Brother MFC-L2820DW Mono Laser All-in-One Printer vs Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer

What separates them

These two differ on 9 recorded specifications. The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer is $50.00 dearer. They are different kinds of product — mono laser mfp against ink tank mfp — so read the table as two spec sheets rather than a like-for-like.

Brother MFC-L2820DW Mono Laser All-in-One Printer vs Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer

Brother

Brother MFC-L2820DW Mono Laser All-in-One Printer

$249.99

The multi-function sibling of the HL-L2460DW, adding a 50-sheet feeder, a scanner and a fax for about a hundred dollars.

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Epson

Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer

$299.99

One set of Epson 502 bottles covers about 4,500 black and 7,500 color pages, which works out under a cent a page -- the lowest running cost of any printer in this department.

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Who the Brother MFC-L2820DW Mono Laser All-in-One Printer is for

Buy it if: Small offices wanting laser output, scanning and a feeder without cartridge restrictions.

Avoid it if: Anyone scanning two-sided documents in volume, who needs a duplex feeder.

Who the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer is for

Buy it if: Home and small offices printing color regularly where cost per page is the deciding number.

Avoid it if: Anyone needing a document feeder for multi-page scanning.

Specifications, side by side

9 of 15 rows differ. Differences first.

SpecificationBrother MFC-L2820DW Mono Laser All-in-One PrinterEpson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer
Price$249.99$299.99
ConnectivityEthernet, Wi-Fi and USBWi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct and USB
Cost per pageAbout 3 cents on TN760, excluding drum and paperAbout 0.8 cents mono and 2.2 cents color, excluding paper
Document feeder50-sheet ADFNone -- flatbed glass only
DuplexAutomatic two-sided printing, single-sided scanningAutomatic two-sided printing
Duty cycleUp to 20,000 pages a month maximumUp to 3,000 pages a month maximum
Print resolution1200 x 1200 dpi5760 x 1440 dpi
Print speedUp to 36 ppm, Letter monoUp to 10 ppm mono at ISO, 33 ppm draft
Rated powerAbout 550 W printing, 0.7 W in sleepAbout 12 W printing
Warranty1-year limited warranty2-year limited warranty with registration
Drum unitDR730, about 15,000 pages, replaced separately not published
Head technology not publishedPrecisionCore piezoelectric, not thermal
Input tray250 sheets not published
Page yield per refill not publishedAbout 4,500 black and 7,500 color pages
Replacement cartridgeBrother TN760, about 3,000 pages not published
Replacement ink not publishedEpson 502 bottles, black and three colors

Every row is a figure one or both products record. A blank is a figure the catalogue does not hold, not a zero.

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