| Priced within the 108 to 227 USD mark, the | | | | Design elements |
| Brother MFC 490CW multifunction inkjet printer is | | | | The Brother MFC 490CW multifunction inkjet |
| not one of the best contenders for the optimal | | | | printer has average looks and is similar in |
| printer to purchase. The highlight of this Brother | | | | appearance to any conventional Brother printer. |
| printer lies in the connectivity options provided. | | | | The fax control is towards the left while menu |
| Connectivity features | | | | navigation and copy options are towards the right |
| The Brother MFC 490CW multifunction inkjet | | | | of the panel. Printer ink management option allows |
| printer offers a multitude of connectivity options | | | | you to check status of ink and navigate to |
| to the user. You have both Ethernet as well as | | | | cleaning tasks. |
| USB ports located on this printer. In addition, the | | | | Print speeds |
| printer also provides wireless connectivity and this | | | | Black and white prints are at speeds of 33 ppm |
| can be initiated directly from inside the device. | | | | and colored ones are at 27 ppm. However, color |
| However, one drawback is that you cannot use | | | | documents print at a rather slow rate of 15.5 |
| any two network interfaces at the same | | | | ppm. |
| moment of time. | | | | Print quality |
| Printing options | | | | The Brother MFC 490CW multifunction inkjet |
| This Brother printer is devoid of any | | | | printer produces an average standard of photo |
| auto-duplexer mechanism, which is another | | | | finish and quality. If you are using standard size of |
| negative aspect in this printer. It also lacks a DVD | | | | fonts, the text prints are legible but use smaller |
| or CD printing mechanism, which is a feature | | | | characters and you will see the prints becoming |
| provided by several other printers within the | | | | illegible. Character clarity is not sacrificed when |
| same price and niche. In spite of its drawbacks, | | | | combining color and text into documents. |
| the Brother MFC 490CW multifunction inkjet | | | | Cartridges |
| printer does have automated document feeding | | | | The Brother MFC 490CW multifunction inkjet |
| mechanisms as well as slots for media card | | | | printer comes along with printer cartridges |
| support like CompactFlash, SD, xD as well as | | | | specifically designed for this printer. One of the |
| memory stick options. There is also a USB port | | | | cartridge models used is the Brother C61 ink |
| along with PictBridge facility provided. | | | | cartridge. |
| Limited paper capacity | | | | Scan quality |
| These Brother printers have clearly been designed | | | | The overall quality of scanning is rather good and |
| for home and non-commercial usage only. The | | | | quite fast. If you were to scan images at around |
| input cassette can contain only 100 pages | | | | 600 dpi, you would get a detailed result. However, |
| maximum and an additional tray comprising 20 | | | | it is best to limit the scanner on this Brother |
| sheets of paper. The presence of separate trays | | | | printer to documents as opposed to photos. The |
| is good because you can segregate different | | | | CPP of the Brother MFC 490CW multifunction |
| media sizes. However, photo trays are not | | | | inkjet printer is around 20.5 CPP. It is not very |
| motorized and it has to be manually positioned | | | | cheap but manageable. |
| prior to usage. | | | | |