Brother MFC-6490CW

835 reviews

Apr, 2014

Positive
Value for money (287)
Usability (258)
Print quality (164)
Design (13)
Multifunction (11)

Negative
Build quality (42)
Ink consumption (19)

General overview
Price comparison
Product Specifications

alaTest has collected and analyzed 835 reviews from magazines and websites. People really like the paper handling and performance. The print quality and usability also get good views, but some have doubts about the ink consumption and build quality. Opinions about the connectivity and reliability are mixed.

value for money, usability, print quality, performance, paper handling

size, build quality, ink consumption

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Printers the Brother MFC-6490CW is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 85/100 = Very good quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 835 reviews)

Expert Reviews

User Reviews

Review Ratings

(48% of reviews)
Show all 5 star reviews (30% of reviews)
Show all 4 star reviews (7% of reviews)
Show all 3 star reviews (6% of reviews)
Show all 2 star reviews (9% of reviews)
Show all 1 star reviews

Features

Value for money
Show positive (39%)Show negative (16%)(Show all)

Usability
Show positive (67%)Show negative (7%)(Show all)

Print quality
Show positive (83%)Show negative (4%)(Show all)

Performance
Show positive (61%)Show negative (39%)(Show all)

Size
Show positive (17%)Show negative (21%)(Show all)

More features

Showing 447 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews

Showing 1 - 10 of 447 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (42)

Expert review by: Melissa Riofrio and Susan Silvius, PC World (pcworld.com)

Brother MFC-6490cw All-In-One Printer

Brother's color inkjet multifunction printer (MFP), the MFC-6490CW, adds wide-format printing capability to an already long list of functions. Unfortunately, extremely slow performance is the tradeoff.

Wide-format printing and scanning ; Roomy dual input trays; easy to use

Very slow ; Plain-paper prints look fuzzy and drab

Its wide-format capability is nice, but not its slow performance and variable print quality.

Oct, 2009

Read the full review

Editor's Choice!

Expert review by: (pcmag.com)

Brother MFC-6490cw

Most small offices could make good use, at least occasionally, of an all-in-one (AIO) that prints and scans tabloid size (11 by 17 inches). There's only one reason why almost all stay with models limited to letter and legal size: price. Tabloid-size...

Prints and scans at up to tabloid size (11 by 17 inches). Ample paper capacity. Automatic document feeder

Slow. No duplex option

The Brother MFC-6490CW more than makes up for its slow speed by bringing tabloid-size printing and scanning to small offices on tight budgets.

Read the full review

Expert review by: (consumersearch.com)

Tabloid-sized MFP with fax

Reviews say the Brother MFC-6490CW is a slowpoke, but it offers one advantage over most other inexpensive multifunction inkjet printers: it can scan and print tabloid-size pages up to 11 inches by 17 inches (legal size is 8.5 inches by 14 inches)....

Prints tabloid-size pages, 50-page automatic document feeder, includes fax, two paper trays, wired, wireless networking

Slow, no duplex printing, no automatic page-size detection, color oversaturated

Nov, 2010

Read the full review

Expert review by: Rebecca Scudder (brighthub.com)

Brother MFC 6490 CW All in One Wireless Printer

Bright Hub reviews the Brother MFC 6490 CW, an inexpensive 11” x 17” AIO printer, taking a look at its strengths and weaknesses. It does a good job scanning large prints, and quality monochrome printing on ledger paper. It is also the only machine it...

The Brother MFC 6490 CW does a very good job of scanning, which was our main purpose for the purchase. It has the ability to produce quality black and white graphics on 11 x 17 paper - great for Auto CAD programs and other people who need large...

Dec, 2009

Read the full review

Expert review by: Jason Saundalkar (itp.net)

Brother MFC-6490CW

The MFC-6490CW is designed for small offices interested in a loaded inkjet all-in-one and after putting Brother's latest to the test, we found it delivers in spades

The only area in which the Brother didn't blow our socks off was with regards to performance. Printing our 20-page monochrome and colour documents in normal quality, the 6490CW managed speeds of 4.2ppm and 3.1ppm respectively. Moving to our more...

May, 2009

Read the full review

Consumer review by: jgarch (cnet.com)

don't buy it.

I have found nothing good about the machine

I installed a MFC 6490CW for the first use today and after troubleshooting it, cleaning and replacing the ink, called customer service. After their diagnositcs, they determined the black ink print head was damaged and offered a reurbished machine as repla

May, 2011

Read the full review

Consumer review by: bruhed (cnet.com)

Good large scanner for the money

I bought this in a hurry for a huge storyboard project. Bought a new iMac and had to replace two even cheaper Mustek A3 scanners which both ran like molasses and sounded like jackhammers. Found a refurb Brother MFC-6490 with rebate at Staples.com for...

I use this primarily for scanning. Works well with a Mac & Photoshop. In PS, I just use the "Acquire"/Brother TWAIN" menu and up comes the info. You can also scan from the printer, but for some reason it only seems to work for the 8.5x11 dimensions

Paper trays are very flimsy as others have reported. No manual feed so I can't use certain papers. Does NOT scan full glass area OR corners, so large items must be guessed when placing

Nov, 2010

Read the full review

Consumer review by: bruhed (cnet.com)

Good large scanner for the money

Paper trays are very flimsy as others have reported. No manual feed so I can't use certain papers. Does NOT scan full glass area OR corners, so large items must be guessed when placing

Nov, 2010

Read the full review

Consumer review by: DFAJSL (pcworld.com)

Brother MFC-6490cw All-In-One Printer

Excellent machine. It has given excellent service in two years of many scans and prints in spite of its flimsy appearing construction. Has been just about bulletproof!

Scans & prints up to 11x17." Easy to change ink tanks of reasonable capacity. Two paper feed trays. Good looking output. Minimal paper jams. Easy network setup. Very economical to purchase and operate

None significant

Nov, 2010

Read the full review

Consumer review by: qibender (cnet.com)

Most user UNfriendly printer I've ever used

Use to scan/copy architectural drawings very difficult. Machine is good, though flimsy, but operation is difficult. Very confusing, non-user friendly operation. Always having to shift from two screens on computer, to shifting info on the printer, and...

Cost OK, will do 11x17, wireless

Absurdly awkward to operate. Always having to go from computer to printer when scanning. Black raised lip on scanbed crushes oversized items being scanned. Size info on that lip black on black, under lid, impossible to see. Just as an example

Sep, 2010

Read the full review

Product Specifications

The Professional Series MFC-6490CW color inkjet All-in-One is perfect for creating impressive everyday business documents such as reports, presentations, spreadsheets, proposals and more! Plus, it offers the ultimate in versatility with up to ledger (11"x17") size print / copy / scan / fax. Making the everyday business documents more impactful and the fine details easier to read. Other powerful features include: wireless networking, large up to 150 sheet paper capacity and up to 50 sheet automatic document feeder.