Brother 770CW

...the capabilities I required, but Brother seemed offer the most support for Linux so I opted for Brother DCP-770CW and haven't looked back since!

When the printer arrived my first task was to set it up on my wireless network... this really was SO EASY! Using the large, full colour LCD display I was able to easily navigate through the intuitive menus (which also provide you with ink management, print quality, test prints and paper type ...
...the Linux drivers from the Brother website as the CD only contains the Windows drivers and software). Again, the Linux CUPS printing system detected the printer without any problems.

Now I was ready to print. I've printed standard documents, photos, and to card and the quality is very, very good. Saying that though, I am just an average user and not a digital imaging professional! I'm sure there are those experts out there who may ... more

I bought this printer 3 months ago and I have to say that I am very impressed. I decided I needed a new printer for 2 reasons, firstly I wanted a wireless printer so I could print without having to take my laptop to it and, secondly, I am now mainly using a Linux operating system instead of Windows and was having trouble getting my old HP printer to work well with Linux. I also thought it would be handy to have the photo printing and photocopying/scanning capabilities.

During my research phase there were several printers with the capabilities I required, but Brother seemed offer the most support for Linux so I opted for Brother DCP-770CW and haven't looked back since!

When the printer arrived my first task was to set it up on my wireless network... this really was SO EASY! Using the large, full colour LCD display I was able to easily navigate through the intuitive menus (which also provide you with ink management, print quality, test prints and paper type info) I was able to get the printer to search for wireless networks (it found 3 wireless networks and displayed their names on the screen), then I selected my network and entered my WPA2 security key. Bingo! That was the network set up done - didn't even have to switch on a computer.

Next, I added the printer to my Linux laptop (this was very straightforward too, although I did need to download the Linux drivers from the Brother website as the CD only contains the Windows drivers and software). Again, the Linux CUPS printing system detected the printer without any problems.

Now I was ready to print. I've printed standard documents, photos, and to card and the quality is very, very good. Saying that though, I am just an average user and not a digital imaging professional! I'm sure there are those experts out there who may find fault with colour accuracy or whatever (probably the same type of people that can't enjoy listening to music unless it is through a set of £4000 speakers!) but as an average user I have seen no problems at all with the quality - even printing A4 photos gives a very good result.

In addition to the printing, scanning and copying there are a few extra features which I enjoy...

USB Port: This means you can plug in a memory stick and print directly from it, using the LCD display to preview your images (you can even print a photo index sheet of all the images on your stick.

Pictbridge: Pictbridge compatible cameras can be plugged straight into the printer so you can print directly from them.

Card Reader: You can put any of the following cards into the slots on the front of the printer to allow you to print directly from them: Compact Flash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital, xD Picture Card Type M&H, xD Conventional Card and Multimedia Card.

Front Panel: Aside from the very nice LCD display, there are several buttons that provide intuitive and quick ways to scan, copy in (mono or colour), check ink levels and so on.

Paper tray: Finally, the paper tray has a special 'lid' on it. This lid can hold 6"x4" sheets of photo paper. This means that if you want to print a standard size photo then you can just slide the lid forward without having to remove your usual printing paper from the main tray.

All good so far. In fact the one gripe I have is that the photo printing can be a little on the slow side. Although I haven't timed it I would estimate it takes about a minute to print a standard 6"x4" colour photo.

All in all I would highly recommend this printer (especially to Linux users) - it is very easy to use, but has enough bells and whistles and buttons to satisfy technogeeks too! 

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