Brother DCP-8085DN review: multi-function laser printer

Brother reaches a consistently high standard for its office printers. Can it keep it up with this new multi-function, duplex capable laser?

IT Pro Verdict

The DCP-8085DN is easy to use and produced high quality results in all our tests. It did well in our graphical print tests and produced stunning looking business documents, although font sizes under 8pt looked a little spidery. This MFP is fast, easy to use and produces high quality prints. Its costs aren't the lowest around, but they're typical for printers of this price range. If you're looking for a multi-functional device without fax capabilities, this MFP is a solid addition to any small office.

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Scan speeds weren't particularly fast except at low resolutions. While a 150dpi A4 flatbed scan took just 14 seconds, we had to wait 35 seconds for the same scan at 300dpi and 42 seconds for a 600dpi scan of a 6 x 4in photo. A 10-page colour simplex ADF scan at 300dpi took five minutes.

The DCP-8085DN is a capable office copier, although we had to set its brightness to maximum to ensure that graphics-heavy copies didn't look murky. The usual enlargement and reduction settings are present, with some pre-sets to make it easy to convert between common sizes. It defaults to single-sided copying but a duplex button and menu make it easy to switch modes and a duplex copy emerged in 32 seconds. A standard copy from the platen took 10 seconds and 10 single-sided sheets copied from the ADF emerged in just 29 seconds.

The DCP-8585DN is economical to run, with costs of just 1.2p per page if you buy Brother's 8,000 page high yield toner cartridges (TN-3280), which cost around 95. It comes with a 3,000 page standard yield cartridge (TN-3230) but there is an additional cost in the form of a 25,000 page drum unit (DR-3200), which can be replaced at a cost of 110. Including the cost of the drum, each page costs 1.6p.

Verdict

The DCP-8085DN is easy to use and produced high quality results in all our tests. It did well in our graphical print tests and produced stunning looking business documents, although font sizes under 8pt looked a little spidery. This MFP is fast, easy to use and produces high quality prints. Its costs aren't the lowest around, but they're typical for printers of this price range. If you're looking for a multi-functional device without fax capabilities, this MFP is a solid addition to any small office.

Rated pages-per-minute: 30ppm Print dpi: 1,200dpi print resolution Scan resolution: 600 x 2,400dpi Connectivity: USB, PictBridge USB, 10/100 Ethernet, parallel interfaces Dimensions: 475 x 531 x 451mm, Warranty: 1 yr on-site warranty (with registration). Power consumption: 10W standby, 11W idle, 940W active Part code: DCP-8085DN

K.G. Orphanides
K.G. Orphanides

K.G. is a journalist, technical writer, developer and software preservationist. Alongside the accumulated experience of over 20 years spent working with Linux and other free/libre/open source software, their areas of special interest include IT security, anti-malware and antivirus, VPNs, identity and password management, SaaS infrastructure and its alternatives.

You can get in touch with K.G. via email at reviews@kgorphanides.com.

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