-j4110dw