Brother MFC-6490CW World’s First A3 Multi Function Inkjet Printer Review.

Yeah, as you can read from the title, World’s First A3 Multi Function Inkjet printer. Its amazing to be able to get all functions in one machine, print, scan, copy, fax, pc fax that supports A3 paper size. I do warn you first, this post contains lots of pictures and if you are on low bandwidth internet access, take this in mind.

Take a look at my Mighty Mouse sitting on top of this Great machine.

Lets start with this Auto Document Feeder tray on top, adjustable and supports A3 paper size of course.

Also, check out this control panel with all sorts of useful buttons and they are all easy to recognize and control.

On the left side, there goes the numeric pad, Fax controls and phonebook memory buttons.

In the middle, between two control panels, there goes the large colour LCD screen for pictures editing, menu display and all the controls were reflected here.

Now, this is the cartridge holder, with door of course. This is special in Brother’s range of printers, as all their cartridges were located in front, and can be opened and replace even without turning on the printer.

below the control panels, we have Memory Cards reader which supports SD card, MicroStick, and XD.

Also, not forgetting CF card slot for professional photographers out there. So, you see, this A3 multifunction printer from Brother is really great machine for professionals in need.

And also, a USB port for Digital Camera direct printing.

Here is a shot showing the two available paper trays, for you to differentiate the paper type you are going to use, so that you don’t have to change paper in the tray very often.

On the back, available connectors are Power Cable, Modem/Phone jack for Fax.

And for the front paper loading mechanism, there is always a back door to remove jammed paper.

And this is the flatbed scanner, supports up to A3 paper size. First time seeing such a big flatbed scanner

For the connectivity, you have to open up the printer’s middle part, and you will be shown the USB and Ethernet port, each for the connectivity. Ethernet for the Network attachment, and USB for direct PC connection. MFC-6490CW also has the Wireless connectivity which is set on the control panel itself.

Curious how Brother’s printer moves their print head and how they get through the ink while the cartridge stays in front? They use a piping technique, and the head is totally sealed and secured to prevent drying out of ink.

More shots from different angles. The LCD panel is adjustable for easier viewing pleasure.

The buttons are rubbery feel and some has Lighting.

Sample screen display…

With the CISS (infus) installed. Look at thattt….. how amazing the CISS cartridge is. Designed specially for Brother, complete with the Door’s holder.

And just for another size realization, I have put a new Acer Aspire One 531h Slim on top of it.

And the most important thing in Brother’s rule of Cartridge, always re-insert the cartridge’s hole holder whenever you are transporting your printer or not going to use it for long time. It prevents the ink from spilling out and also air to enter the print head. Correct me if I am wrong.

And lastly, a print out test using Canon Ixus 65 direct print via USB, and ink using the CISS.

The paper type used is Inkjet Paper 110g. For 230g paper, try to use the second tray, and if thicker, it might not be able to pull the paper up.

So, overall, this is a 100% must get A3 Multifunction printer. The first in the world and with good value. Sold about USD 470 in Indonesia, and prices may varies by countries. Suitable for professional photographer, designer, artist, architect, printing shop and perhaps for your office or home? Why not!

With high quality ink from Brother, if you can sustain the original ink cost, you can produce perfect colour and quality print out. And, for all the available connectivity options and the input source, Brother MFC-6490CW is the most complete one you can have. All in One place, that you no longer need to purchase different machines for different purpose. All Rounder with a good price is always the best choice. Good luck and “Brother at Your Side” always.

Okay, its been sometimes now. Lets get back to some gadgets review. We are back with a nice multi function printer which we have tested and researched a lot on its own features and pros. So, when we are talking about Multi Function Inkjet Printer, we shall take a look at Brother’s range. They are all great and comes with complete functions. Lets start it up from the first standard model – the DCP 145C

This is the cheapest model amongst the DCP brothers like 165c and 185c.

One thing good about Brother’s inkjet printer is that their cartridge is located at the front side, with a door opening. And it is not moving together with the print head. That means, you can take out the cartridge even when the printer is not switched ON. From the diagram of the machine, we can see that the print head is connected through a pipe that transfers the ink from the cartridge’s holder.

And what’s more? It has the paper input tray that can fit up to 100 pcs of paper, up to Legal size.

As for the functionality, its pretty straight forward and easy to learn. For copying, the Color and Mono button is to trigger the copier, depending on the output you wanted. There is a photo capture button which is then looking for a media and files on the USB port that is available. It will then be able to print the source files directly. Not forgetting the Scan button which will scan the documents directly to your Computer and will trigger the scan program on the computer at the same time.

As for the Copier’s options, you have many functions like Enlarge or Reduce the size of the copy output, The copy quality from low to best, and specify a number of copies. As for the “Copy Options” button, it lets you specify the paper type and the rest of the settings.

The Flatbed scanner is pretty straight forward, just like any other MFC printers.

When you open up the top cover, you will then be able to see the place where the print head moves, the absorber, and the most unique feature is the USB port which is located inside. So, notice this, the USB port is for the connection to your computer. The cable will be aligned according to the spaces provided and out from the back of the printer. Very neat.

The Ink Absorber…

This is the cartridge slot. Notice the big green piece of plastic? It is used to secure the pins prior to use or for future need when you are planning not to use the printer for a very long time. This is to maintain the print head from drying out.

And this is the USB port to connect to your USB media, be it your digital camera or USB Flash Disk.

Sharing you the closer look at the front side, with the cartridge’s door closed and paper out tray is open. The Paper is coming out from the middle.

To have a better image on how big the printer is, this is a shot to share with my hand holding it. It might not be the perfect measurement, but that is what I can think of during the photo take.

Above is the back of the printer with an opening to take out any jammed paper in the future. Notice the mechanism of the paper’s movement? Just like how laserjet printer’s mechanism.

And next is the paper’s tray, which can be resized according to your paper’s size. Notice all the sliders level on every side.

And finally, what can be greater for such printer? Cost right? Everyone will always think of the cost of operation before deciding whether to take up on this great printer. Of course we have the solution for it. The Continuous Ink Supply System. Yeah… That’s it. Thanks to the China’s manufacturers who invented such a nice CISS cartridge. Each cartridge can have up to 70ml of Ink, easily refilled from the front cap.

Overall, these are already some of the good things about Brother’s MFC printers. And having their cartridge chip-less, you do not have to worry about resetter software or whatsoever unsolvable error. All are easily controlled via their menu. Cheers. Stay tuned for more reviews from us.

One of the biggest problem when using an inkjet printer is a Waste Ink Tank that is already full and the error message tells you to send it to the service center for servicing.

So, will you really send it over? Imagine the cost that might occur to you. So, what will you do if you face this problem? Send it over to the nearest computer shop to get it done. Yes, that’s one of the quickest and easiest way out, and might occur a small amount of fee.

What if you faced it in the middle of the night and no shops is open and you are rushing for your printing that need to be submitted tomorrow early morning? Here comes a handy tool for you called IP Tool. It is used to have printer status monitoring, reset the waste ink tank, Reset the ink counter, reset the EEPROM and many others.

So, where about to look for this tool? It is great if you came across this site or the others who have provided such tools. That means you are intelligent and know the rules of Googling.

Feel free to download the IP-Tool from this link, and use it to repair your printer’s problem. This tool only applies to Canon Pixma IP series such as IP1200, IP1300, IP1600, IP1700, IP1880, IP2200, and IP2500.

Another rule of thumb when using this tool is, it can’t be simply run and use. When your printer is at an error level where the orange light is blinking for certain amount of times, you can’t run this tool as it might be of no use. So, the rule of thumb is to get your printer into the Service Mode. How to do so? Check out below….

Power off your printer by plugging out the power cable. Now, press and hold on the Power Button. Connect the power cable, and while still holding the Power button, press the resume button twice and release both button. Now your printer will be in the service mode where there are no blinking orange LED and only a Steady Green LED is on.

Then proceed with your IP-Tool. Enjoy….

Canon has been well known for its great brand on Digital Imaging and printing. Without any hesitation, most of us will get Canon for their cameras and printers for sure. This has been true at least in our market in Indonesia, for most home user who will choose Canon comparing to the other brands.

Its simply due to the majority and easy fix I guess. First for the series above such as Pixma IP1700, IP1880, IP1980, they have many options for their consumables (cartridges). After using up the original cartridge, you can opt to refill it by injection using syringe which you can get easily at computer shops nearby or book store nearby. Second option will be using CISS (Continuous Ink Supply System). This has been really popular and proven to be much comfortable.

With CISS, you do not have to worry about how much ink left inside the cartridge. All you need to notice is the ink level on the ink tank by the side of the printer. When the ink finishes, all you have to do is just to refill the ink tank and voila. Your printer can be back to its hard work.

One thing when refilling or using CISS, when the printer’s counter has reached the level that tells the cartridge is empty and need a replacement, that is when you can no longer print, and you found the Orange LED on the printer is blinking for few times and back to the Green LED. That is when you need to have some DIY action.

When you are printing, and this problem appears, it will shows on the computer screen that the cartridge is empty and need a replacement. What to do next? Take note of this: Press and hold on Resume Button for 7 seconds and release. This will resume the printing and omit the warning that the cartridge is empty. From there on, your cartridge’s ink detector is disabled and ink level will not be shown anymore. But, you can still continue printing from there on conveniently and do all your refill or CISS without any hassle.

That is for the cartridge being empty after the counter reached the max limit. It applies to the older series as well and as some of you might have not noticed, the instructions of pressing and holding the resume button for 7 seconds is actually stated on the screen error’s message.

More tips and tricks coming up.

Take note that during certain case, you might need to press and hold the resume button for 7 seconds “Twice”. That applies when both the black and color cartridge ran out. And for longer lasting cartridge, use cartridge number 40 and 41 which is known to be more durable than 830 and 831. Note that IP1880 and IP1980 can use both cartridges.

This guide applies to Canon IP1200, IP1600, IP1700, IP1880, IP1980.

If you like this post, please help on the Ads, so we can grow bigger and bigger. Thanks.