A big scanner/printer from Brother

[papermodelfan]

I am thinking about how to scan and print items that are larger than the 81/2 x 11 inch format my equipment handles, and the trips to Kinko's/FedEx get expensive. Just nosing around, I found that Brother now makes a scanner printer that handles 11 x 17 inch sans and prints. It is called the Brother MFC-6490CW. Color inkjet, decent resolution scans, wireless hookups... and at $300 or less. Sounds too good to be true. I had thought anything that could handle ledger sized paper would be $500 and up.

Would anyone have experience with this machine, or with alternatives?

Thanks, Rob Tauxe

[airdave]

we used to have a large format scanner at the shop
...think it was about 16x24, or somewhere in that range.
And to be honest... it was a giant pain in the butt.
Not only were there compatibility issues with various programs,
but the machine was big and hard to put anywhere.

get rid of your Printer Scanner combo..they are terrible for laying larger things out flat.
...and buy a nice desktop size flat bed scanner.

I bought a Canon scan flat bed (actually got it new for $20! privately)
but in the stores you can get them for under a $100.

Handles up to Legal size only, but...
I scan in sections, at nice resolutions (600dpi and higher usually,
and then you can put the parts together in any graphics or imaging program.

I prefer the costs savings over the larger scanners.
Thats my suggestion.

[2Kamser]

got the little Brother (pun intended?) MFC-5890CN wich in european measures scan A4 and can print A3
it prints very well, does not use up too much ink when doing it and is fairly quick printing i A3
besides that, it prints superb photos as well, so i think it might be a good printer, mine is at least
is there somewhere you can try it? if so, can you print something you are familliar with for comparison?
in this day and age with viruses it is almost impossible to bring a memory card with a photo or PDF file to try it out, but if you can do it, i recommend it, then you can see what it can do for your needs

[Swampfox]

I have an Epson Stylus Photo 1400. It's not even made anymore because there are better Epson Styles Photo models than mine. Maybe someone here has one that they can tell you about.

Mine cost $299U.S. and can print 12"x100", yes, 12 inchX100-inch sheets. It's a 6 color system with individual cartridges and the color rendition is excellent once you calibrate it to your monitor.

Not the fastest printer on the block but then none of the high end photo printers are. At least not the ones I can afford.

Good luck in your quest, it's always a balancing act when buying new equipment.

SFX

[airdave]

I must apologize, I did miss the statement about printing (as well as scanning) larger items.

yes, if you want to print larger than Letter size, you will need a "large format printer".

I have access to the 6ft printer at the shop,
but I restrict myself to Letter size for all my Card Model projects anyway.

[rickstef]

I just took a look at the specs, and the maximum weight is 58 lbs

and the only thing I would be wary of is the volume of the ink tanks, maybe there is a CIS kit for Brothers

[John Bowden]

I also have the MFC-5890CN and concur with 2Kasmer....

I have had no problems printing 11x17 and have found that Domtar Cougar Brand makes a great 11x17 that works for models.

[Don Mick]

I have this Brother printer/ scanner and like it very much. It does a very good job printing letter to 11" x 17" format. Have had it for 2 years now without any problems. Scans well too. Uses about as much ink as any other printer. It is wireless and works well all over my house. I paid $200 at Staples for it. It does have a large footprint, but has many options: sheet feeder copying, 11" x 17" printout, etc. I have used it for printing on 110# stock without problems. The only negative I can think of is that it does not have duplex printing, you have to reload the sheet to print on both sides. Can be used wired or wireless. Hope this helps.

Don Mick

[Darwin]

If the brother all-in-one has a flatbed scanner, I would be willing to try it. If it has to feed the sheet through the machine in order to scan it, I would then suggest going with separate printer and scanner....for hobbiest use, there are just too many times I want to scan a page in a bound volume to think about anything other than a flatbed scanner. The scanner part of the machine may be flatbed, but I haven't been able to tell for sure from any of the Brother literature I've found on the net. For printing, I am just as happy as a pig in muck with the Epson Workforce 1100 I recently bought....and inexpensive cis ink systems are readily available on ebay for very reasonable price. For the large scanner, the Mustek large format flatbed scanner is going to be my splurge for next month's pension check. I figure that, unless the sucker arrives absolutely DOA, it can't do a whole lot worse than the scanner I laid out near $1000 for a year ago. The combined cost (Ebay free shipping items) is about $300, or what you're looking at for the Brother.

[rickstef]

Brother MFC-6490CW | All In One Color Printer