This basic Brother printer is a fast fix for home office nee…

Home-based businesses are quite common, and even if it’s a secondary source of income, it can still require just as much paperwork as a dedicated office. This is where a printer like the Brother DCPL2550DW can really shine.

It’s a low-cost black-and-white laser printer that can scan, copy, and print, providing all the paper-handling functions you need for business. We tested print and scan quality, speed, and ease of use to confirm its long-term value and see if it can stand up to the best printers you can buy.

design

As a workhorse printer, the Brother DCPL2550DW is big and sturdy. The textured charcoal and black color scheme is professional, and the thin edges avoid a boxy look.

This is a budget all-in-one laser printer that has everything you need without any extra features. The display is a small, two-line monochrome screen with navigation buttons on the sides. The control panel tilts upward at a convenient angle, but it is not adjustable.

The paper tray can hold up to 250 sheets, and there’s also a manual feed tray for envelopes and smaller pages. Trays, bins, and paper-sized sliders have labels or icons that are easy to understand.

The printer’s footprint is 16.1 inches wide and 15.7 inches deep. Since it has an automatic document feeder (ADF) on top, it’s 12.5 inches long. The DCPL2550DW weighs 25.6 pounds, so it’s quite easy to carry around despite its bulk.

It’s important to note that the brothers suggest leaving four inches of space for ventilation. This means you will need 24 inches of space to center a 16-inch printer. At the edge of a desk or table, you’ll only need 20 inches.

printing performance

Laser printers are generally fast, and the Brother DCPL2550DW is a great example. It prints multipage documents up to 36 pages per minute.

There are quality controls in the menu system, but everything looks good with the default settings. Text is crisp and graphics render well.

Printing labels and envelopes is easy with the manual feed tray. Everything worked as expected with proper alignment and good quality.

You’ll notice a grainy, sometimes patchy look in photos. The quality is fairly standard for a monochrome laser printer that is not designed to print images.

If you’re looking for a color low-cost photo printer, Brother’s MFC-J1205W is a good inkjet printer for home offices.

If you need text, bar codes, charts and graphs, the Brother DCPL2550DW will produce a thick report quickly and reliably.

special features

The Brother DCPL2550DW is an all-in-one printer that can scan your phone and computer. Like other all-in-ones, the print and scan features work together to make copies.

Scanning is as fast as printing, enabling copies of up to 36 pages per minute. Scan quality is good, and the DCPL2550DW captures color despite being a monochrome printer. Reduction and enlargement are available via a dedicated Copy Options button on the left side of the display.

The ADF can take 50 sheets at a time and handle duplex scanning and printing without any hassle. You can also scan single-sided pages and produce double-sided output.

The flatbed scanner supports up to 1200 dpi resolution when scanning from a computer. Brother’s iPrint&Scan app supports 600 dpi. The ADF provides 600 dpi from computers and phones.

Software and Compatibility

It’s best to set up the Brother DCPL2550DW manually. The mobile app could not connect to the printer until I completed the network connection using the printer’s control panel.

You can connect via Wi-Fi, USB or Ethernet (cable not included). Wi-Fi is simple, quick and reliable. However, it is nice to have the option of a wired connection.

The Brother DCPL2550DW works with iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Mac, Windows, and Linux. Chromebooks are suited for printing, but not scanning.

To get maximum control of your Brother printer from your phone, the iPrint&Scan app for your iPhone and Android phones helps with scanning, checking toner levels, and more. There aren’t a lot of options, and sometimes it’s easier to use the system print options, but for a task-focused printer, the app handles everything you can’t do natively on your phone.

Windows and Mac will recognize the printer immediately, but for full access to scanning functions, you must install the Brother software.

the price is right

At $199, the Brother DCPL2550DW is a fast and reliable office printer that will keep thousands of pages rolling through. Brother recommends up to 2,000 pages per month, but the printer has a maximum duty cycle of 15,000 pages.

This is a low price for such a solid printer. This raises questions about the cost and long-term value of toner.

Brother includes a 700-page starter cartridge, as well as offering four months of free toner if you try the Brother Refresh subscription refill program.

If you choose to purchase toner separately, a standard cartridge costs $45.49 and prints approximately 1,200 pages. A high-yield cartridge costs $80.49 and provides 3,000 pages. This reduces the per page cost of toner to three cents to four cents.

That’s not bad for a cheap and fast black and white laser printer. If you order a two-pack of high-yield cartridges at $145, the cost drops to 2.4 cents per page, which is quite low.

Is this the printer for you?

If you don’t need a more expensive color laser printer like HP’s LaserJet Pro 4301fdw, Brother’s DCPL2550DW checks all the boxes for a home office/small business printer. The DCPL2550DW is fast enough to handle larger print jobs, and the 250-sheet paper tray keeps it running with few interruptions.

Navigation takes longer than laser printers with larger touchscreens, like the Canon ImageClass MF275dw, due to the smaller display, but most functions can be accessed from a computer or phone if you install the app.

The DCPL2550DW comes with a one-year warranty, and Brother says customers can get support via online chat or phone for the lifetime of the printer. Long-term costs are lower if you order toner in bulk.