InkTax

Brother MFC-J4355DW: the real cost per page

$1.67black /100pg
$9.37color /100pg
$210printer price
$20.04ink /year @100pp
Wi-Fi

24th of 97 printers by black-and-white cost per page

Brother MFC-J4355DW Ink Cost Per Page: The Fax Rivals Drop

The Brother MFC-J4355DW is an ink tank printer that also copies, scans and faxes, with Wi-Fi and auto-duplex printing built in. It sells for $210. Running costs come to $1.67 per 100 pages in black against $9.37 in color, the black figure coming from its LC506XXLBK cartridge, which costs $83 and is rated for 5,000 pages.

The cheapest ink tank printer to run is the Canon PIXMA G3270, at $249 up front — more than the Brother's $210 — yet $0.38 in black and $0.97 in color per 100 pages, far below the Brother's $1.67 and $9.37. It drops fax and automatic duplex printing, and tops out at 11 ppm against the Brother's 20 ppm.

Three siblings match this printer's rates precisely: the Brother MFC-J4555DW and MFC-J5010DW, both $280, plus the MFC-J5110DW at $360. That ties the J4355DW for 24th of 30 ink tank printers on both black and color cost per page, a standing shared with two more models beyond these three. Stepping up adds a touchscreen and Ethernet across all three; the J5010DW and J5110DW print at 28 ppm.

The Canon MAXIFY GX3020 sells for $432, well above what the Brother costs, but runs far cheaper: black costs $0.52 per 100 pages, color costs $1.31. It duplexes and connects over Wi-Fi like the Brother, but skips fax.

For anyone who never prints in color, the HP LaserJet Pro 4006dw is the mono alternative: a laser with no copy, scan, or fax, for $400. Black toner costs $2.23 per 100 pages, more than the Brother's rate, but it moves paper far faster: 47 ppm versus the Brother's 20. It also adds Ethernet and a touchscreen the Brother lacks.

Black cartridges

CartridgeSKUPrice ISO yield/100pg
black cheapest LC506XXLBK $83.49 street 5,000 pages $1.67
black LC506XLBK $69.28 street 2,500 pages $2.77
black LC506BK $32.99 street 1,000 pages $3.30

Color cartridges

CartridgeSKUPrice ISO yield/100pg
cyan LC506XLC $38.49 street 1,500 pages $2.57
magenta LC506XLM $38.49 street 1,500 pages $2.57
yellow LC506XLY $38.49 street 1,500 pages $2.57

specs: brother-usa.com