BROTHER DCP-310CN BLACK OEM INK CARTRIDGE

Brother DCP-310CN Review

Overview:

When someone mentions “all-in-one printer”, the first thing that comes to mind is a big square thing that’s as tall as it is wide.  The Brother DCP-310CN is a low-profile multi-function 4-color inkjet. Network-ready, the 310CN makes color prints, copies, and scans at speeds up to 20 ppm. It can even take flash media cards from digital cameras and make prints without the need for a computer.

Pros:

The look of the Brother DCP-310CN stands out in its simple, clean design. With a 14.7” x 17.8” footprint and only 5.3 inches high, the 12-pound DCP-310CN looks more like a VCR than a printer. You don’t need to turn on the computer every time you want to make a copy or a scan.  The DCP-310CN has a full control panel with an LCD display for setup and operation without the need for software.

A slide-in paper tray holds up to 100 Legal-size sheets.  The paper tray also doubles for handling multi-purpose media. Plastic guides adjust to handle post cards and envelopes.

The network version of the DCP-110C, the DCP-310CN can connects directly to your Mac or PC through a USB 2.0 interface, or using Ethernet. Having a maximum resolution of 6000(h) x 1200(v) dpi color resolution produces photo-quality images at average speeds of 15 color ppm and 20 B&W ppm.

It’s always nice to be able to have a printer that can accept Flash media direct without having to fire up a computer.  The DCP-310CN has a multiple slots that support not only the popular Type I CompactFlash, SD (SecureDigital), and Sony Memory Sticks, but it also can read from legacy Olympus’ xD and SmartMedia card formats as well. Brother’s PhotoCapture feature allows for a “thumbnail printout” to be made for choosing which photos to print.

Instead of an Automatic Document Feeder, the DCP-310CN has 8.5” x 11.7” flatbed platen to scan A4 or Letter-size originals. Originals can be scanned in straight black-and-white, 256 grayscale or in 24-bit color.  The optical resolution is 600 x 2400 dpi, and the included software can enhance it to 19,200 x 19,200 dpi. The scanning feature has software support for TWAIN and Microsoft’s WIA protocols.

The multi-function can make up to 99 copies at the rate of 17 monochrome pages per minute, 11 color ppm. Copy magnification ranges from 25% to 400%. Copy exposures can be set either manually, automatic adjustment of contrast, text or photo modes. Maximum copy resolutions are an impressive 600 x 1200 dpi.

Brother equipped the multifunction with just 16MB of memory--sufficient for single print jobs that aren’t’ resource-intensive. There is no expansion for additional memory.

While other printer manufacturers focus on software for Windows computers, Brother realizes that Macs are computers too and deserve the same programs as PCs.  So the OCR (Optical Character Recognition), Document Viewer, and scanner software features are available for Macs as well as Windows.

Cons:

Traditionally, inkjet printers tend to be quieter than laser printers. But the DCP-310CN can get as noisy as a laser, with noise levels reaching 51dB, the sound level of low conversations.

16MB of RAM is rather a small amount for a machine with network capability.  For a home or a small office that has 3 to 4 computers or notebooks on the network, the DCP-310CN’s fixed memory should be sufficient, but not for a classroom or large office with high throughput.

The glass platen is only large enough to copy or scan Letter or A4 sizes. The DCP-310CN is not suitable for Legal-size originals; however it can still print on 11” x 14” paper.

Brother does not offer PCL or PostScript print emulation with this model. Instead, the DCP-310CN relies on emulation from the host computer itself. For most printing, users won’t notice any difference in performance and considering the low resolutions of this all-in-one it’s unlikely any high-end Adobe graphics will be sent to this multi-function anyway.

Finally, while marketed for the small business or home office, the capacity of the paper tray needs to be increased to at least 250 sheets instead of the current 100. Most people buy paper by the 500-sheet ream, and paper waste is increased when a printer can hold only a fraction of the package.