The Ink Blog » Brother MFC-665CW Review

Looking to reduce the amount of equipment on your desk? The Brother MFC-665CW may just be the solution you need. It’s a handy little unit that does a lot in just a little bit of space.

The Brother MFC-665CW combines a document printer, a photo printer, a flatbed scanner, a fax machine, a photo copier, a telephone, and an answering machine. The telephone and answering machine are what really set it a part from any other multifunction machines.

It can be connected directly to your computer via a USB cable, or you can connect it to your home or office network using an Ethernet cable. For those that live in the wireless world, it can be set up as a stand alone wireless printer.

The 665CW is competitively priced with other multifunction machines. It uses separate cartridges (one for each color) and prints 27 pages per minute in plain black and 22 per minute in color. The printer has an internal tray for holding full sized sheets of paper and a separate tray that holds up to 20 4×6 sheets of photo paper.

Its scanning capabilities have improved since earlier versions of brother multifunction machines providing a very easy scan process that produces high resolution scans. The MFC-665CW does not provide the ability to scan from negatives or slides. The scanner lid also has extended hinges so you can scan thicker documents and features OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology. The scanner lid also features a auto sheet feeder that holds up to 10 pages at a time, allowing you to fax or make copies in either black and white or color.

The fax function allows you to do fax polling, fax retrieval, or fax forwarding.

This machine supports various memory card formats (Compatibles, Secure Digital, Memory Stick, and xD Picture Card). You can print photos directly from your memory cards. All you have to do is place your memory card in the appropriate slot and your photos will be displayed on the 2.5 inch color LCD screen. YOu can select your photos from the screen and do some basic photo editing. You can also print images directly from your digital camera.

The unit is priced online at about $200.00, but you can find it at some online stores for about $20.00 less. Reasonably priced! It uses the Brother LC-51 series of cartridges. Manufacturer suggested prices for these cartridges are $23.99 (black cartridge) and $13.99 (for each cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges). Full compatible, non-Brother brand cartridges can be purchased online for as low as $3.99 each.

Overall it looks like Brother has created a great multifunction machine. User ratings are quite strong with excellent feedback provided. It may be that the only flaw is in the included telephone. While useful, its design is not one that invites a lot of use. Individuals won’t be replacing their desk phone anytime soon. The included telephone cord is quite sort, and would need to be replaced. The handset design is not the most ergonomic. Brother reports that the voice mail function will hold up to 29 minutes of messages.

Let us know what you think.