Brother MFC-J1010DW All In One: In-Depth Review and User Opinions

The Brother MFC-J1010DW is an affordable all-in-one inkjet printer aimed at home and small office users. This lightweight, compact printer offers core functionality for printing, scanning, copying and faxing.

Key features of the MFC-J1010DW include:

• Print/Copy/Scan
• Wireless networking
• Automatic 2-sided printing
• 150 sheet paper capacity
• 20 sheet auto document feeder for scanning & copying
• 2.7" color LCD display
• Mobile device printing via Brother iPrint&Scan app
• Ink cartridges with easy front-loading

While it lacks some of the bells and whistles of more expensive models, the MFC-J1010DW provides a solid set of features to meet basic home and home office needs at an attractive price point. Its space-saving design and wireless networking make it easy to set up in any environment. With the ability to print, scan, copy and fax this All-In-One delivers good value.

Sleek and Compact Design

The Brother MFC-J1010DW all-in-one inkjet printer features a sleek, black plastic exterior that looks great in any home or small office. It has a relatively small footprint, measuring approximately 17.1 x 15.9 x 12.4 inches, so it doesn't take up too much desk space. The printer has rounded edges and a gently curved front surface that give it an elegant, contemporary look.

The MFC-J1010DW utilizes cartridge-based inkjet printing, so there are no bulky toner cartridges or complex mechanisms inside. This allows the printer to maintain a fairly slim profile. The input and output trays also fold into the body of the printer for a streamlined appearance. Overall, the compact and minimalist design of this Brother all-in-one printer makes it well-suited for modern workspaces where desk real estate is at a premium.

Print Quality

The MFC-J1010DW produces excellent print quality for both black and white and color documents. It has a maximum print resolution of up to 6000 x 1200 dpi for crisp, sharp text and vivid images.

Print speeds are reasonably fast at 10 pages per minute for black and white and 7 pages per minute for color. While not the fastest printer, the print speeds are suitable for home and small office use. It supports automatic duplex printing for printing on both sides of the paper, helping save paper.

Overall the print quality is reliable with sharp details and accurate colors. Text documents look clean and professional. Photos print with good color accuracy and sufficient detail to satisfy casual photo printing needs. The printer performs well for everyday document printing and the occasional photo.

Scanning

The MFC-J1010DW offers versatile scanning options with a resolution up to 1200 x 2400 dpi. You can scan documents and photos directly to your computer, or to popular cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive.

Some key scanning features include:

• Scan resolution up to 1200 x 2400 dpi delivers crisp, clear scans of documents and photos. The higher resolution captures fine details and allows for enlarging scans.

• The scanner can handle letter and legal sized documents up to 8.5" x 14".

• Scan directly to JPEG, PDF, TIFF, PNG and other popular file formats. PDF scanning allows creating searchable files.

• Easily scan to the cloud with the Brother iPrint&Scan app. Send scans directly to Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, OneNote and more. No need to connect to a computer.

• Scan to email lets you send scanned files directly as email attachments from the printer.

• Scan multiple pages into a single file, ideal for digitizing multi-page documents or books.

Overall, the scanning capabilities are versatile for home office and personal needs, allowing digitizing documents and photos for organization and sharing. The high resolution delivers quality scans suitable for OCR and converting print materials to digital formats.

Copying

The Brother MFC-J1010DW all-in-one printer offers fast copying speeds and useful copy features like enlargement/reduction.

• Copy speeds up to 24 pages per minute in black and white deliver quick results when making multiple copies. The printer can churn out copy after copy rapidly.

• Enlargement and reduction options from 25% to 400% allow you to rescale copied pages. This comes in handy when enlarging a small photo or condensing multiple pages onto one sheet.

• Other handy copy features include the ability to make 2-on-1 or 4-on-1 copies, sorting copies, adjusting density, and more. The printer gives you control over your copies.

• Overall, the Brother MFC-J1010DW provides robust copying capabilities in a compact all-in-one device. The fast speeds and resize options make copying documents, photos, and more a breeze.

Connectivity

The MFC-J1010DW offers a range of connectivity options for both wired and wireless printing and scanning.

• For wireless connectivity, it supports standard WiFi as well as WiFi Direct. Connecting to your home WiFi network is quick and easy during the initial setup. WiFi Direct allows you to connect your mobile device directly to the printer without a router.

• A USB 2.0 port allows you to connect the printer directly to your computer with a USB cable for wired printing and scanning.

• For printing on the go, the MFC-J1010DW supports mobile printing from your smartphone or tablet. You can print from iOS devices using AirPrint, and from Android devices using the Brother iPrint&Scan app.

• No Ethernet port is included for a wired network connection. The printer relies on WiFi connectivity instead. But the inclusion of WiFi Direct somewhat makes up for the lack of Ethernet.

Overall, the connectivity options are quite good for a printer in this class. The addition of WiFi Direct is a nice touch that improves the wireless capabilities. Mobile printing support and USB connectivity cover all the bases you need for an all-in-one printer.

Cartridges

The Brother MFC-J1010DW uses individual cartridges for black and color. The included standard yield black cartridge can print approx 1,200 pages, while the standard yield color cartridge prints approx 1,000 pages.

High yield replacement cartridges are available for both black and color. The high yield black cartridge prints approx 3,000 pages, and the high yield color cartridge prints approx 1,500 pages. This results in a competitive cost per page for both black and color printing.

The printer monitors ink levels and will warn you when a cartridge is getting low. Replacement Brother cartridges are readily available both online and in stores. Using original Brother cartridges will ensure optimal print quality and page yields.

Paper Handling

The Brother MFC-J1010DW has a 150-sheet paper tray which handles letter, legal, A4, A5, and executive sized paper. An override slot allows you to manually feed in envelopes, thicker paper stock, or small stacks of photo paper.

The main paper tray is adjustable for different media sizes and has markings to indicate the maximum paper fill line. The maximum paper capacity is 150 sheets of 20lb copy paper or 10 envelopes. The tray supports plain paper, inkjet paper, glossy photo paper and envelopes. For specialty paper like cardstock or labels, you'll need to use the override slot.

One downside is that there is only a single paper tray, so you'll have to swap out different paper types manually. There is no rear tray or additional drawer for a second paper source. The lack of a duplexer for automatic two-sided printing is another limitation of the paper handling capabilities.

Overall, the paper handling accommodates basic home office needs, but the lack of a second tray or auto-duplexing will be an inconvenience for high volume printing. This printer is best suited for light home use with occasional photo printing or document scanning.

Setup and Software

Setting up the Brother MFC-J1010DW is very straightforward. Simply remove it from the box and install the ink cartridges. It comes with starter cartridges, so you can start printing right away.

The printer connects to your home WiFi network using the setup wizard on the LCD screen. You just select your network name and enter the password. The process only takes a few minutes. Connecting via USB cable is also an option if you prefer.

Once connected over WiFi, you can install the software suite that comes bundled with the printer. This includes drivers for Windows and Mac. There's also Brother's ControlCenter software which lets you access printer settings and functions right from your computer screen.

The bundled software installs easily and provides all the tools you need for basic printing, scanning, copying and faxing. It's a hassle-free setup process overall. Within about 10-15 minutes you can have the printer fully operational on your home network.

Conclusion

The Brother MFC-J1010DW is an affordable all-in-one printer with decent print quality and a range of connectivity options.

Pros:

• Compact, space-saving design
• AirPrint and Google Cloud Print support
• Fast print speeds up to 20ppm
• Automatic 2-sided printing
• 20-sheet ADF for copying and scanning
• LCD display for navigation

Cons:

• Print quality could be better, especially for photos
• Small 100-sheet main paper tray capacity
• No option for extra paper trays
• Lacks more advanced features like fax and ADF auto scanning

Overall, the MFC-J1010DW is a solid budget all-in-one for home offices and students looking for an inexpensive machine with wireless printing and scanning. Just don't expect stellar photo prints or heavy-duty paper handling and throughput. For basic home use, it gets the job done.