Brother MFC 7440N review

Performance
The Brother MFC-7440N performed reasonably well in our speed tests, on a par if not slightly faster than the average single and multifunction black and white laser printer. We put it up against the Canon ImageClass MF4270, a full-feature $299 All-in-One and the Dell 1125, another $250 multifunction monolaser. The Brother easily pulled ahead in the text and graphics speed tests, but suffered most dramatically in black and white scanning: it scanned a black and white document at a rate of 4.48 pages per minute, while the Dell 1125 finished in 5.96 pages per minute and the Canon blazed in at 12.19 pages per minute.

Speed test (in pages per minute)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Copy

Black-white scanning

Graphics printing

Text printing

Dell 1125

9.56 

5.96 

14.69 

15.18 

Canon ImageClass MF4270

15.5 

12.19 

17.14 

16.52 

Brother MFC-7440N

11 

4.48 

17.57 

17.42 

However, we wish that its print quality was as impressive as its speed. The text print tests at both 300 dots per inch (dpi) and 1,200 dpi. Each came out dark and consistent across the board with hardly any noticeable jagged edges in both large and micro fonts, but it's fairly typical for a laser printer to produce quality text results. Unfortunately, the graphics we printed out leave a lot to be desired. The grayscale graphics test showed visible cross hatching and banding in the black to white gradients, as well as a heavy amount of compression in the darker regions. The 600 by 2,400 dpi scans turned out the best out of all the features we tested, with excellent color reproduction and sharp, clear lines.

Service and support
Brother stands by all of their monochrome laser printers with a one-year Express Exchange limited warranty in addition to offering a toll-free customer service number for trouble-shooting information. Customers can also visit the Web site for driver downloads, FAQs, and comprehensive support center.

Find out more about how we test printers.