Brother MFC-J430W Pro Reviews

A home office MFP that's affordable to buy and run, but its performance is only average

With the Brother MFC-J430w, the old saying "You get what you pay for," is quite appropriate. For less than $100, you'll get a basic all-in-one with a few nice features including fax functionality, mobile printing, wireless connectivity and a 20-sheet ADF. But it's also missing several features - front side USB, auto duplexing, and touch capability - that many customers might miss and could find on a higher end model such as the flagship MFC-J825dw for only $50 more. Plus, I was less than impressed with the photo quality we saw during our tests of the MFC-J430w. Part of the allure of an inkjet is that it offers customers something a laser class printer can't provide: glossy color prints. The MFC-J430w just doesn't fair well in this area.

If your scanning and printing needs are minimal, but you want jobs to be done in a hurry, the Brother MFC-J430w is a cheap and efficient option. The output is serviceable, the ink is affordable, and--aside from the lack of automatic duplexing--the MFP has no salient weaknesses. If your budget is even tighter, the Canon Pixma MX360 has a lower purchase price, but its ink costs are higher.

If your scanning and printing needs are minimal, but you want jobs to be done in a hurry, the Brother MFC-J430w is a cheap and efficient option. The output is serviceable, the ink is affordable, and - aside from the lack of automatic duplexing - the MFP has no salient weaknesses. If your budget is even tighter, the Canon Pixma MX360 has a lower purchase price, but its ink costs are higher.

The Brother MFC-J430W all-in-one printer is compact, chic, easy to use and clearly laid out and manages to produce decent quality documents and photos at reasonably fast speeds. Photocopies are not wonderful, though, and a couple of standard fixtures are missing.

Hands down, the Brother MFC-J430w is worth the $99 sticker price. This well-built little multifunction printer performs well and produces good-quality business documents and photos.However, for an additional $50, Brother's MFC-J825dw provides automatic duplexing, as well as several other significant features, such as printing directly from memory devices and scanning to PCs on a network from the control panel. (Not to mention the pricier model's wide-screen touch-input LCD.) Granted, if you don't need these features, why spend the extra money? Think about it carefully, though, and make sure that your small or home office doesn't need the extra perks that the MFC-J825dw offers before you settle on one or the other. Opting for either model, though, you can't go too far wrong, so long as you understand that these are moderate-volume printers not meant for heavy-duty office use.

With a low paper capacity, but fast speed and good-quality text, the Brother MFC-J430w is a good fit as a personal printer in a small or home office.

The Brother MFC-J430W is a decent, general-purpose all-in-one for those without a large budget, but who still need fax facilities, as well as print, copy and scan. While there is no facility to upload photos from card or USB drive, and colour copies come through a bit pale, it's quick and doesn't cost the Earth to run. In its price range, it should be on your shortlist, though probably not at the top.