Brother DCP-J125 review

The Brother DCP-J125 is an all-in-one device comprising scanner, copier and printer and is the entry-level model in the range.

The two-tone grey design is rather utilitarian and better suited to an office than the home.

In order to connect your laptop using the USB port, you'll need to open the machine itself, as the port is neatly hidden away. However, you'll need to budget for a longer cable than normal, not supplied, as it runs the length of the printer before exiting out of the back.

Rather than the paper tray being on the back of the printer, you'll find it located at the front. Printed paper also comes out of the front, rather forcefully we found.

Print noise is quite respectable – not as quiet as the Canon PIXMA iP3600, but certainly more so than the Lexmark S305 and Epson Stylus SX425W.

Installing the four colour ink cartridges couldn't be easier, as you'll find an access hatch on the front of the device. Once all four are inserted, the colour LCD display informs the user that it will take four minutes to align and configure the device.

The controls are clearly labelled, so switching between scan and print is easy.

Scanning quality is impressive, with our test images being on a par with the Epson and slightly sharper than on the Lexmark and HP.

Regarding print quality, we found mono text was quick and the results sharp, while colour prints lacked true depth.

As for the running costs of your printer, you'll find that a multi-pack comprising all four colours is the most economic, as it costs around £28 (inc. VAT). Individual cartridges can also be bought, with black costing £13 (inc. VAT), and colour cartridges costing £8 (inc. VAT).

The Brother DCP-J125 may appear rather plain and, while we were impressed with its office printing skills, colour reproduction isn't quite as sharp as we would have liked.

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