In-Depth Analysis of Brother L2820DW XL All-in-One Printer: Excellent Performance with Minimal Extras

Key Takeaways

• The Brother MFC-L2820DW XL provides a 4,200-page toner yield, easy setup, and a functional touchscreen.
• The printer can do up to 34 pages per minute, catering to small businesses and home users.
• It can be expensive upfront, not ideal for photos, and the touchscreen is slightly small.

The Brother MFC-L2820DW XL is a cost-effective, all-in-one monochrome laser printer that’s easy to use and ideally suited for small businesses and home use. It also comes with a lot of toner, so you can save some cash upfront. Even though monochrome laser printers aren’t nearly as exciting as color ones, not everyone needs color or wants to pay the price of admission for those models. If you’re one of these folks, there are plenty of reasons to consider the Brother MFC-L2820DW XL.

Brother MFC-L2820DW XL

8/ 10

With the Brother MFC-L2820DW XL monochrome laser printer, you get an all-in-one experience that’s ideally suited for small businesses and home environments. The machine offers print, copy, scan, and fax functionality. Printing speeds are up to 34 pages per minute, and you can connect via Wi-Fi, USB, and Ethernet. It comes with an efficient 2.7-inch touchscreen display.

Brand

Brother

Type

Monochrome Laser

Color Printing

No

Scanner

Yes

Document Feeder

Yes

Pages Per Minute

34

Weight

22.7 pounds

Connection

Wi-Fi, USB, Ethernet

Dimensions

16.0625 x 12.50 x 15.625 inches

Tray Capacity

250 pages

Pros

• Comes with two laser cartridges (4200 pages)
• Easy setup, regardless of platform
• 4,200 inbox toner yield
• Lives up to promised prints (34) per minute

Cons

• 2.7-inch color touchscreen is a little bit small
• Upfront price is comparatively expensive
• Not good to print photos

Expand

$300 at Amazon $299.99 at B&H Photo Video

Features and Specifications: It Does Everything—In Black

Bryan M. Wolfe / How-To Geek

As an all-in-one laser printer, the Brother MFC-L2820DW XL lets you print, copy, scan, and fax. Depending on your preferences, your computer or mobile device can connect to the printer over Wi-Fi, USB, and ethernet. I used the printer with my MacBook Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and Google Pixel 8 Pro. I also used the Brother Mobile Connect App and the company’s desktop printer app.

The $300 printer features an automatic duplex printer and can handle up to 34 pages per minute. It includes a 250-sheet paper tray and a 50-page automatic feeder. Inside the box are an AC power cord, telephone line cord, warranty card, and guides. There’s also the drum unit that promises 15,000 copies before it needs to be replaced and two toner cartridges. Yes, the printer ships with two cartridges for a total yield of approximately 4,200 pages.

Shipping with two cartridges sets the MFC-L2820DW XL apart from the $50-less-expensive MFC-L2820DW, which is the same device, except that it ships with a toner cartridge worth only 700 pages. Looked another way, those extra copies cost 1.4 cents each when buying the XL model.

Cost-wise, new drum units cost around $130 to replace for this unit, while toner cartridges begin at around $50 (for 1,200) and can go up to $145 (for 3,000 pages). It weighs 22.7 pounds and measures 16.1 inches x 15.7 inches x 12.5 inches.

Starting Up

The easiest way to get started is to use the printer’s 2.7-inch color touchscreen to connect the printer to your home or office’s Wi-Fi. Once you do, you can find the machine through AirPrint, Wi-Fi Direct, Mopria, and Brother Mobile Connect. You can also connect it through standard ethernet or USB 2.0. The printer works with all modern operating systems, including Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome. It also works with Android and Apple devices.

Printing, Copying, Scanning, and Faxing: Living Up to Expectations

Bryan M. Wolfe / How-To Geek

During my tests, I sent three large print jobs to the device, which totaled 52, 67, and 30 pages, respectively. It took less than four minutes to print all 149 pages, which averages out to just over 37 pages per minute—or three pages per minute faster than Brother promised.

Things slowed down a little bit when the printer’s document feeder was involved in copying and scanning. Brother says you can expect just under 24 images per minute here. I averaged just over 23 images per minute.

The prints were clear and crisp, except when it came to printing photos, which was expected. You don’t use a black-and-white laser printer to print photos! However, time constraints made it impossible to test the print quality after long-term use. Print quality should remain the same for the toner and drum life if you’re using official Brother supplies. With third-party products, quality isn’t necessarily guaranteed.

The LCD Display

The Brother MFC-L2820DW XL’s LCD measures 2.7 inches across. This is a little smaller than optimal and could be a problem if you use it exclusively from the LCD. If, however, most of your printer usage will be done through your mobile device or computer, the LCD size shouldn’t matter as much.

Don’t get me wrong, the content on the LCD is easy to read, and the menu is simple to follow. It was just a bit too small for me, someone with worsening eyes.

Using the Brother App: Easy to Use

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Brother offers various companion apps for its printers that vary in title by operating system. I used the Brother iPrint & iScanner app on my Mac and the Brother Mobile Connect app on my iPhone during my testing. Regardless of the platform, the apps allow you to adjust print and scan settings and check the toner usage. The mobile app was more user-friendly than the other, but both did what they promised to do.

You can also use the apps to order new supplies. Like most printer manufacturers, Brother offers a subscription service for toner. If you print a lot, don’t like to keep track of toner life, or just want the convenience a service like this provides, using the Brother EZ Print Subscription plan is a worthy consideration.

Should You Buy the Brother MFC-L2820DW XL?

Bryan M. Wolfe / How-To Geek

Brother’s MFC-L2820DW XL laser printer isn’t the least expensive option on the market at $300. However, I’d still consider it a great buy since it comes with toner worth 4,200 copies.

If you’re a small business owner looking for a black-and-white printer, I highly recommend Brother’s MFC-L2820DW XL. Even families needing to print many high-quality copies should consider this printer.

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Brother MFC-L2820DW XL

8/ 10

With the Brother MFC-L2820DW XL monochrome laser printer, you get an all-in-one experience that’s ideally suited for small businesses and home environments. The machine offers print, copy, scan, and fax functionality. Printing speeds are up to 34 pages per minute, and you can connect via Wi-Fi, USB, and Ethernet. It comes with an efficient 2.7-inch touchscreen display.

$300 at Amazon $299.99 at B&H Photo Video