Brother DCP-J1140DW review: An unexceptional example

If you’ve seen one Brother inkjet multifunction printer, you’ve seen them all. The DCP-J1140DW is the latest in a longstanding series of squat, blockish MFPs without much in the way of design flair, although the black finish does make at least a little more appealing to the eye than the grey boxy look that often defines MFPs in this category.

Physically, the DCP-J1140DW is easy to set up – you just need to remove some tape and insert four cartridges – but the software presented more of a challenge. There’s no disc in the box, and at the time of our review the driver package wasn’t available on Brother’s UK website; we found it on brother.be. Once installed, you’re prompted to align the heads with the help of the scanner.

As you might expect at this price-range, this device isn’t exactly bristing with extra features. On top there’s a flatbed scanner, but it doesn’t have an automatic document feeder, so you’re limited to scanning documents one side at a time, rather than running large batch jobs. Ther’s no fax, either; this device is unmistakably aimed at general-purpose printing, scanning and copying needs, rather than any specialised use-cases.

With that having been said, it acquits itself admirably at what it sets out to do. This is a sprightly inkjet, coming close to Brother’s claimed 17ppm with 15.6ppm in our mono tests. It managed 7ppm in our more demanding colour graphics test, which is still a strong performance. The DCP-J1140DW has a quick scanner, too, dispatching an A4 sheet at 300dpi in 14 seconds, and taking only 23 seconds over a 6 x 4in postcard at 600dpi. You’ll need to wait only 13 seconds for a mono photocopy, or 16 seconds for colour.

On the other hand, while the DCP-J1140DW is quick, it doesn’t produce especially rewarding results. Its black text was bold, and looked crisp enough to the naked eye, but colour graphics were subdued and lacked impact on the page. Colour photocopies were similarly drab, but this MFP did a good job of preserving detail in mono copies. It also turned out reasonably good photos.

Likewise, the quality of the DCP-J1140DW’s scanner is only adequate, and the focus of our test images seemed a little soft. Dynamic range was more than good enough for office documents, but the scanner couldn’t distinguish the very lightest and darkest shades from our more challenging target.

Overall this is a capable device, particularly for those that mainly want a document workhorse that can handle occasional graphics work, but it doesn’t do enough to stand out. At nearly 3p per black page, or 7.9p for colour, it could also do with slightly lower running costs. However, if you need a printer that’s geared up to meet the printing needs of the average home office, you could do worse than the attractively-priced Brother DCP-J1140DW.

Brother DCP-J1140DW specifications